'Life feels normal again': Fans cheers from their sofas as PL returns

Football fans may feel life is returning to some sense of normality today as the Premier League returned to action, albeit with empty stadiums and artificial crowd noises.

Aston Villa and Sheffield United got the action underway with the first top flight English match in 100 days, in a goalless draw at Villa Park on Wednesday evening, before Manchester City hosted Arsenal.

With supporters not currently allowed inside stadiums, fans watched from home or found creative ways to enjoy the match.

The matches are the first return of the Premier League under Project Restart, which was created to bring football back under new social distancing rules.

Build-up to match has seen a dramatic change to when football was last played, with the players of both sides not using the traditional changing room arrangements in order to prepare for the match.

Instead, players, staff and officials were kept distanced apart in different sections of the stadium, with neither team lining up in the tunnel as is customary before a match.

Fans have opted to watch from their homes, with the match being broadcast on Sky. But some have been more creative.

Two home supporters were spotted watching the game underneath a marquee outside Villa Park in Birmingham.

Liverpool and England midfielder Jordan Henderson tuned in to the match in a tent in his back garden, telling followers: 'Not a bad birthday present! Thank you all for the birthday messages! I hope everyone enjoys the football being back on as much as I will.'

Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan said: 'Life feels normal again,' as he watched a goalless draw between Villa and Sheffield United which was marred when no goal was given after the ball clearly crossed the line.

Taking to Twitter, Prince William - the head of the FA and an Aston Villa fan - voiced his opinion on football's return.

He wrote: 'So good to have football back, we have all missed it! Thank you to everyone involved for your hard work in making it happen. W.'

The duke has spent much of the coronavirus lockdown with his family at their Norfolk home Anmer Hall and is likely to be watching the match at his country retreat.

His son Prince George appears to have inherited the duke's footballing allegiance, after he was pictured supporting the Villans in a Premier League match earlier this season.

In a recent BBC documentary about men's mental health in the world of football, William revealed the sport has become more important to him as he has got older.

'You know it's weird because, I've always loved football but I love football more now than I've ever loved it before and I don't know what it is, whether it's because I'm a parent now and I need football more in my life, I don't know maybe it is that,' he told the documentary.

Football's return has come with new measures that try to create an atmosphere in an otherwise empty stadium.

Fans watching from home have been able to tune in crowd noise that's meant to keep up with the game.

One fan wrote during the first half of the clash: 'The crowd noise is so out of sync with the action it's hilarious. It still makes a big difference though ngl.'

Most fans spent the first half reacting to a goal which wasn't given in Sheffield United's favour, after the ball appeared to cross the line.

Sheffield United's Twitter account told followers: 'It wasn't working' with a laughing emoji.

With the game goalless, fans have been critical of the Premier League's return.

Derbyshire cricketer Flynn Hudson-Prentice wrote: 'This lacklustre commentary to go along with the obvious lack of atmosphere is making this game tough to watch...'

Another viewer said: 'The rest of the season is going to be like watching 1 training match after another,football nothing without fans. #shouldhavebeencancelled, #PremierLeague.'

Tottenham Hotspur fan Lord Alan Sugar said it was 'Weird watching with no real crowd noise. But better than nothing.'

Every game of the season is set to be televised, so supports can watch from home, with some matches being broadcast for free on the BBC and on Sky.

Virtual crowd noises will be joined by reporters who could be free to roam around the empty stands and additional camera positions.

Essential staff and members of the press are being permitted into the stadium, but strict social distancing measures are in place.

The Premier League's return got off to a poignant tone on Wednesday as players, staff and officials paid their respects in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, before taking a knee in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.

As the whistle blew to mark the return of the Premier League after a 100-day absence, Aston Villa and Sheffield United players, along with staff and officials, all saluted the movement, following protests across Britain after the death of George Floyd in police custody in the US last month.

Players wore shirts with Black Lives Matter written on the back, instead of their own names, as they played 90 minutes in front of a near-empty Villa Park stadium in Birmingham.

The salute came after a minute's silence was held in the stadium to pay respects to the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic.

As players were signalled to get underway in the evening's late kick-off, Manchester City and Arsenal players also dropped to the floor.

