The month of June comes with great news for sports lovers who have been yearning for live football matches for almost 100 days.
Following a couple of months of limited sporting events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things are slowly starting to get back to normal around the world.
“Recent world events have seen the curtailment of live sport around the globe, and even as we commit to maintaining the entertainment with the chance to ‘ReLive’ classic matches, documentaries and the greatest sports films of all time, we know that nothing beats real-time sports action, so we welcome the return of live sports to our screens” says Chief Customer Officer, Martin Mabutho.
For football fans, this includes the resumption of three major European leagues: the Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A! All three confirmed their restart dates last week, with Spain’s LaLiga the first to return to the screens on the evening of Thursday 11 June with the Seville derby of Sevilla v Real Betis. A further nine fixtures to complete a full round will be played over the weekend of 12-14 June.
“There are more than 130 people at LaLiga working so that everything can be done, in a new way: travelling, organisation, everything,” said LaLiga president Javier Tebas.
“We’re prepared and the important thing will be the day we finish the competition. The next will start on September 12.”
LaLiga’s resumption sees the titanic title tussle between Barcelona and Real Madrid come back into focus, with just two points separating the teams at the top of the log. Los Blancos appeared to have more momentum behind them, having beaten Barcelona in Madrid in early March before the league was suspended, but the break has since allowed the Catalans to regroup and recover from a major spate of injuries.
The next to follow in resuming will be the Premier League, which will hold two catch-up fixtures – Manchester City v Arsenal and Aston Villa v Sheffield United – on Wednesday 17 June, before a first full round of fixtures running from Friday 19 to Monday 22 June.
All eyes will be on leaders Liverpool, who only need 2 more wins in order to be crowned 2019/2020 champions, their first top-flight championship in 30 years. Their first game back will be away to Everton (with the match possibly set to be played at a neutral venue) – depending on the result of Manchester City’s earlier matches, the Reds could clinch the title with victor against their cross-town rivals!
Italy’s Serie A will also resume on the weekend of 19-21 June, and bring with it one of the most thrilling title races anywhere in Europe. Champions Juventus hold a one-point lead over nearest chasers Lazio, who have become one of the most entertaining and effective teams in the Italian topflight. Internazionale are also on the fringes of the title race and could bring themselves back into contention if they win their game in hand.
