Athletic: West Brom game at risk after Newcastle outbreak sees first PL game postponed for Covid
The game between Aston Villa and Newcastle on Friday night has become the first Premier League game to be postponed because of Covid-19, but there could be knock-on effects for West Brom.
An outbreak at the Benton training ground at Newcastle led to the facilities being shut down and it won’t open again until Friday at the earliest.
The game was postponed because of the wider safety issues and not because of Newcastle being unable to put a team out.
Writing in The Athletic, it’s said that the Premier League will decide on these matters on a case-by-case basis with the over-reaching rule still holding that a game should go ahead if a team can field a starting XI and three subs.
The outbreak at Newcastle is said to be in double figures of positive cases and that could get worse.
Newcastle’s next game is against West Brom a week on Saturday and, according to The Athletic, that game could be at risk too.
The Athletic report says: “Newcastle’s next scheduled match is against West Bromwich Albion at St James’ Park on Saturday, December 12.
“It is hoped that the fixture will go ahead as planned but, with a self-isolation period being for a minimum of 10 days and then requiring a negative test, as well as the possibility of further cases being confirmed in the coming days, it entirely depends on just how significant the scale of the outbreak is and if Newcastle can get it sufficiently under control in time.”
Fixture congestion a problem West Brom can do without
First things first, we wish everyone at Newcastle a speedy recovery.
But, with fans going back into stadiums for the first time tonight, this is a stark reminder that we’re not out of the woods yet – far from it.
Aston Villa are already a game down on other sides after missing their first game of the season.
This will see their fixture list get even more congested with a hectic winter already ahead of them.
The Premier League won’t want to postpone any more fixtures than is necessary but there is a real possibility that the West Brom game could be in doubt.
If the outbreak gets worse and the training ground isn’t reopened, Newcastle could push for a further postponement.
We desperately hope that’s not the case. The best thing for the Baggies is to play the games when they’re supposed to lie in the fixture list and not have to start playing catch-up later in the season.
If Newcastle are forced to play a weakened team, it’s the same as what would happen if another illness swept the camp ahead of a game.
It’s unfortunate but both teams must be taken into account when naming a big decision like this.
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