Since football's absence due to the coronavirus crisis, protests broke out in the US, spreading over to the UK and Europe, demonstrating against racial inequalities in society.

Last week the Premier League announced Black Lives Matter would head up the back of players' shirts for the first 12 games of the season's return.

A Black Lives Matter logo will also feature on shirts of the rest of the season, alongside a badge thanking the NHS for their work during the Covid-19 crisis.

The Premier League said it will support any players who choose to take a knee before matches during BLM protests.

A joint statement from both clubs read: 'Sheffield United and Aston Villa were proud to stand in solidarity with the actions of the players and coaching staff of both football clubs during the first ten seconds of tonight's Premier League fixture, expressing our collective support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

'In the first Premier League fixture of Project Restart both clubs hope that the act of "taking a knee" will send a strong message of unity and amplify the many messages of support from Premier League players and the wider football family.

'The directors of both clubs, Chris Wilder, Dean Smith, Billy Sharp, Jack Grealish and the players of United and Villa are in full support of this action.

'We believe that "taking a knee" at the start of the fixture and after the pre-match minute's silence, allowed both clubs to pay their respects to Covid-19 victims and to show the deep gratitude we all feel for our brave and selfless front-line workers.'

Tuning into the new-look Premier League! With supporters locked out of grounds, millions of armchair football fans will be treated to artificial crowd noise, pundits prowling the stands and players in BLM shirts

After a three-month hiatus, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Premier League is back on Wednesday night.

Aston Villa versus Sheffield United and Manchester City against Arsenal are the two games that will kickstart the resumption of England's top-flight.

However, due to the deadly nature of Covid-19 there are a plethora of protocols put in place that will alter the beautiful game as we know it for the time being.

What are the TV viewing changes?

With no supporters allowed into the grounds due to social distancing, TV companies have been working hard with the Premier League to ensure a better watching experience from your own home. This means that a lot of novel ideas have been introduced.

The most obvious one will be the audible experience. With no fans present football will be played in an eerie silence with viewers able to hear the instructions and calls from players. To counteract this sterile atmosphere Sky Sports and BT Sport are offering 'Watch Together' features.

Akin to Zoom calls, BT Sport's will enable subscribers to see and chat with friends in a split screen mode while the match is being played.

Meanwhile, Sky are rolling out 'Fanzone', a feature on its digital platforms that allows users to watch select matches with friends in a video room. The platform offers a live chat function, predictions posting, join in-match polls and use the Sky Sports stats.

If those aren't for you and you'd like to watch the game in peace, but with an atmosphere, then don't worry as that's been catered for as well.

The use of artificial sounds is an optional feature for viewers. As explained in-depth by Sportsmail, the use of fake fan noise is available via the red button courtesy of EA Sports FIFA's 'Atmospheric Audio'. There is an archive of 1,300 chants and crowd noises recorded for the popular FIFA video game series. Sky have immersed themselves further by allowing you to vote for what you'd like to hear by doing so on your phones.

From a visual point of view, supporters will get a more in-depth glimpse of the pre-match customs. Now there will be cameras in the players' tunnel allowing you to see the full extent of what goes on in there. The tunnel is off-limits to camera operators, but there will be fixed cameras in each tunnel.

In addition, with the traditional coin toss to decide who has kick-off you'll be able to hear that dialogue now as it will be broadcast live.

Another new feature is that there will be a specific celebration camera present for players to strut their stuff too in the event a goal has been scored. Expect to see some inventive celebrations in order to 'play up to the camera'.

The camera, which will be at a fixed point to the side of the goal and which will not have a camera operator, is intended to encourage players to communicate their celebration to fans watching at home, given the sterile atmosphere of empty grounds and prohibitions on the usual team bundle that follows a goal.

From a presentation standpoint you viewers can still expect to view and hear key reporters and commentators around the grounds. Steve Smith, Executive Director of Content at Sky Sports has confirmed at Villa Park this evening that Kelly Cates will present coverage of Aston Villa versus Sheffield United. She will be joined in the ground by pundit, and Sportsmail columnist, Jamie Redknapp. Joining them as part of the 'talent' will be Rob Hawthorne, Andy Hinchcliffe and Pat Davison.

