The Premier League return is edging closer but a host of drastic measures will be put in place for the game to resume behind closed doors under Project Restart next month.
The coronavirus pandemic has halted the English top flight in its tracks, but matches without fans now appears to be moving nearer – in Germany the Bundesliga is preparing for its first round of fixtures this weekend.
Talks continue on
But how would the so-called ‘ghost games’ work and how would a typical Premier League Saturday 3pm matchday look in these new, strange circumstances. Here, Sportsmail takes a look…
Premier League matches look set to go ahead in their usual stadiums when matches return
Friday afternoon
The build-up to the match will begin at around 1pm on Friday afternoon, with the home team arriving at the stadium for a training session.
This is not a rare occurrence in the Premier League, but the lack of crowd is likely to become the norm as players try to acclimatise to playing at empty stadia around the country.
By around 2:30pm, the session will finish and the players can enjoy some downtime with around 24 hours to go until the match.
Like Bayern Munich in Germany this week, players will train at their stadiums on a Friday
Friday evening
While it is not unusual for Premier League teams to stay in a hotel the night before a match, health and safety will be ramped up to make this pre-match routine far different from anything they’ve experienced before.
Both the home team and away team will stay in a separate hotel the night before the match, following the lead of the Bundesliga as they get set for their own return to action this weekend.
Players will all be in separate rooms, while it has been recommended that the team have an entire floor – or even better, an entire hotel – to themselves to avoid any potential contact with the outside world.
Friday evening will see players arrive at their team hotels to stay together before a match
Away teams will typically travel to the area of the match and stay close to the stadium the night before, but with games between two London sides, for example, the away team are likely to stay in their home match hotel.
Players will arrive at the hotel at around 7pm, before a team meeting with the manager takes place at 8pm. From there, the players can relax in their rooms or spend some downtime together.
Elsewhere, at the stadium, a deep clean will be taking place to ensure everything is ready for the big match the following day. Changing rooms, and all areas the players walk through or use, will be spotless by the time they arrive at the venue.
Saturday, 8am
While the players rest at their hotel, the matchday routine will begin at the stadium with security staff present outside the ground to ensure that only the vital few are allowed to enter the premises.
There will be tight security throughout the day, with passes needing to be shown to get through the gates and into the stadium.
First to arrive are a few club officials and the groundsmen to tend to the pitch and ensure that everything is ready for kick-off seven hours later.
The groundsmen will be among the first to arrive at the stadium to tend to the pitch
Saturday, 10am
At the team hotel, the players will be having a meal and going through their usual pre-match activities, which could include a tactical meeting and watching clips of their opponents to prepare for the match. At this stage, not a lot will be different for the players as they are kept out of the way of any outsiders.
At the stadium, more personnel are beginning to arrive, including extra security staff to take the numbers up to around 30.
At around 10am, some technical officials will make their way into the stadium, including three for VAR and three for Hawk-Eye. Television production staff and those needed for satellite feeds will also arrive to set up for the match that afternoon.
In all, around 150 people will already be present at the stadium, about half of the total number. Of course, most of the security staff will be positioned around the stadium and not allowed within the actual building for safety reasons.
Plenty of security will be present to ensure that fans stay away from the Premier League stadia
Saturday, 12pm
More arrivals at the stadium as police officers, firefighters and paramedics all turn up to take their positions. Police will assist security staff in ensuring fans do not try to welcome the teams to the stadium or attempt to watch the behind-closed-doors game.
St John’s Ambulance staff will also be present as the Premier League do their best to not take doctors and nurses away from NHS hospitals in the nation’s time of need.
Some members of the coaching staff and team personnel will also arrive at midday, including the kit man to set up the players’ kit in the dressing room. In the hour before 1pm, everything will be prepared for the players’ arrival, including the tactical board, massage table, and all food and drink in the dressing room.
Other matchday staff will also be present at this time, including four doping control officers, four people to move the matchday furniture, scoreboard operators, and three members of staff from the Premier League – a matchday coordinator, a match delegate, and a match manager.
There is talk of temperature checks on arrival at the stadium, as will take place at Bundesliga grounds, but no final decision has yet been made on this.
Some members of the team staff will arrive early to prepare the dressing rooms for the players – Liverpool’s at their Anfield ground is pictured
Referees will arrive separately and get themselves ready in a room away from the players – Anthony Taylor is pictured
Saturday, 1pm
The squads will leave their respective hotels, although their arrival at the stadium will be staggered to ensure they do not enter the facilities at the same time. It is likely to be recommended, as it has in Germany, that players exit the hotel from a different entrance to the public if they don’t have the place to themselves to ensure they stay well clear of any potential infection.
