Chelsea's match against Manchester City on Sunday could be postponed owing toan outbreak of coronavirus in Pep Guardiola's squad which has led to their game against Everton on Monday night being postponed.
City had already confirmed that Kyle Walker, Gabriel Jesus and two other members of staff tested positive for the virus prior to their Boxing Day win at home to Newcastle United.
Now more have been struck down - although it is unclear if the source of the new cases were Walker, Jesus and the previously positive staff members.
Based on strong medical advice the Premier League, in consultation with both City and Everton, have decided to postpone tonight's fixture
Chelsea, who face Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge this evening, have not received any indication over Sunday's game yet but the players in question will need to isolate for ten days according to law.
A statement from Man City confirmed that tonight's game has been called off and that their training ground will be forced to shut.
It said: “After the latest round of Covid-19 testing, the club returned a number of positive cases, in addition to the four already reported on Christmas Day.
“With the security of the bubble compromised, there posed a risk that the virus could spread further amongst the squad, the staff and potentially beyond.
“Based on strong medical advice the Premier League, in consultation with both clubs, have decided to postpone the fixture.
“All positive cases involving players and staff will observe a period of self-isolation in accordance with Premier League and UK Government protocol on quarantine. The first team training ground at City Football Academy will close for an indeterminate period, with the squad and associated bubble undergoing testing before any decision is made for training to resume.”
Tonight's postponement alone means that Guardiola’s side are starting to face a fixture pile-up. City started the season later than others due to being involved in the Champions League in August.
The Everton postponement means that they will have two games in hand on the majority of Premier League sides, with just 14 matches played.
With a Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester United scheduled for next week and Champions League fixtures scheduled for February and March, it is currently unclear when these games in hand will be played.
