Premier League to use neutral grounds for remaining games - Know the Stadiums

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Bengaluru, May 4: The discussions are already in motion for the Premier League season to be resumed but behind closed doors and with adequate restrictions.

The Premier League recently released a statement saying that clubs are committed to completing the 2019/20 season. They also emphasised that any return to training and match action would only happen if the government gave the green signal.

Apparently the FA plan to start general training from May 18, with the first Premier League fixtures set to take place on Friday, June 12. However, there is likely to be enough limitation to follow the suit.

One big recommendation that has been proposed by the recent discussion is that the remaining games will not be played with the home/away rules. As per the proposal, FA will use eight to 10 approved, neutral venues for the remaining 92 games.

No team will play in their own stadium in an effort to ensure a degree of equality. Moreover, these grounds have to be located outside of the city centre and modern with top-flight requirements. All these games are likely to be behind the closed doors.

As of now the neutral grounds for the completion of this campaign have not been finalised. But these are the eight stadiums that are rumoured to play a part in this program.

The Amex Stadium

Brighton are one of the clubs to publicly oppose plans to try to restart the season in neutral stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic. However, their stadium is reportedly under consideration. It is six miles away from Brighton city centre.

The London Stadium

West Ham's home ground is another stadium in the list of consideration. It is six miles from the centre of London.

The Etihad Stadium

The Citizen's home ground is located a mile and a half outside of the Manchester city centre and is in zone two. It could also be preferred.

St Mary's Stadium

Southampton's home stadium is around a mile outside of the Southampton city centre, which is considerably more sparsely populated than Manchester and London, hence ticking all the boxes.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

The newly built stadium is also under the plan as it is eight miles from the city centre.

The Emirates Stadium

Arsenal's base could also be used as a neutral venue with the ground located in a less populated zone. The 60,000 seater ground is placed in Holloway, four miles away from the centre of London.

The Vitality Stadium

Bournemouth's ground is two miles outside of the town and has a considerably smaller population than the likes of other big cities.

The King Power

Leicester's ground is another stadium that could be used located a mile from Leicester city centre.

Wembley

The only stadium with no clubs being involved. The stadium for England's national games and domestic cup final fixtures is always regarded as the ultimate neutral venue. It is also under consideration as it is eight miles outside the city centre.

Besides all these Old Trafford and St George’s Park are also understood to have been taken as options. However, top grounds including Anfield and Stamford Bridge are certain to be ruled out as it is located in congested urban areas and fans could gather in the vicinity of the stadiums.