Premier League clubs have insisted that their lower-league opponents in the Carabao Cup are tested for Covid-19 before this week’s second-round ties.
There are eight games over the next two days between top-flight clubs and those in the EFL, whose players have not been tested for the virus unless they developed symptoms since returning for pre-season training in the summer.
Premier League clubs are still testing their players twice a week, however, and have demanded that the same standards are applied to their opponents.
Under an agreement reached between the Premier League and EFL, all players, coaches and staff required to enter the so-called red zone at stadiums this week need to provide evidence of a negative lateral flow test.