Crystal Palace’s preparations for the Boxing Day trip to Tottenham descended into chaos with their manager, Patrick Vieira, testing positive for Covid-19 while they were denied a last-minute request to postpone the fixture.
Osian Roberts, the assistant manager, took the team for the 3-0 defeat and, despite his efforts to play down the disruption, it was plain that the situation was far from ideal. Vieira is the second Premier League manager to test positive for the virus in the past few days with Aston Villa’s Steven Gerrard also now in isolation.
Palace did not specify how many players were affected by Covid but they were worried that, as Vieira was positive, there was the potential for him to have infected many of the squad as a close contact. As such, they felt the outbreak was still unfolding and after ordering the players to stay at home on Saturday night, rather than meet at the team hotel as usual, they became the latest club to demand a postponement.
The Premier League board denied the request after meeting on Sunday morning, feeling the club had sufficient numbers to fulfil the fixture. Although Palace only named seven substitutes, rather than the permitted nine, it appeared they were missing only seven senior players.
There was confusion among fans after reports that the game was set to be postponed and Palace only confirmed in a tweet at 11.34am on Sunday that it would go ahead as scheduled at 3pm.
“We met this morning at the hotel to prepare,” Roberts said. “Most of the time we would do that the previous evening but it’s difficult to do that these days with the situation as it is and so much uncertainty.
“I don’t know how many we had with Covid – some were returning from Covid, close contacts, injuries, but ultimately you saw that we were short of options on the bench. We’re professional. We have to adapt and adjust, sometimes at short notice. It’s something that we have to live with. I’m sure that there’ll be other rollercoaster weeks in the future.”
The Palace confusion emerged on the day that the Premier League agreed to postpone Leeds’s game against Aston Villa on Tuesday along with Arsenal’s match against Wolves because of rising Covid cases.
“Following a request from Leeds United, the Premier League board met today and regrettably agreed to postpone the club’s home fixture against Aston Villa,” the league said in a statement. “The board accepted the postponement application as the club does not have the required number of players available for the match (13 outfield players and one goalkeeper).”
Leeds explained: “Whilst there have been no new Covid cases in the playing squad, the majority of those who tested positive prior to the Liverpool game are not yet out of isolation.”
Premier League: 26 December Burnley v Everton, Liverpool v Leeds, Wolves v Watford. 28 December: Arsenal v Wolves, Leeds v Aston Villa
Championship: 26 December Barnsley v Stoke, Cardiff v Coventry, Fulham v Birmingham, Hull City v Blackburn Rovers, Millwall v Swansea, Peterborough v Reading, Preston v Sheffield United. 29 December: Swansea Luton, Birmingham v Peterborough
League One: 26 December Bolton v Morecambe, Crewe v Wigan, Portsmouth v Oxford, Sheffield Wednesday v Burton, Wimbledon v Charlton, Wycombe v Cambridge. 29 December: Burton v Bolton, Charlton v Gillingham. 30 December Cambridge v Doncaster
League Two: 26 December Bradford v Harrogate, Bristol Rovers v Sutton, Colchester v Leyton Orient, Exeter v Swindon, Newport v Forest Green, Northampton v Walsall, Port Vale v Salford, Stevenage v Crawley. 29 December Forest Green v Exeter, Leyton Orient v Newport, Salford v Carlisle, Scunthorpe v Northampton, Walsall v Bradford
National League: 26 December Barnet v Boreham Wood, Halifax v Grimsby, Wealdstone v Maidenhead, Weymouth v Eastleigh, Wrexham v Solihull Moors. 28 December Boreham Wood v Wealdstone, Grimsby v King's Lynn, Yeovil v Weymouth
Scottish Championship: 26 December Greenock Morton v Queen of the South, Inverness CT v Partick 29 December Raith Rovers v Queen of the South
Scottish League One: 26 December Queen's Park v Dumbarton
On the Arsenal postponement, the Premier League said: “The board was able to make its decision in advance of the fixture to give clarity to the affected clubs and their fans. We apologise for the inconvenience and disruption caused to supporters’ festive plans.
“The League is aware that the decisions this week to postpone matches will disappoint supporters, and understands their frustrations at a special time of year when fans look forward to attending and watching football games.
“The League aims to provide as much clarity as possible, but unfortunately postponements sometimes have to be made at short notice, as safety is our priority. Where possible, the League will endeavour to keep supporters updated if games become at risk on a matchday.”
Following Chelsea’s 3-1 win against Aston Villa on Sunday evening, Thomas Tuchel sounded a cautious note. “It’s a big win but I’m always concerned for the health and safety of the players and that’s why you don’t see me fully excited,” the Chelsea manager said.
“Normally you could catch huge momentum and push them but the only thing we are doing is checking on a daily basis who can be pushed. It’s pretty challenging and it is not over because the names are back on the match [team] sheet.”
