Premier League 'in contact with Fulham over midweek Tottenham game'

| 11 January 2021

Premier League 'in contact with Fulham over midweek Tottenham game'

Ten Aston Villa first-team players have tested positive for coronavirus.

The Premier League has been in contact with Fulham over the possibility of rescheduling their match against Tottenham for Wednesday night, the PA news agency understands.

Spurs are due to face Aston Villa on Wednesday but the match is in doubt, with 10 Villa first-teamers having tested positive for coronavirus.

If the game is postponed it would present a further fixture backlog for Spurs, who remain in the Europa League, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup and have already had their match against Fulham on December 30 postponed for the same reason.

We can confirm that our Premier League home fixture against Fulham, scheduled to take place this evening, has been postponed.#THFC ⚪️ #COYS

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 30, 2020

It is understood Fulham have been approached about playing Spurs this Wednesday. However, this would represent a significant and disruptive challenge for the west Londoners after their own Covid outbreak.

The Cottagers also played 120 minutes in the FA Cup against QPR on Saturday and face near-neighbours Chelsea on Friday.

Villa were forced to close their Bodymoor Heath training ground last Thursday and fielded a blend of under-23 and under-18 players in their FA Cup third-round defeat to Liverpool the following day.

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A post shared by Jose Mourinho (@josemourinho)

Spurs boss Jose Mourinho said he was preparing to face Villa on Wednesday unless told otherwise.

Speaking after his side’s FA Cup victory over Marine, the Portuguese said: “Nobody told me that I’m not going to play so (on Monday morning) we start to prepare for that game, and the same Tuesday unless somebody tells us different.”

The Villa and Tottenham match appears almost certain to be called off, with discussions centred around how the various moving pieces can be fitted together to cause least disruption to the fixture list.

Ahead of the season clubs agreed on guiding principles that would have to be followed to ensure the campaign could be finished, including the need for flexibility around fixture scheduling, sometimes at short notice.

Club Statement: Lincoln City fixture. #Salop

— Shrewsbury Town FC (@shrewsweb) January 11, 2021

In the EFL, Shrewsbury’s League One match against Lincoln has been postponed after two further positive Covid-19 tests at the Shropshire club.

The Shrews’ FA Cup tie against Southampton at the weekend had to be called off, with the Football Association’s Professional Game Board set to outline this week how to proceed.

A club statement read: “Following further rounds of testing for all staff and players who returned a negative test previously, the club has been notified of two further positive test results. The club has informed Shropshire Public Health and the EFL of the current situation.

“Therefore, we are reluctantly unable to fulfil our Sky Bet League One fixture with Lincoln City this Saturday following medical advice given to the club. This decision and our actions have been supported by Public Health Shropshire.”