For tonight's big game at the Etihad between Manchester City and Arsenal, Martin Tyler and Gary Neville will be in the commentary booth - sat at a safe distance apart. Jamie Carragher will be a roving reporter and will be positioned around the ground to follow close-by wherever the big incidents are - however, he will have to do so via the stands and not pitchside. Dave Jones will be presenting the coverage alongside pundit Micah Richards, while Geoff Shreeves will also be there. Pundits and presenters will not be allowed pitchside so they'll broadcast from the stands.

In addition too, there will be just the one Sky cameraman pitchside for matches - who will of course be tested in the same way players, club staff and match-officials will be. Interviews with players and managers before and after games will take place pitchside (rather than in the tunnel), and will be conducted from a safe distance.

Despite the strong presence tonight, in general many games will be delivered from Sky Studios in Osterley. BT Sport will be adopting a similar policy for their Stratford-base.

So what will be different in the stadium?

To counter the risk of injury and fatigue, each team will be allowed to make five substitutions per match instead of the traditional three. To alleviate this further, managers will be able to choose from nine substitutes rather than the usual seven. However, all of the potential replacements must be socially distanced meaning they will sit in the stands behind the dugouts.

There will be a notable change to the players' shirts, too. This week, all kits will bear an NHS logo, as well as that of Black Lives Matter - which will also replace the players' names on the back of their shirts.

Until recently, the Premier League has had a policy opposing political statements being made on the field - but that changes after players made their feelings clear about projecting the BLM message last week.

The NHS and BLM badges will stay on every clubs' kits for the rest of the season. The players' names are only replaced for the first 12 matches back.

From a playing perspective, all match balls, goal posts, corner flags and substitutions boards will be disinfected to counter any risks of coronavirus spreading. To further aid this, there will be no ball-boys allowed in venues. Instead spare match balls will be placed around the pitches for players.

Where applicable during the game, players must adhere to no mass confrontations nor surrounding match officials if upset with a decision. In the event that a goal is scored too they must maintain social distancing - with the same applying for post-match interviews too.

During each half a one-minute drinks break will be permitted to allow players to rehydrate too.

Brilliant, so where can I watch the games?

All of the 92 remaining Premier League matches will be on TV with 33 of them on free-to-air platforms. Sky Sports have 64 games with 25 of them free, BT Sport have 20 games and then both Amazon Prime and BBC have four each which are all free.

For those who favour the radio, live commentary will be provided by BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT.

Football fans could be back in stadiums in time for NEXT SEASON, says minister - as he warns them to stay away from grounds as the Premier League FINALLY kicks off again

Football fans could be back watching their teams in time for next season, the Culture Secretary said tonight as the Premier League restarted after three months in limbo.

Oliver Dowden said he hoped that 'some' supporters could in time be allowed in to watch games from the stands, as the top flight began again behind closed doors due to coronavirus.

Aston Villa take on Sheffield United tonight in the first game since the league was suspended in March, with runaway league leaders Liverpool expected to quickly wrap up the title.

All the remaining 92 matches must be played behind closed doors, with mass gatherings banned due to social distancing measures designed to limit the spread of the virus.

Taking the daily Downing Street press conference this evening, Mr Downden said: 'I would really hope that by the return of the new season we might be in a position whereby some fans could start to return to stadiums.

'And I know that would be another important part of restoring the financial position of clubs.'

But hailing the 'hugely symbolic moment' in the coronavirus recovery he pleaded with fans not to go to games or congregate outside the grounds.

Villa can move out of the relegation zone with a win against European-chasing Sheffield United in a game that started at 6pm, with reigning champions Man City hosting Arsenal in the second contest at 8.15pm.

An Arsenal win would mean Liverpool could lift the trophy with a win at rivals Everton on Sunday.

Fears have been raised about fans congregating but Mr Dowden said that there was 'nothing to be gained' from crowding outside stadiums while football matches were going on.

The Cabinet minister said he had been 'working closely' with police on how to deal with such incidents.

'Police have appropriate powers and they will be able to use them as necessary,' he said.

'But I really hope this situation won't arise in the first place. I really do trust the good sense of football fans up and down the country, and indeed of the British public, to know that you can watch this safely at home.

'There is nothing to be gained from congregating outside a stadium.

'The only thing that can happen if you congregate outside a stadium is to put at risk public health.'