The Football Association (FA) have said that the Aston Villa-Liverpool FA Cup third round match on Friday night may be postponed with a decision to be made on the day of the game.
Aston Villa put out a statement on Thursday after the entire first-team squad and staff were sent into self isolation following an outbreak, with the club working with the FA.
“The Football Association and Aston Villa are working closely together to try to ensure that the club’s FA Cup third round proper fixture with Liverpool can go ahead as planned at Villa Park,” the FA statement said.
“Final confirmation will be made tomorrow (Friday) pending the results of additional COVID-19 testing.”
The situation is the latest in a series of matches which have been affected by the increasing COVID-19 risk in the United Kingdom, with several Premier League matches postponed in December.
Villa have closed their Bodymoor Heath training ground due to “a significant coronavirus outbreak”.
“A large number of first team players and staff returned positive tests after being routinely tested on Monday and immediately went into isolation,” Villa said in a statement.
“A second round of testing was carried out immediately and produced more positive results today.”
Wolverhampton are also scheduled to play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup on Friday night, but the Villa clash was keenly anticipated after they thrashed league champions Liverpool 7-2 earlier in the season.
On Saturday in the FA Cup third round, Arsenal host Newcastle in a rare all-Premier League affair, while Manchester United entertain second tier Watford at Old Trafford.
On Sunday, Manchester City welcome Championship side Birmingham City, while Chelsea host League Two club Morecambe and Tottenham go to eighth tier Marine in Crosby.
