Premier League announce February games will be shown live in UK

"These plans have been made with the co-operation of our broadcast partners, working with us to deliver these additional matches while stadiums are missing the supporters who are such an integral part of the game."

All games in December were available live after the league moved away from a much-criticised pay-per-view model.

It was introduced for the games which followed the October international break, with fans needing to pay £14.95 to watch matches not selected for regular television broadcast in the UK.

The move drew immediate criticism from supporters, who in many cases opted to give the money to charitable causes such as food banks instead.

It looks highly likely that all remaining games this season will also be made available to watch live after Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said last week that he expects the remainder of the campaign to be played behind closed doors.

Capacities of up to 2,000 were allowed at some grounds when the regionalised tier system came into effect in early December, which saw a return of spectators for the first time since March.

However, a variant strain of the coronavirus led to a sharp rise in infections and forced the country into another national lockdown and Masters does not think supporters will return in 2020/21.