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The Coronavirus is still at large and football has been postponed indefinitely in most countries. With the situation being much larger than anyone could estimate, there will be some changes to the season. There are talks that the Champions League may be declared void but it’s all speculation at this point. The Euros have confirmed that they will postpone by a year and the competition will go forward in 2021. This gives the domestic leagues some more time to wrap up the season and reduces the load on them. Since this is an unprecedented event, no matter what decision is taken, there will be some who benefit and some who won’t. Let’s take a look at which result would be most favourable to which club.
Starting from the top of the table –
Liverpool
Liverpool are currently 25 (City have a game in hand) points clear in the table which is also something unprecedented. They have waited almost 31 years for a league title and when it finally looked like things were going their way, the league had to be suspended.
The best result for them would be for the league to either continue because they’re one win away from being confirmed as champions. Another bonus for them would be for the Champions League to get declared void so they can be the holders for one more year.
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola’s side are in a fairly neutral situation. They’re not going to win the league and they’re not going to lose out on a Champions League spot. So any decision is an acceptable one for them. They would, however, want the season to be declared void so that Liverpool don’t win it and they hold on to their title for another season. Man City will be worried about getting suspended by UEFA due to their ongoing FFP charges.
Leicester City
The Foxes would also be fairly neutral but they might lean towards declaring the season complete without playing the remaining games. Of the last 5 league games, Leicester have won only 1, lost 2 and drawn 2. They are in a very good position as it stands and Champions League football will do them plenty good next season.
The Foxes would also be fairly neutral but they might lean towards declaring the season complete without playing the remaining games. Of the last 5 league games, Leicester have won only 1, lost 2 and drawn 2. They are in a very good position as it stands and Champions League football will do them plenty good next season.
Chelsea
Chelsea would hope for the season to be deemed complete as they are currently in a UCL spot. The Top 4 battle was always going to get tougher and if Chelsea can avoid that, they’d be all for it.
Manchester United
United would be okay with two situations. First one would be with the season declared void as that would prevent Liverpool from winning the title and closing the gap on us in terms of titles won. The other situation would be for the season to be finished in its entirety as the Top 4 in very much in reach as United have a run of easy fixtures after the Spurs game.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Wolves are still in the race for Champions League football but have some tricky fixtures in Chelsea away, Sheffield United away and Arsenal at home. It might be tough to overcome the 6 point deficit if United and Chelsea don’t drop many points. In those circumstances, Wolves would like the season to either finish at the moment or it declared void.
Sheffield United
The Blades would love nothing more than for the season to continue and all games played. They have had a dream start to life in the Premier League and it’ll be unfortunate to have them miss out on what they really deserve. They are currently in 7th but have a game in hand which can potentially take them to 5th if they win and 6th if they draw. Their game in hand is away to Aston Villa which isn’t the toughest fixture either.
Tottenham Hotspur
Jose Mourinho and Spurs would be all for the Premier League season to be declared null and void because being 8th in the league would be completely unacceptable to them. They also have some tricky fixtures like the North London Derby and Sheffield away but they’d rather have a go at it and try to do better than surrender and accept 8th place. They will also be back in the Champions League as they qualified for it last year.
Jose Mourinho and Spurs would be all for the Premier League season to be declared null and void because being 8th in the league would be completely unacceptable to them. They also have some tricky fixtures like the North London Derby and Sheffield away but they’d rather have a go at it and try to do better than surrender and accept 8th place. They will also be back in the Champions League as they qualified for it last year.
Arsenal
One position below their north London rivals are Arsenal. There are two ways of looking at their situation. The first being for the season to be declared null and void so that they can end this season here and regroup under new manager, Mikel Arteta. In this situation, they also get Europa League football. However, a season without Europa League might be quite refreshing for Arsenal as they look to focus on the domestic competitions.
Burnley, Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle, Southampton
These teams would be quite neutral with any situation. They’re far from the European spots and quite safe from relegation. Everton would’ve fancied their chances of finishing in the top half with their new manager, Carlo Ancelotti, but declaring the season void and denying crosstown neighbours, Liverpool, their Premier League title will give them the same amount of joy.
Southampton are in a very poor run of form and wouldn’t mind writing this season off before they get sucked back into the relegation battle.
Brighton, West Ham and Watford
These teams will happily declare the season void or end the season as it is. Brighton are just two points above the relegation zone with West Ham and Watford being on the same number of points as Bournemouth (18th). After a pretty pathetic start to the season, Watford have managed to creep out of the relegation zone so they’d love for the season to end right now!
Bournemouth, Aston Villa, Norwich
These teams would love to carry on fighting for their place in the Premier League. Bournemouth are level on points with Watford and West Ham and it’d be quite unfair to them for the Premier League to be declared finished instead of being declared null and void. Aston Villa have a game in hand which could potentially take them outside the relegation zone. Norwich are the only ones that should be in the relegation zone regardless but given the choice, they’d love to fight back instead of just go down.
So these are what the fans and clubs would like to see. Obviously, a final decision hasn’t been made and it’s all speculation at the moment. The pros and cons of each potential decision has been discussed in a previous blog so be sure to check that out as well!
