The time has finally come with the Bundesliga in full swing for three weeks now and doing well with having no fans present, and having subs wear masks on the bench, we have finally gotten word from the other three power leagues in Europe who had yet to make a decision.
It all started when the Barclays Premier League announced that after no play for 80 days in England the league will start back up on June 17th, which will take the total days without soccer in England to over 100. It will start back up on that Wednesday with two matches Manchester City vs. Arsenal and Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United. By playing these two games on the first day all teams will be on 29 games played, with nine remaining.
As far as the table goes Liverpool is currently 25 points clear of Manchester City and can reclaim the title after 30 years in the first weekend with their match against Everton. The battle for Champions League spots for next year are still in play with Leicester, Chelsea, and Manchester United sitting in the spots to claim those positions. However, Wolves, Sheffield United, Tottenham, and Arsenal all still have a shot as they are only 2-5 points behind the last spot. The Premier League is scheduled to finish around the end of July.
The next league to make an announcement about returning is Serie A who have announced that they will make their comeback the weekend of July 20th. The Serie A is a little behind the Premier League when it comes to games played as each team still needs to play either 12-13 games. This comes at no surprise that Serie A will most likely finish their season August 1st.
The title race however is definitely closer than the Premier League’s. Juventus is only one point above Lazio, with Inter only six points behind and with a game in hand. It will be a very exciting finish to the season to see if Juventus can make it nine league titles in a row or if Lazio, Inter, or a team out of left field steals the title from under their feet.
Lastly La Liga came out and they have arranged for their season to start back up on June 11th a whole week before the Premier League and Serie A. The La Liga teams are all on 27 games played with 11 still needing to be played. The league should finish up their season a little before the Premier League aiming for a finish date of July 20th.
The title race like always comes down to Barcelona and Real Madrid as Barcelona holds a two point advantage over Real Madrid. With already playing each other twice it will just be a race to see who trips up and who can take home the league title.
All of these games will be played behind closed doors, and the biggest concern for all of the leagues is for the safety of its players and staff. I hope that this will work out well, just as the Bundesliga is having success and that sports can finally come back for good.
