Another game postponed in the Premier League due to a coronavirus outbreak within the camp. Aston Villa vs. Everton is the latest fixture to take a rain check.
It appears Aston Villa is struggling to get Villa Park and their Bodymoor Heath training ground COVID free. Another game needs to be postponed to a later date when things are safer for the Premier League side.
The outbreak that has plagued the club for consecutive weeks running now has caused them to ask for fixture date changes on separate occasions, as well as field a youthful U23 side for their FA Cup loss to Liverpool.
"Villa made a request to the Premier League to call off the game due to the outbreak – which forced them to close their Bodymoor Heath training ground last week – as a “significant” number of their players and staff remain in isolation.The club’s fixture against Tottenham, scheduled to take place on Wednesday, was also called off, with Spurs instead playing their postponed game against Fulham."
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The club’s manager Dean Smith along with many of their first-team players were unfit to take the field following the COVID disruption. They are hopeful they can reopen their doors as early as the weekend.
So far in recent weeks, Villa’s outing against Tottenham was cancelled until further noticed and now their important top-of-the-table clash against Everton as well. The two sits in the top half of the EPL standings – the Toffees are in fifth place while the Villains sit in eighth.
Smith’s men now have two games in hand, having only played 15 of the 17 matchdays so far. The Premier League used the open slot to great effect and scheduled Spurs and Fulham’s makeup game in place of it.
Fulham surprised Jose Mourinho’s men with a 1-1 draw with a late equaliser by Ivan Cavaleiro. The battle between the two London sides has gone beyond the 90 minutes of football, with Mourinho and Scott Parker still having words over the apology the Portuguese requested from the Englishman afore the top-flight draw.
Aston Villa’s request to delay the EPL clash came on Thursday ahead of Matchday 18. It is being further stated that their meeting with Newcastle (Magpies suffered an outbreak back in December – the game could not proceed) will be played in the second-last weekend of January, Saturday the 23rd.
The club released a statement extending their gratitude to the league and their opponents for being totally understanding at a rather unprecedented time. This also hands Villa a tough fixture run in a short time frame coming over the next couple of weeks.
The club’s statement read:
"The club would like to express its immense gratitude to the medical experts who have helped us to get a significant Covid-19 outbreak under control, as well as the Premier League board and our fellow clubs for their understanding during this period.We expect that members of the first-team squad and staff who are healthy and safe to return to training will do so on Sunday when the isolation protocols will have been observed.The club continues to wish all those affected by the virus a speedy recovery. (Via: Sky Sports)"
Starting next Wednesday, Aston Villa will play five Premier League matches in less than two weeks 😳 pic.twitter.com/yZyj284b3W
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 14, 2021
Aston Villa’s next involvement in some Premier League action will be against the in-form Manchester City on Wednesday, January 20. Hopefully, the squad will be fully recovered (or at least Smith will have enough players to take the pitch) and they can travel to the Etihad without further hassles.
Man City was another team who had to postpone their previous meeting with Everton. This was in December last year. Back then, it was only the second fixture to get pushed back to a later date due to a coronavirus outbreak.
We have now seen up to six Premier League encounters lose their original kickoff dates due to the virus, as fans remain unseen in stadiums due to the sudden rise in numbers.
Last week the Premier League also recorded their highest number of infections when performing their mass testing. First, the record high of 40 followed by another 36 positive cases.