Both Swansea City and Millwall have reported Covid positive tests prior to Sunday’s game at the new den. The Boxing Day fixture is currently scheduled for a 3pm kick off on Sunday with the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 very much an issue in London.

Wales Economic Minister Vaughan Gethin announced a full closure of all sporting venues in Wales this week, however that does not prevent swans fans travelling to Millwall for this weekends game. Both the swans and the lions had their games called off last weekend, Millwall were unable to fulfil their fixture citing they were unable to field a team due to the amount of players and staff who had tested positive. The swans had their fixture at QPR called off for the same reasons at the west London club.

Whatever Millwall have done in the interim between one game and the next will have to be revolutionary in terms of preventing new infections, and of course ensuring those players and staff recover as best as possible. Although it wasn’t confirmed it is believed Millwall have nine players who were or are isolating. They also have injuries, the prime player out is Jed Wallace who is struggling to find fitness after a quad strain, and if this game goes ahead he won’t play. There is speculation as to who the Swansea City players are who are currently isolating, however we haven’t had this confirmed.

Lions chief executive Steve Kavanagh said this week. “This is a dark cloud looming for football. We saw in the Championship last year all we got were loans, and that feels like an eight million pound millstone that has been hung around our necks at the moment. I worry about going behind closed doors and I even worry about even socially-distanced crowds, because the financial consequences on a league that is already known to be a financial basket case could be really quite dramatic. The majority of last season was played behind closed doors, while the final months of the 2019-20 campaign also had to be completed without fans after the coronavirus pandemic brought the season to a temporary halt”

He conceded operating at reduced crowds would pose logistical and financial challenges for clubs in England but laid bare the bleak outlook for Championship teams if they were to receive no financial help from the Government. “It is not as easy as having socially-distanced reduced crowds, it is not that easy, but that doesn't mean we should go to no crowds because that is financial Armageddon,' Kavanagh said. We have no financial support as other industries - even League One and Two got grants and some of those clubs managed to make profits during that period. You then have the Championship that is on its knees and the Premier League, who have spent £1billion in the transfer market”

It will be remarkable if this game goes ahead. However, increased pressure from EFL Chairmen is bound to have an effect. In hindsight a more collective process between the EFL and premier league should have been considered. Of course the premier league stand to lose millions in clauses and paybacks to Amazon if their Christmas fixtures don’t go ahead.

Swansea City have more testing today which they are being very open about, and again tomorrow. It is expected that by Christmas Eve afternoon both clubs will report their positive test results and the EFL will decide upon the necessity to play this game. Millwall on the other hand have said little since they had their last game against Preston postponed, and they haven’t reported their testing results from Wednesday. Not that helpful for fans making Christmas plans. But when you read Kavanagh’s concerns above, then two and two do actually make four. Hence his silence ? Of course, it could be that if positive tests increase at Swansea and Millwall the game could be the subject of consideration for postponement later today.

The swans, positive COVID-19 tests aside have no injury concerns, and are still smarting from their 4-1 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest on December 11th. If this game in London goes ahead then it will be both clubs first games for two weeks. The swans then entertain Luton Town behind closed doors next Wednesday, a fixture which even though is only a week away is too distant to call. A reminder this game is now scheduled for a 7pm kick off to enable Luton Town to travel on the day of the game and negate overnight logistical issues.

We will keep you updated today before we break for two days tomorrow.

Photographs licensed from Reuters

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