The Premier League game between Newcastle United and Southampton which was scheduled to kick off on Sunday, January 2, has been postponed due to a high number of coronavirus cases at Newcastle.
Newcastle United had to write to the Premier League to request for the league game to be postponed since most of their outfield players are still out with different degrees of injuries and coronavirus infections.
This is the second time in a row that the Premier League has had to postpone a league game involving Newcastle United. Recall that Newcastle’s league game against Everton did not hold on Thursday because of the high number of injuries and coronavirus infections at Newcastle.
So far, the Premier League has had to postpone 17 Premier League games between December 5 and December 31st, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
Recall that last Monday, Newcastle United had to play against Manchester United with just eight players on the bench including two goalkeepers instead of 9 players. Still, they were able to end the game in a 1-1 draw.
After the game, the club confirmed that three of the players that played in the 1-1 draw – Allan Saint-Maximin, Callum Wilson, and Ryan Fraser have been injured. To make matters worse, the club’s left-back, Javier Manquillo had to serve a match suspension after picking up his 5th yellow card of the season.
Based on all these absentees, Newcastle United would not be able to name up to 13 outfield players and a goalkeeper for the league game against Southampton. Hence, the game had to be postponed.
Newcastle United are occupying the 19th spot on the league table with 11 points in 19 games, two points above safety. They have recorded 10 defeats, 8 draws, and just a win.
Meanwhile, the coach of Liverpool has said there is a possibility that the Premier League game between his team and Chelsea might be suspended.
The fate of the league game which is scheduled to kick off on Sunday night, 17:30 is hanging on the awaiting PCR test results.
Ahead of the Premier League showdown, Klopp revealed that a couple of backroom staff and members of his team have contracted the virus.
On whether the game would go on as planned, the German tactician said: “At this moment probably not but we don’t know how it will look in a few hours.
“We have three new Covid cases in the team and a few more in the staff, so it’s not cool at the moment.”
"You will see on the team sheet, it's pretty clear."
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 31, 2021
Jurgen Klopp has revealed three #LFC players will miss the trip to Chelsea after testing positive for Covid-19. pic.twitter.com/LTNaq9E3CB
If the Premier League game is canceled, Liverpool would have two outstanding league games to play this season. Third-placed Liverpool has played 19 league games so far while second-placed Chelsea have played 20 league games.
