- Villa first-team squad in isolation and training ground shut
- Final decision on tie on Friday after additional Covid testing
Aston Villa plan to use youth-team players to fulfil their FA Cup tie against Liverpool on Friday following a Covid outbreak that forced Villa’s entire first-team squad and staff into isolation.
Villa will not know until Friday whether the match can go ahead, as they must await the findings of Covid tests that the youth players had to undergo on Thursday. No one in the first team’s bubble – including players, coaches and medical staff – can attend the game, with all isolating after a “large number” of positive tests among the club’s senior staff on Monday and another batch of confirmed cases on Thursday. Villa have shut their Bodymoor Heath training ground.
