Liverpool Could Clinch The Premier League Title In Southampton
Wednesday, 10th Jun 2020 08:28

The game is only just over a week away but there is still doubt about whether Everton can host neighbours Liverpool at Goodison Park, Saints St Mary's stadium is being reported as the potential venue for the game.

If Manchester City lose their catch up game at home to Arsenal next Wednesday then Liverpool would be able to clinch the title by beating Everton at Goodison Park, however playing that game scheduled for Sunday 21st June with a 7pm kick off is still deemed a risk.

A safety advisory group is set to meet on this morning to make the decision over the licence, including representatives from the police, ambulance, and fire services, as well as supporters' groups.

The worry is that if Liverpool could win the title by beating Everton, there is potential for supporters to congregate outside Goodison Park in contravention of social distancing rules, that in itself would be bad enough, but given the explosive nature of the derby game, this could lead to more than just celebration in the streets.

There is also questions being asked about whether Manchester City could themselves host Liverpool in the 3rd round of comeback games on Thursday 2nd July, although it would seem unlikely that the Title race would go that far with Liverpool hosting Crystal Palace inbetween.

Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson has said he 'would have no objection to the games being played at our clubs' home grounds, both the derby at Goodison and Liverpool's games at Anfield.'

There is a chance the decision over the venue for the derby may be delayed until next week, after Manchester City take on Arsenal in the first Premier League game to be played since lockdown began, if they win that game then the Everton game will not see Liverpool able to win the title and that will take away a lot of the potential for disorder.

If the safety advisory committee deems it unsafe for this game to go ahead at Goodison then it is being claimed that St Mary's will be the venue for a Merseyside derby, this in itself isn't something unique both teams have met in the FA & League cups outside of Liverpool, namely the Old Wembley in finals and Manchester in semi finals & a replay of the League cup final.

Other stadiums are being considered namely Wembley, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester, but all are not seen as that suitable due to several reason's hence St Mary's is the favourite, not least due to geographical reasons.

Personally I would say that Brighton's Amex Stadium is a more suitable candidate if only for it's isolated location meaning that it could effectively be put into lockdown in a manner that St Mary's could not be.

This being the case I would say that leaking the news that St Mary's could be used may be a stalking horse and a last minute substitution made to ensure that no Liverpool supporters make the trip.

Photo: Action Images

Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.