BURNLEY have been putting in the hard yards on their return to training and now have an idea of what their initial schedule is going to look like.
Premier League clubs met again yesterday to discuss the proposed restart on June 17 and leaked fixtures show that the Clarets will return to action at Manchester City on Monday, June 22.
The 8pm kick-off is set to be live on Sky Sports.
Two more fixtures were also on the list reported by the national media and still to be officially confirmed.
After the meeting with City, Burnley will host Watford at Turf Moor on Thursday, June 25, in a 6pm kick-off that is also on Sky.
The Clarets are then down to to head to Crystal Palace on Monday, June 29, with the 8pm kick-off one of Amazon’s four games, all of which will be free-to-air.
Sean Dyche’s side are 10th in the table with nine games remaining in all.
Our pictures show the Clarets continuing their work at the Barnfield Training Centre yesterday and Dyche now knows that he will be using a 20-man squad when his side return to action.
It was agreed at yesterday’s meeting that clubs will be allowed to use up to five substitutes, instead of the usual three, in the remaining games.
The league has adopted the temporary dispensation to the laws, which was approved by the International Football Association Board last month to help manage the workload of players as they return to action after the suspension of competition.
Matchday squads will increase to 20 from 18 as a result, and the substitutions can only be made at a maximum of three points in the match to avoid unnecessary delays.
Clubs also agreed in principle to the use of neutral venues where necessary in order to complete the 2019-20 season.
The use of neutral venues has been a hugely controversial topic in the English top flight since the season was suspended in March. Clubs were told at the start of May the only way to complete the season would be to play all the remaining 92 matches at eight to 10 approved neutral venues. A number of sides, including Brighton and Watford, said doing so would put the integrity of the competition in question.
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters held fresh talks with the Government and the police as the position appeared to shift, but last week the UK’s football policing lead, Deputy Chief Constable Mark Roberts of South Yorkshire Police, said five matches were set to be played at neutral venues.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel