News analysis: Coronavirus pandemic

Tottenham could be biggest winners of the EPL hiatus

For some, Project Restart will be Project Repeat. For others, it will be Project Reboot. When the Premier League resumes after a three-month hiatus, there will be clubs hoping for smooth continuity from a winter when they were in form and others aiming for a fresh beginning as they look to consign poor results to the past.

There will be winners and losers from the dramatic change in circumstances. Most obviously, there are squads that have been radically reshaped without anything happening. Now almost everyone is fit again when, in some cases, they may have been spectators or bit-part players.

Tottenham were facing the prospect of potentially completing the campaign without Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn. Now their forward line looks altogether more potent.

Manchester United have added firepower in the shape of Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba.

Manchester City were minus Aymeric Laporte and Leroy Sane and should be at full strength now.

Chelsea were deprived of seven players, including top scorer Tammy Abraham, while Bournemouth had a similarly lengthy injury list. Each might now be able to name a first-choice team.

Aston Villa propped up the form table but now have the catalytic John McGinn back.

Their relegation rivals Brighton were alone among the 91 Premier League and English Football League clubs: Only they have no win of any kind this year. Perhaps a break has rescued them from a downward spiral.

Spurs, playing dreadfully in March, must also hope so. They could gain twice from the hiatus.

Likewise, teams who acquired momentum risk losing it through no fault of their own.

Overachievers may become losers after inactivity. Burnley had taken 15 points from seven games, conceding just three goals, when football stopped.

Harry Kane warming up during a Tottenham training session before the Premier League was suspended in March. The three-month hiatus has allowed the striker to recover from an operation on his hamstring and he is set to feature when action resumes this
Harry Kane warming up during a Tottenham training session before the Premier League was suspended in March. The three-month hiatus has allowed the striker to recover from an operation on his hamstring and he is set to feature when action resumes this month. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

Sheffield United had 14 from seven as they embarked on an unlikely challenge for a Champions League spot.

One worrying sign for both is that Bundesliga underdogs who have relied on similar attributes, of industry and organisation, in Augsburg and Union Berlin, have found results elusive in a world without fans to generate atmosphere.

It may be unrealistic to expect even the elite to recreate past performances in different circumstances. United should have greater attacking impetus but had only conceded twice in 11 games. Keeping a defence that well-drilled over Zoom and in socially-distanced training sessions is no easy task.

Arsenal have the division's only unbeaten run this year but will progress under Mikel Arteta have disappeared in a void of a spring?

And they could be losers in a second respect: David Luiz is out of contract on June 30. Arsenal could be without him for the final month, just as Spurs may be deprived of Jan Vertonghen, Bournemouth of Ryan Fraser and Chelsea of Pedro.

The top clubs should have one advantage. Using five substitutes per game could penalise the smaller teams. They do not have the same strength in depth and Norwich City's 16th man, whoever he is, will not be of the same standard as Manchester City's. If games are decided by substitutes, it favours those with high-class understudies.

The stragglers could suffer in other ways. The Bundesliga's raft of away wins suggests there is no such thing as home advantage without crowds. Villa have six home games remaining and the rest of the bottom six five apiece. They may have thought their survival hopes rested on their ability to upset more talented teams - Villa still have to host Chelsea, Wolves, United and Arsenal while Brighton have Arsenal, United, Liverpool and City - besides relegation rivals. Watford and Villa are still to visit West Ham, in familiar surroundings. Now each could lose the footballing benefits of staging a game.

And the winners could be losers in a different way. Liverpool will secure the title, but they will not win it or celebrate it in a packed Anfield. In football's new normal, it will be a lonelier, emptier triumph.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on June 04, 2020, with the headline Tottenham could be biggest winners of the EPL hiatus. Subscribe