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Premier League confirms zero positive coronavirus cases in latest round of testing

Premier League confirms zero positive coronavirus cases in latest round of testing

Goal

The most recent round of coronavirus testing in the top flight yielded no positive results

The Premier League has confirmed there were zero positive coronavirus cases in its latest round of testing.

A total of 1,973 players and club staff were tested between June 29 and July 5, the league announced on Monday.

In the previous round of testing, there had only been one positive result.

It means there have been 19 positive results from the 16,280 tests carried out since May 17.

England's top-flight returned from a three-month suspension amid the pandemic on June 17.

The Premier League season will finish on July 26, with the FA Cup final scheduled to take place on August 1.

August will then see a revamped Champions League knockout stage, with the tournament halfway through the last 16 when the football season stopped.

The top-flight table has already seen some significant changes since the season resumed.

Liverpool have been confirmed as champions and been beaten 4-0 in the space of a week, while the fight for European places is looking tighter by the week.

Leicester have struggled for form since their return and find their previously safe-looking third-place finish increasingly in danger.

The Foxes are just a point ahead of Chelsea in fourth, with Manchester United two points further back and Wolves another three, following their lifeless defeat at home to Arsenal on Saturday.

Clubs are still waiting to find out whether fourth place or fifth will be enough for Champions League qualification, with Manchester City's appeal against their European ban from UEFA still yet to yield a result.

Things are just as tight at the bottom of the table, with at least five clubs still in serious danger of the drop.

Brighton have moved nine points clear of the bottom three but West Ham are only four points clear and Watford just one above the drop zone.

Aston Villa and Bournemouth are level on points, while Norwich look certain to go down bar an end-of-season miracle from Daniel Farke's side.

Coronavirus testing is carried out on players and club staff throughout the week, with aggregated results released each Monday.

Anybody who returns a positive test goes immediately into self-isolation.