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Premier League return: The state of play as football prepares to return

Liverpool two wins from title; Fight for Champions League qualifying spots and relegation battle set to resume; Premier League football will return to Sky Sports with double-header tonight on June 17 - and 22 live games over opening fortnight

The Premier League is back
Image: With the English top-flight set to resume, Liverpool need just two wins to clinch the Premier League title

With the Premier League back on Wednesday, read our refresher on what needs to be decided at both ends of the table...

  • Coverage resumes on 17 June with Aston Villa vs Sheff Utd and Man City vs Arsenal
  • Further 20 games featuring all 20 clubs in the following 14 days - including Merseyside derby and Tottenham vs Man Utd
  • Sky Sports will show 64 matches - 39 exclusive to subscribers and an extra 25 available on Sky's free-to-air channel 'Pick'
  • £18 Premier League and Football channel offer

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What do Liverpool need to win the title?

Let's start at the top, where Liverpool are on the brink of their first-ever Premier League title and their first top-flight title in 30 years.

With a 25-point buffer on second-placed Manchester City, the Reds need just two more wins to become champions.

Everton away and Crystal Palace at Anfield are their next two fixtures...

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Here's a reminder of some of the magic, drama and controversies from the Premier League season so far.... and there's not long to wait until it's back!

The race for the top four - or is that five?

Behind the runaway Reds, Manchester City have a comfortable 12-point cushion on fifth-placed Manchester United. So, despite suffering home and away Premier League defeats to their neighbours this season - including a 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford last time out - the defending champions are almost certain to finish in the top four.

But City's place in next season's Champions League is far from certain. In February they were banned from the Champions League for the next two seasons due to breaching Financial Fair Play rules. That has raised the possibility that fifth place could be enough to secure a Champions League qualifying spot - City's appeal against their ban will be decided by the Court of Arbitration for Sport by the first half of July.

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Meanwhile, third-placed Leicester and fourth-placed Chelsea will be confident of making the cut, but there's also hope for Wolves and surprise package Sheffield United. Both sides trail Manchester United by two points, and Sheffield United have a game in hand, too. Tottenham and Arsenal won't have given up yet either. It's all to play for.

Race for the Golden Boot

Player Team Goals
Jamie Vardy Leicester 19
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Arsenal 17
Mohamed Salah Liverpool 16
Sergio Aguero Man City 16
Danny Ings Southampton 15

The relegation battle

The stakes are high for a number of teams at the other end of the table. Bottom-of-the-table Norwich have substantial ground to make up with a six-point gap between them and fourth-bottom Watford. But Aston Villa in 19th are confident about maintaining their Premier League status - they have a game in hand on the teams around them and would move out of the relegation zone by winning it.

Bournemouth, Watford and West Ham are all together on 27 points while Brighton are nervously looking over their shoulder in 15th, where they're just two points better off.

Race for the Golden Glove

Player Club Clean sheets
Nick Pope Burnley 11
Kasper Schmeichel Leicester 10
Alisson Liverpool 10
Dean Henderson Sheffield United 10

Form out of the window?

Usually, at this stage of the season, we'd be forensically analysing the form table. We'd be talking up Arsenal and Sheffield United for a late surge towards the Champions League spots, given they had picked up 12 and 11 points respectively in their last six games.

Arsenal fixtures | Aston Villa fixtures | Brighton fixtures | Bournemouth fixtures | Burnley fixtures | Chelsea fixtures | Crystal Palace fixtures | Everton fixtures | Leicester fixtures | Liverpool fixtures | Man City fixtures | Man Utd fixtures | Newcastle fixtures | Norwich fixtures | Sheff Utd fixtures | Southampton fixtures | Tottenham fixtures | Watford fixtures | West Ham fixtures | Wolves fixtures

And the relegation picture would be just as tricky to call, given Villa, Norwich, West Ham, Brighton and Watford had earned just four points each over their last six.

But how can we predict what shape each team will be in after such a long lay off? It's a cliche to say form goes out of the window at this stage of the season - but this year it really is the case.

The fit-again stars

Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur
Image: Jose Mourinho has Harry Kane back in his ranks

An interesting factor in the Premier League's return is what part previously injured players could have during the run-in.

Tottenham were expecting to be without Harry Kane for most of their remaining games but their star striker could now play a prominent role in their final nine games. Similarly, Manchester United pair Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford have had extra time to recover from their long-term injuries.

At the other end of the table, West Ham's survival hopes have been boosted by Andriy Yarmolenko, Tomas Soucek and Ryan Fredericks returning to fitness, while John McGinn is available for Aston Villa again after missing their previous 10 Premier League games with a broken ankle.

Read our feature here for a full rundown on each club's fit-again players.

The cup hopefuls

Of course, it's not just about the league at this stage of the season - there are trophies to be won, too. And for several Premier League sides, the cup competitions will be their key focus once football restarts.

Here's a reminder of where teams are currently up to in the cup competitions...

Champions League:

Round-of-16 ties still to be played: Man City (2) vs Real Madrid (1), Bayern Munich (3) vs Chelsea (0), Juventus (0) vs Lyon (1), Barcelona (1) vs Napoli (1).

Qualified for quarter-finals: PSG, Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, RB Leipzig.

