London (AFP)
While the 18th day of the Premier League will be spread over 6 days between 12 and 21 January, Manchester United will try from Tuesday to take the lead of the championship on the road to Burnley for a late match of the first day.
The calendar for mid-January is quite complicated to read in England, with this day scattered like a puzzle, straddling the 19th lift, contested from the 15th to the 18th.
He was even more upset when the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic in England caused the postponement of the match between Aston Villa and Tottenham, scheduled for Wednesday, because several players and staff of the Birmingham squad were tested positive.
At the same time as this atypical day, the Premier League will nevertheless take the opportunity to catch up some of its delay, by allowing the two Manchester teams to play their match of the 1st day, postponed due to their European career in August, and in Tottenham to play Wednesday a match initially scheduled for December 30 against Fulham.
Tied on points with Liverpool (33) but ahead of goal difference, the Red Devils will go from Tuesday to poorly classified Clarets (16th).
The opportunity to take the lead is great for very good Mancuniens on the road since the start of the season, but Sean Dyche's men are on an excellent dynamic with 10 points taken over the last 5 days.
United will then play their Matchday 18 fixture on Wednesday, January 20, going to relegation Fulham.
Manchester City will travel to Aston Villa on Wednesday 20 to play their late match, but before that, as part of Matchday 18, Pep Guardiola's men will host Brighton on Wednesday 13 January, which is barely staying out of the zone red.
In ambush in 5th place at 4 lengths of the Reds, but with two games less, City can invite themselves on the podium, or even better, with these two matches.
Liverpool will however have the final say in this race for first place, as they will play the last game of the 18th act, on Thursday 21, receiving Burnley.
Among the other posters of the 18th day, the duel between Leicester, 3rd one point behind the coleaders, and Chelsea, 9th and relegated to 7 points from the top, will be capital for the Londoners and their coach Frank Lampard, under pressure after the colossal investments summer, which do not seem to bear the expected fruits.
Schedule for Matchday 18 of the British Championship and late matches:
Tuesday January 12:
(19h00) Sheffield United v Newcastle
(9:15 p.m.) Wolverhampton - Everton
Burnley - Manchester United (Matchday one late)
Wednesday January 13:
(7:00 p.m.) Manchester City - Brighton
(9:15 p.m.) Tottenham - Fulham
Thursday January 14:
(9 p.m.) Arsenal - Crystal Palace
Tuesday January 19:
(7:00 p.m.) West Ham - West Bromwich Ablbion
(9:15 p.m.) Leicester - Chelsea
Wednesday January 20:
(7:00 p.m.) Leeds - Southampton
(9:15 p.m.) Fulham - Manchester United
Manchester City - Aston Villa (Matchday one late)
Thursday January 21:
(9:00 p.m.) Liverpool - Burnley
Postponed due to Covid cases:
Aston Villa - Tottenham
Ranking: Pts JGNP bp bc dif
1. Liverpool 33 17 9 6 2 37 21 16
2. Manchester United 33 16 10 3 3 33 24 9
3. Leicester 32 17 10 2 5 31 21 10
4. Tottenham 29 16 8 5 3 29 15 14
5. Manchester City 29 15 8 5 2 24 13 11
6. Southampton 29 17 8 5 4 26 19 7
7. Everton 29 16 9 2 5 26 20 6
8. Aston Villa 26 15 8 2 5 29 16 13
9. Chelsea 26 17 7 5 5 32 21 11
10. West Ham 26 17 7 5 5 24 21 3
11. Arsenal 23 17 7 2 8 20 19 1
12. Leeds United 23 17 7 2 8 30 33 -3
13. Wolverhampton 22 17 6 4 7 18 24 -6
14. Crystal Palace 22 17 6 4 7 22 29 -7
15. Newcastle 19 16 5 4 7 18 26 -8
16. Burnley 16 15 4 4 7 9 20 -11
17. Brighton 14 17 2 8 7 21 28 -7
18. Fulham 11 15 2 5 8 13 23 -10
19. West Brom 8 17 1 5 11 11 39 -28
20. Sheffield United 2 17 0 2 15 8 29 -21
Editor's note: The first four qualified for the Champions League
The 5th qualifier for the group stage of the Europa League
The last three are relegated
© 2021 AFP