Liverpool could win Premier League title at neutral venue - and FA Cup final to be played in August
The game where Liverpool could win their first ever Premier League title could be played at a neutral venue, following a request from police.
The Premier League has announced plans to return on June 17 but police have asked for up to six games - including Liverpool v Everton - to be played at neutral venues amid fears public could congregate and break social distancing measures.
The games to be played at neutral venues include:
- Manchester City v Liverpool
- Manchester City v Newcastle
- Manchester United v Sheffield United
- Newcastle v Liverpool
- Everton v Liverpool
- The game in which Liverpool could secure the title
A police statement to the Premier League also adds the game in which Liverpool could secure the league title should also be moved, but this may end up needing to be more than one match if the Reds did not clinch it at the first attempt.
Liverpool need just six more points - which equates to two wins - to win the Premier League title.
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Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts of South Yorkshire Police, the UK’s football policing lead, said in a statement: "The majority of remaining matches will be played, at home and away as scheduled, with a small number of fixtures taking place at neutral venues, which, contrary to some reports, have yet to be agreed.”
He added: “This plan will be kept continually under review to ensure public health and safety and a key part of this is for supporters to continue to respect the social distancing guidelines, and not to attend or gather outside the stadiums.”
Liverpool, chasing their first title for 30 years, lead the Premier League table by 25 points with nine games remaining,
Meanwhile, this year's FA Cup final has been rescheduled for August 1.The Football Association announced the dates for the final three rounds of the competition on Friday morning, following on from the Premier League confirming its intention to return on June 17 subject to Government clearance.
The competition had reached the quarter-final stage before professional football in England was suspended on March 13 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The four matches in the last eight will be played over the weekend of June 27 and 28, with no decision reached yet on whether these will be played on a home-and-away basis as normal or at neutral venues.
The semi-finals will be played on July 18 and 19, with the intention being for those matches and the final to be played at Wembley as usual. All the ties will be behind closed doors.
The news will be a boost to the FA from a financial perspective, with its chief executive Mark Bullingham warning in April of the governing body suffering losses of up to £150million as a result of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.