Premier League: Fixtures for 3 rounds of restart matches announced; venues for Merseyside derby, City vs Liverpool unclear

English Premier League on Friday confirmed fixtures for the first three round of matches when the season resumes from the coronavirus pandemic enforced break. The league will resume on 17 June, as was already confirmed, provided all safety requirements are in place. It was also confirmed that all the remaining 92 matches in England’s top flight will be broadcast live. [caption id=“attachment_6184131” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Liverpool’s local derby against Everton could be played at a neutral venue. AFP File photo[/caption] Aston Villa, with a game in hand, will get football underway for the first kick of the ball since 9 March in the EPL. They will host Sheffield United at Villa Park at 6 PM local time (10.30 PM IST) on 17 June with a blockbuster Manchester City vs Arsenal to follow. Both the games were postponed due to the League Cup final. In the list of fixtures released, the Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool on 21 June (7 PM BST/11.30 PM IST) could be played at a neutral venue. City, second in the table, against Liverpool on 2 July (8.15 BST/12:45 AM IST on 3 July) also has venue yet to be decided. Liverpool, seeking their first league title since 1990, lead the table with 82 points, 25 ahead of defending champions Manchester City. At the foot of the standings, Bournemouth, Villa and Norwich occupy the bottom three spots with Watford and West Ham flirting with relegation as well. Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said: “We are pleased to provide fans with further updates on the provisional restart of the Premier League season. “We know it won’t be the same without our loyal supporters in stadiums but, together with our broadcast partners, we are able to ensure fans can watch or listen to each match live from home. “It is important that as many people as possible can access our games so we are extremely happy that more than a third of our remaining fixtures will be televised free-to-air here in the UK. “I am delighted we are able to take another positive step towards the season returning in just under two weeks’ time.” Wednesday, 17 June Aston Villa vs Sheffield United Manchester City vs Arsenal Friday, 19 June Norwich City vs Southampton Spurs vs Manchester United Saturday, 20 June Watford vs Leicester City Brighton vs Arsenal West Ham vs Wolves Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace Sunday, 21 June Newcastle United vs Sheffield United Aston Villa vs Chelsea Everton vs Liverpool (venue TBC) Monday, 22 June Manchester City vs Burnley Tuesday, 23 June Leicester City vs Brighton Spurs vs West Ham Wednesday, 24 June Manchester United vs Sheffield United Newcastle United vs Aston Villa Norwich City vs Everton Wolves vs Bournemouth Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Thursday, 25 June Burnley vs Watford Southampton vs Arsenal Chelsea vs Manchester City Saturday, 27 June Aston Villa vs Wolves Sunday, 28 June Watford vs Southampton Monday, 29 June Crystal Palace vs Burnley Tuesday, 30 June Brighton vs Manchester United Wednesday, 1 July Arsenal vs Norwich City Bournemouth vs Newcastle United Everton vs Leicester City West Ham vs Chelsea Thursday, 2 July Sheffield United vs Spurs Manchester City vs Liverpool (venue TBC)