This archive report was first published on 16 June 2020.
On Wednesday, the Premier League will resume its season after a 100-day lockdown, with Liverpool poised to win the title in a football universe transformed by the coronavirus pandemic.
The English top flight follows Germany's Bundesliga and La Liga in Spain in rebooting their seasons, aiming to cram 92 games into six weeks of intense action.
Despite initial concerns from some clubs and players, 'Project Restart' has largely gone smoothly, with regular testing of players and staff yielding few positive cases.
However, the return of football will be a jarring spectacle, with an eerie silence in the usually noisy stands. To compensate, stadiums will feature piped crowd chants, cardboard cut-outs of supporters, and live video fan walls.
Only about 300 people will be allowed in stadiums for each match, with strict health protocols in place, including widespread disinfection of facilities and equipment.
Players have been told to maintain social distancing during goal celebrations and avoid spitting. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta acknowledged that the game will be different without the urgency provided by fans.
"The game is different," Arteta said in his pre-match press conference on Monday. "The intensity drops a little bit. That urgency from the crowd doesn’t exist any more, how passionate the crowds are in England. We have to adapt."
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith, however, expressed his team's eagerness to return to action, saying, "The eyes of the world will be on us and we are looking forward to it. The players have been itching to get back."
The hectic fixture list, warm summer temperatures, and lack of preparation time could lead to more injuries, prompting FIFA to allow five substitutions per match.
Some teams, including Aston Villa, have expressed concerns about the rule change, which they believe unfairly helps teams with bigger squads.
As the season resumes, the Black Lives Matter cause will also be visible, with players' names replaced on the back of their shirts with "Black Lives Matter" for the first 12 matches.
The subdued mood and constant fear of the virus will overshadow the remainder of a season that will always have an asterisk next to it in the history books.
