Aston Villa hopeful FA Cup clash with Liverpool will go ahead, despite coronavirus outbreak
Aston Villa are hoping to ensure their FA Cup third round tie against Liverpool on Friday will go ahead, despite the Midlands club reporting a coronavirus outbreak.
The Villans closed their Bodymoor Heath training ground on Thursday afternoon after a number of players and staff returned positive Covid-19 tests.
That forced the cancellation of a pre-Liverpool training session, seemingly putting tomorrow evening's game at risk.
Discussions between the club, the FA and Premier League are ongoing, with no decision yet made over whether the fixture will be called off.
With their weekends and midweeks prior to the FA Cup fourth round already filled by Premier League games, it would be difficult for Villa to reschedule in the case of a postponement.
Consequently, Liverpool could be handed a bye into the next round or face a team comprised of youth players at Villa Park.
In a statment on the club's website, Aston Villa confirmed that they were working with the English FA to monitor the situation and hoped their clash with Liverpool would still go ahead.
"The Football Association and Aston Villa are working closely together to try to ensure that the club’s third round fixture with Liverpool can go ahead as planned at Villa Park tomorrow evening.
"Final confirmation will be made tomorrow pending the results of additional COVID-19 testing."