English Premier League clubs have reportedly agreed to host their remaining fixtures at approved neutral venues.
The campaign is currently on hold due to the new coronavirus pandemic and plans for a restart are underway. The top-flight sides held a meeting on Friday via video conference and were told they cannot use their own stadiums for any resumption of games this season.
According to The Sun, all clubs agreed to the proposal with eight to ten neutral stadiums to be used without any fan allowed to attend.
The venues, all of which will be current premiership stadiums, will be confirmed in the next two weeks.
Stadiums which are situated in congested urban areas such as the Anfield and Stamford Bridge will not be considered because of high chances that fans could converge.
The publication says the strongest candidates for the eight grounds in the Premier League are:
- Brighton’s Amex and Southampton’s St Mary’s on the south coast.
- West Ham’s London Stadium and Arsenal’s Emirates home in the capital.
- Leicester’s King Power and Aston Villa’s ground, Villa Park, in the Midlands.
- Old Trafford and the Etihad in Manchester, providing a north-west base.
Once the neutral venues are confirmed, no club will play in its own stadium, to try to ensure a degree of equality in the unprecedented circumstances.
