Updated on 21 June 2020 to reflect the scenario after Manchester City beat Arsenal.
The English Premier League returns on Wednesday, with two EPL fixtures scheduled and Manchester City’s clash against Arsenal taking centre stage at the start of a frenetic dash to finish the season.
It’s been 100 days since the lockdown forced the league into lockdown, which means football-starved fans will have a glut of 92 games crammed into less than six weeks.
All games will played behind closed doors, so players will have to get used to the eerie silence in the usually noisy stands.
Piping crowd chants into stadiums, cardboard cut-outs of supporters and live video fan walls will add colour but the absence of fans, but might be a peculiar sight at first.
But it all comes down to business in the end.
First thing to settle is the matter of the title. Liverpool are on the brink of clicnhing their first English Premier League title for 30 years. But there are also issues like Champions League places and a heated relegation battle to figure out.
Relegation-threatened Aston Villa get the ball rolling on Wednesday with their home game against European hopefuls Sheffield United.
How soon can Liverpool win the title after lockdown?
A City defeat against Arsenal on Wednesday would mean leaders Liverpool would clinch the title if they won at Merseyside rivals Everton on Sunday. Liverpool sit on 82 points on the English Premier League table – some way ahead of closest rivals Manchester City on 57.
City went on to beat Arsenal, which means Liverpool now need a maximum of two wins from their last nine games to end the 30-year long wait for a Premier League title. They could be champions as soon as Monday if they beat Everton and Manchester City lose to Burnley 24 hours later.
Here’s how the EPL standings looked before the resumption of the league on 17 June 2020. ?
You can find the dynamic English Premier League table on our EPL page.
At the bottom of the table, Brighton, Watford, West Ham, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich will contest the relegation scrap.
Norwich are the only team almost certain of relegation – rooted at the bottom of the Premier League 2020 table. But they have a string of fixtures against fellow relegation scrappers looming, and could yet mount a late comeback against all the odds.