It is expected that rather than squeeze onto one coach as usual before the journey to a match, the players and staff will be split between numerous vehicles to help with social distancing. All the vehicles will have been disinfected beforehand and the players are able to wear masks and protective equipment if they desire.
Upon their arrival at the stadium, the players will head to the dressing room – already prepared for them by staff – to begin their preparations and get their kit on for the match. Every room that the players enter will have hand sanitising stations.
During the players’ arrival, security outside the stadium will be stepped up to ensure fans cannot get near them. Police and security staff will be on hand to disperse any groups of fans that are arriving.
Players, such as Manchester United’s Harry Maguire, will head straight to their disinfected dressing room ahead of the match
Saturday, 1:30pm
At this stage, most of those present in the stadium for the match will have arrived and be setting up their equipment. That includes all media, of which there will be around 130 across all different publications.
There will be between 77 and 100 TV and radio staff, 28 written press, two photographers, plus club media, all setting up for the match and to ensure that millions outside the few hundred in the stadium will be able to follow what is happening in the Premier League match.
The match officials will have also arrived in their own transport and will be in the referee’s room getting themselves ready. They too will have little contact with anyone other than the players throughout the afternoon to ensure their own safety.
In total, before 2pm there will be around 300 people in the vicinity of the stadium – the full amount needed to stage a Premier League match.
A rough estimation of how they will be spread out is detailed in the fact they will be be divided into three defined zones – 98 will be allowed pitchside in the stadium, 115 will be in the stands and 109 stationed outside the stadium.
A few photographers will have also arrived at the stadium, but not in their usual numbers
Saturday, 2pm
By 2pm, and with an hour to go until the match begins, the players will have been through a pre-match meeting with their manager and the two captains now head to the referee’s room to exchange team-sheets, much like a normal matchday.
Of course, no handshakes will take place and social distancing will be adhered to as much as is possible throughout the day. The referee will remind the captains of the rules, which they can then pass back to their team. This will be more important than a normal matchday, with additional safety precautions being taken by the top flight.
Shortly after that, the two teams – and the referees – will take to the pitch for their warm-ups. No roar of the crowd as they come out of the tunnel though, of course.
Sanitising stations will be everywhere for the players to use before, during and after the game
Saturday, 2:45pm
After the warm-ups are complete, the two teams will head back down the tunnel for their final dressing-room preparations and a final tactical chat with the manager, before the bell rings at 2:55pm.
There has also been talk of disinfecting the ball before the match begins, and a maximum of four ball-boys will make their way to their positions around the pitch. They too will be asked to clean their hands before and during the match, and they may also wear gloves.
When the players exit the tunnel for the match, there will be no pre-match handshakes and any ceremony will be kept to the bare minimum.
Outside the stadium, security staff and police will be continuing to ensure that fans are kept away – for both their own and the players’ safety.
St John’s Ambulance will be in attendance to ensure resources are not taken from the NHS
Saturday, 3pm
It’s go-time. The match will kick off with everyone in their respective positions, observing social distancing guidelines as best they can. Photographers and members of the media will be spread out, and those sitting on the bench in the dugout will all be a seat apart.
In the Bundesliga, all those present in the dugout will be wearing masks, with managers only allowed to temporarily take theirs off to bark instructions to the players on the pitch. This is likely to also be the case in the Premier League.
Saturday, 3:45pm
At half-time, the players will make their way back down the tunnel – one team at a time – to a dressing room that has again been disinfected while they were out on the pitch.
While the managers go through their tactics, the match-ball will be cleaned, and the dugout also disinfected before everyone returns for the second half of the match.
During the match, if there is a goal, players are likely to be told that they can’t high-five or hug to celebrate. Players in the Bundesliga have been told that they can bump elbows with their team-mates after scoring.
The Bundesliga is set to be the first league this weekend to play games behind closed doors
Saturday, 5pm
When the full-time whistle blows, the players will head back down the tunnel to get changed and then leave for their respective hotels.
Much of the usual post-match rigmarole will be out of the window – there will be no managers’ press conferences with the written press, and no player interviews in the mixed zone, either.
It is yet to be decided whether TV interviews will happen, but there is a possibility that some could take place on the pitch while sticking to social distancing guidelines.
From there, the players will be the first to leave the stadium, safely and securely, before the rest of the 300 in attendance will begin to pack up their things and head home at different times.
The groundstaff will take to the pitch once more to repair it and begin preparations for the next match, while the dressing rooms, tunnel area and dugouts will be thoroughly disinfected post-match.
The Premier League matchday with a difference is complete.
Interviews may take place on pitch at full-time but there will be no mixed zone for journalists