Liverpool clash in danger? Aston Villa confirm training ground closure following ‘significant’ Covid outbreak
Last Updated: January 7, 2021 10:16 pm
‘Discussions ongoing’
The Villans and Reds are due to get their respective FA Cup campaigns underway on Friday.
As the heavyweights of English football take their place in the 3rd-round of the country’s oldest cup competition, Villa and Liverpool have been pitted against one another, in one of three all-Premier League ties.
Elsewhere, Wolves will play host to Crystal Palace, before Arsenal and Newcastle go head to head on Saturday.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta celebrates with the trophy after winning the Heads Up FA Cup final match at Wembley Stadium, London. (Photo by Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)
As outlined above, however, if the latest word stemming from Villa Park on Thursday is anything to go by, then Dean Smith’s squad may be in no condition to take to the pitch tomorrow night.
This comes on the back of a major outbreak of Covid-19 at the club.
In a post across the Claret and Blue’s social media platforms a short time ago, it was confirmed that ‘a large number’ of individuals, from both the playing and backroom staff, had returned positive coronavirus tests.
In turn, Villa’s training ground has been closed with immediate effect, as those affected enter a mandatory period of self isolation:
‘Aston Villa can confirm that the Club has closed its Bodymoor Heath training ground after a significant Coronavirus outbreak.’
‘A large number of first team players and staff returned positive tests after being routinely tested on Monday and immediately went into isolation.’
‘A second round of testing was carried out immediately and produced more positive results today.’
‘First team training ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup match with Liverpool was cancelled.’
It now remains to be seen whether Friday’s planned clash at Villa Park will be given the green light to go ahead, with the statement in question having concluded that:
‘Discussions are ongoing between medical representatives of the Club, the Football Association and the Premier League.’
Aston Villa can confirm that the Club has closed its Bodymoor Heath training ground after a significant Coronavirus outbreak.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 7, 2021
Saints to sit out
News of the concerning situation in Aston comes just hours after another of the FA Cup’s 3rd-round ties involving a Premier League club was postponed.
The fixture in question, which was due to see Southampton welcome Shrewsbury Town to St. Mary’s on Saturday, was officially called off this afternoon, on the back of a coronavirus spread amid the latter’s ranks:
This Saturday’s #EmiratesFACup tie will not take place as scheduled, following a number of positive Covid-19 tests at @shrewsweb.
We would like to send our best wishes to all those affected at Shrewsbury.
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) January 7, 2021
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This article was edited by Josh Barker.
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| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City FC | 32 | 44 | 74 |
| 2 | Manchester United FC | 31 | 27 | 63 |
| 3 | Leicester City FC | 31 | 18 | 56 |
| 4 | West Ham United FC | 31 | 12 | 55 |
| 5 | Chelsea FC | 31 | 19 | 54 |
| 6 | Liverpool FC | 31 | 16 | 52 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 31 | 17 | 49 |
| 8 | Everton FC | 30 | 3 | 48 |
| 9 | Arsenal FC | 31 | 8 | 45 |
| 10 | Leeds United | 31 | 0 | 45 |
| 11 | Aston Villa FC | 30 | 10 | 44 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 31 | -10 | 38 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace FC | 31 | -19 | 38 |
| 14 | Southampton FC | 31 | -17 | 36 |
| 15 | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 31 | -5 | 33 |
| 16 | Burnley FC | 31 | -17 | 33 |
| 17 | Newcastle United FC | 31 | -19 | 32 |
| 18 | Fulham FC | 32 | -18 | 26 |
| 19 | West Bromwich Albion | 31 | -31 | 24 |
| 20 | Sheffield United FC | 31 | -38 | 14 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 19 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 19 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 16 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 14 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 14 |
| Calvert-Lewin, Dominic | Everton FC | 14 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 13 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 12 |
| Watkins, Ollie | Aston Villa FC | 12 |
| Gundogan, Ilkay | Manchester City FC | 12 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 10 |
| Wilson, Callum | Newcastle United FC | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Ings, Danny | Southampton FC | 9 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City FC | 9 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace FC | 9 |
| Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 9 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United FC | 0 | 9 |
| Lundstram, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 8 |
| Gallagher, Conor | West Bromwich Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Bellerin, Hector | Arsenal FC | 0 | 8 |
| Milivojevic, Luka | Crystal Palace FC | 1 | 7 |
| Luiz, Douglas | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Hayden, Isaac | Newcastle United FC | 0 | 8 |
| Soucek, Tomas | West Ham United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United FC | 0 | 7 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 0 | 7 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 6 |
| Phillips, Kalvin | Leeds United | 0 | 7 |
| Evans, Jonny | Leicester City FC | 0 | 7 |
| Egan, John | Sheffield United FC | 1 | 6 |
| Targett, Matt | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 7 |
| Holgate, Mason | Everton FC | 0 | 7 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 1 | 6 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 0 | 6 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 0 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 13 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United FC | 11 |
| Grealish, Jack | Aston Villa FC | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City FC | 10 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur FC | 9 |
| Rashford, Marcus | Manchester United FC | 7 |
| Cresswell, Aaron | West Ham United FC | 7 |
| Bamford, Patrick | Leeds United | 6 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City FC | 6 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City FC | 6 |
| Pereira, Matheus | West Bromwich Albion | 6 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 6 |
| Raphinha | Leeds United | 6 |
| Werner, Timo | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Neto, Pedro | Wolverhampton Wanderers FC | 6 |
| Gross, Pascal | Brighton & Hove Albion FC | 6 |
| Digne, Lucas | Everton FC | 6 |
| Maddison, James | Leicester City FC | 5 |
| Antonio, Michail | West Ham United FC | 5 |
| Ward-Prowse, James | Southampton FC | 5 |
