Premier League's Project Restart: The best games still to be played

The English top-flight will return on 17 June and there's still plenty of games worth watching

12:00pm on Wednesday 3rd June 2020
By Martin Macdonald

After dozens of meetings and hour upon hour of discussion the Premier League will finally return on 17 June, with two midweek games before a full card on 20 June.

Liverpool have been champions-elect for a while now, but the race for the European positions and the battle to avoid relegation are still fiercely contested.

Due to no fans being in attendance, the Premier League has made the decision to not play any two matches simultaneously in order to gain the feel of a World Cup.

That has presented a huge opportunity for broadcasters, with a combination of Sky Sports, BT Sports, Amazon Prime and the BBC ensuring every single fixture will be available to watch.

But you won't have time to watch every fixture of the nine of the full cards remaining, so what are the biggest matches worth tuning in for?

17 June

Manchester City v Arsenal

Even if second-placed City can win their game in hand before Liverpool return to action, they will still be a mammoth 22 points adrift of Jurgen Klopp's side. Indeed, they should be more concerned with Leicester in third, but can go seven points clear of them if they defeat Arsenal.

The Gunners, meanwhile, are currently in down in ninth, but can move to within five points of Chelsea in fourth should they win at the Etihad.

Matchday 30 - Weekend of 20 June

Tottenham v Manchester United

The pursuit of the final Champions League qualifying position is wide open, with Chelsea currently in that position on 48 points. Man Utd are three points behind, while Spurs are a further seven points adrift, with Jose Mourinho's side needing a drastic reversal of fortune from their poor form prior to lockdown.

The last time they met, United ran out 2-0 winners thanks to a double from Marcus Rashford.

Everton v Liverpool

Should Man City fail to win against Arsenal a few days before this clash, then Liverpool could win their first Premier League title in the Merseyside Derby against city rivals, Everton.

Matchday 31

Liverpool v Crystal Palace

This will be the first opportunity the Reds have to claim their first Premier League title, if the top two teams win all their fixtures up until this point.

Matchday 32

Manchester City v Liverpool

If Liverpool were to drop points in one of the aforementioned fixtures, then they could potentially win the Premier League 'away' against their title rivals. Even though Klopp's men will win the league, City will be eager to avoid the embarrassment of the celebrations taking place on their own patch.

Matchday 33

Norwich v Brighton

After 29 fixtures played, Norwich are bottom of the Premier League with just 21 points. Even though they appear doomed, a seven-point gap to make up to avoid relegation is not insurmountable.

They will highlight this match as one in which they could potentially pick up three points. Brighton, currently in 15th, can't afford a bad end-of-season run.

Matchday 34

Arsenal v Leicester

By this point, there should be a clearer indication of what both sides need to do with a keen eye on the Champions League positions. The Gunners will probably have needed to pick up a generous amount of points by Matchday 34 if they are to still be in with a chance, though.

On paper, these are the games that could prove vital from Matchday 35 onwards: