Leeds United and Sheffield United Premier League games to be televised after U-turn

But it could mean some fixtures being moved at short notice.

Initially, Sky Sports and BT were due to show 17 of the opening 28 matches, including Leeds's opening-day trip to Liverpool and the Yorkshire derby on September 27.

But supporters were not going to have access to watch the 11 outstanding behind-closed-doors matches unless they relied on illegal streams. This is in contrast to the Football League, where clubs are streaming matches not shown by Sky.

Now it has been decided that the remaining matches will be split between Sky, BT, Amazon Prime and the BBC, who could be offered one or two matches, in line with what happened when last season resumed without fans because of coronavirus restrictions.

After being lobbied by supporters, the Government are understood to have put pressure on the Premier League.

Sheffield United's opening game, at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers on September 14, could now be moved to 6pm to avoid a clash with the match between Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion, which was already due to be televised.

The Blades' game at Aston Villa the following Sunday had also not been scheduled for live coverage. Leeds host Fulham in another match which will now be screened. That game is earmarked for September 19.

The agreement is only a short-term measure until the end of the month. From October, limited numbers of supporters are expected to be allowed into stadia, although this is still to be confirmed, subject to the progress of the pandemic.

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