Europa League:

Round of 16: Wolves (1) vs Olympiacos (1), Bayer Leverkusen (3) vs Rangers (1), Manchester United (5) vs LASK (0), Copenhagen (0) vs Istanbul Basaksehir (1), Shakhtar Donetsk (2) vs Wolfsburg (1), Inter Milan vs Getafe, Sevilla vs Roma, Basel (3) vs Eintracht Frankfurt (0).

FA Cup:

Quarter-finals: Leicester vs Chelsea, Newcastle vs Manchester City, Sheffield United vs Arsenal, Norwich vs Manchester United.

What's going to be different?

Football is back, then - but not quite as we know it. There will be some noticeable differences when the Premier League resumes on June 17.

Obviously the absence of supporters will be the most striking difference. However, fans watching at home will be able to choose to hear crowd noise with a special interactive feature. In partnership with EA SPORTS FIFA, Sky Sports has created a range of bespoke and team-specific crowd noises and chants to bring the vibrant atmosphere of the Premier League to the restart.

Meanwhile, at the stadium, there won't be any handshakes between players, while players have been asked to remain distant from team-mates during celebrations. Substitutes will sit apart from each other, while support staff will be seen wearing masks and gloves where appropriate.

There will also be more substitutes used. The Premier League has introduced a temporary ruling which will allow teams to make up to five substitutions. The idea is to help avoid injuries to players who have been out of action for the past three months.

What have we learned from Bundesliga?

The German Bundesliga has been back for a month - so what trends have we seen in that division which could hint at how the final weeks of this Premier League season will play out?

In the Bundesliga, there has been a big drop in home wins since the restart, with a lack of fans seemingly making life easier for away teams. Just 20.75 per cent of matches have been won by the home team since lockdown - down from 43 per cent for the first part of the season.

There have been big wins too, with 14 matches won by at least a three-goal margin. It seems the difference between teams can become exaggerated in this unusual environment.

And unfortunately, injuries have been an issue too, with 14 muscle injuries recorded on the first weekend back in Germany.

The confirmed fixtures - June 17 to July 2

Premier League fixtures for April 2019/20
Image: Sky Sports will show 64 live Premier League matches - including 25 free to air

Wed June 17: Aston Villa vs Sheff Utd - 6pm, Sky Sports

Wed June 17: Man City vs Arsenal - 8.15pm, Sky Sports

Fri June 19: Norwich vs Southampton - 6pm, Sky Sports, Sky Pick

Fri June 19: Tottenham vs Man Utd - 8.15pm , Sky Sports

Sat June 20: Watford vs Leicester - 12.30pm

Sat June 20: Brighton vs Arsenal - 3pm

Sat June 20: West Ham vs Wolves - 5.30pm, Sky Sports

Sat June 20: Bournemouth vs Crystal Palace - 7.45pm

Sun June 21: Newcastle vs Sheff Utd - 2pm, Sky Sports, Pick

Sun June 21: Aston Villa vs Chelsea - 4.15pm, Sky Sports

Sun June 21: Everton vs Liverpool - 7pm, Sky Sports, Pick

Mon June 22: Man City vs Burnley - 8pm, Sky Sports

Tue June 23: Leicester vs Brighton - 6pm, Sky Sports

Tue June 23: Tottenham vs West Ham - 8.15pm, Sky Sports

Wed June 24: Man Utd vs Sheff Utd - 6pm, Sky Sports, Pick

Wed June 24: Newcastle vs Aston Villa - 6pm

Wed June 24: Norwich vs Everton - 6pm

Wed June 24: Wolves vs Bournemouth - 6pm

Wed June 24: Liverpool vs Crystal Palace - 8.15pm, Sky Sports

Thu June 25: Burnley vs Watford - 6pm, Sky Sports, Pick

Thu June 25: Southampton vs Arsenal - 6pm, Sky Sports

Thu June 25: Chelsea vs Man City - 8.15pm

Sat June 27: Aston Villa vs Wolves - 12.30pm

Sun June 28: Watford vs Southampton - 4.30pm, Sky Sports, Pick

Mon June 29: Crystal Palace vs Burnley - 8pm

Tue June 30: Brighton vs Man Utd - 8.15pm, Sky Sports, Pick

Wed July 1: Bournemouth vs Newcastle - 6pm, Sky Sports, Pick

Wed July 1: Arsenal vs Norwich - 6pm

Wed July 1: Everton vs Leicester - 6pm, Sky Sports

Wed July 1: West Ham vs Chelsea - 8.15pm, Sky Sports

Thu July 2: Sheff Utd vs Tottenham - 6pm, Sky Sports

Thu July 2: Man City vs Liverpool - 8.15pm, Sky Sports

Watch the Premier League with Sky Sports

The Premier League 2019/20 season will provisionally restart on Wednesday, June 17 and Sky, the UK's leading football broadcaster, will make 25 games available 'free to air' - including Everton vs Liverpool on the first full weekend back - for everyone in the UK to enjoy.

Sky Sports will show 64 live Premier League games when the season resumes. In addition to the 39 matches already scheduled to be broadcast exclusively live on Sky Sports before the coronavirus interruption, 25 more matches will be available on both Sky Sports Premier League and Sky's free-to-air Pick channel, allowing the whole nation to be part of the return of live sport.

Free-to-watch highlights of every remaining Premier League game this season will be available from shortly after the full-time whistle on the Sky Sports website, Sky Sports App and Sky Sports Football YouTube channel.

To celebrate the return of the Premier League, Sky Sports will also launch a host of innovative new features and updates to give fans an even more immersive experience and share the moments live with family and friends on virtual platforms.

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