Everton and Liverpool supporters won’t be able to see their respective sides up close in action at either Goodison Park or Anfield again this season but fans of the Premier League and Championship will be able to watch almost all of the remaining 200 matches in the top-two tiers of English football under plans for the sport to return.
The Merseyside Derby, originally scheduled for Monday March 16 on Sky was the first fixture for both Everton and Liverpool to fall victim to football’s coronavirus-induced shutdown.
However, the Premier League will hold a shareholders meeting on Monday where key decisions could be made for the planned return of football in June - and agreeing to play in neutral venues will be crucial.
It could also be difficult to convince players and members of staff that it is safe to return amid ongoing concerns about the COVID-19 crisis.
If ‘Project Restart’ gets the go ahead, scheduling officials and broadcast partners are aiming to give as many fixtures as possible their own slot on television reports The Times.
The so-called ‘festival of football’ to complete the 2019/20 season could be even more dramatic than many expected - with staggered kick-off times and daily matches.
Between three and four Championship and Premier League matches will be televised daily at staggered kick-off times, resulting in almost all of the nearly 200 remaining fixtures being shown on live TV.
However, it is not expected that any Premier League games will be shown on free-to-air TV and will instead be shown by broadcasters Sky Sports and BT Sport, with Amazon also returning to the frame after their two sets of matches in December.
Sky Sports, the holders of the rights to the EFL, would show live Championship matches but the league’s streaming service, iFollow, is also likely to be utilised, with EFL chief Rick Parry stating that was the case in a recent address to government officials.
