How the Bundesliga's 22-Team Proposal Would Work in England

English football authorities finally decided to take action against the coronavirus pandemic on Friday, suspending all competitive football in the top four divisions (the National League? Still running) until 3rd April due to the coronavirus.

Of course, this decision was announced just hours after they insisted that football would carry on as normal for the upcoming round of fixtures. The decision should have been made sooner, but at least action has now been taken.

It is a fairly similar situation across Europe, with the deadly virus halting play in the top leagues. One of these is the Bundesliga. The ​DFL confirmed on Friday that play in the top two divisions was to be suspended until 2nd April, just a matter of hours after it was initially announced on their official website that this weekend's fixtures would be completed.

​Express.de are reporting that the DFL and DFB are considering ending the Bundesliga season, with four teams being promoted to the top division for the 2020/21 season and no teams being relegated. Oh, and there would also be no champion this campaign...

So with this in mind, let's run through how this system would play out in England...

What Is the State of Play in Germany?

As previously mentioned, play in Germany's top two divisions is now suspended until 2nd April; although the initial decision was actually to play the next round of fixtures - but behind closed doors. 

Considering that the virus is continuing to spread and the situation only appears to be getting worse, it was assumed that the ​Bundesliga would follow in the footsteps of Serie A, La Liga and others in suspending play immediately. While the decision was quickly amended, this came after Bayern Munich's Thiago ​described the initial plan to go ahead with the next round of games as 'crazy'. 

He said: "This is crazy. Please stop fooling around and land on reality. Let's be honest, there are much more important priorities than any sport."

How Would the Bundesliga's Proposal Work in England?

So, what's the plan?

Well, according to Express.de, the DFL and DFB are 'considering' ending the Bundesliga season after this weekend. As a result, no trophy would be handed out to the winners, meaning there would be no epic fight for the title this campaign. Equally, no team would be relegated to the second division. 

Instead, the Bundesliga would be expanded to 22 teams for the 2020/21 season, with four teams from the second tier being promoted. 

In England, should the authorities decide to pursue such an idea, no team would be crowned champions...sorry Liverpool! Equally, none of the bottom three would be relegated - meaning ​Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich would all retain their places in the ​Premier League. 

As there are 20 teams in England's top flight as opposed to 18 in Germany, this would mean that the league would actually have 24 teams next campaign. The current top four sides in the ​Championship would then be promoted - the fourth just to ensure even numbers. There is no mention as to what would happen with regards to teams in the third tier in Germany, but this system would have to be implemented in all divisions if it were to work. This is because, at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, four teams would be relegated back down. 

This idea would see each team play 46 league games next season. In other words, there would be...1,104 matches across the 2020/21 season in total. Now, that's a lot of football.

As far as European football is concerned, Liverpool, ​Leicester City, ​Chelsea and ​Manchester United would all play in the Champions League next season – if Manchester City's two-year Champions League ban is upheld. Wolves, Sheffield United and Tottenham would all play Europa League football in 2020/21.

Who Would Benefit Most? 

Obviously, the teams that would benefit most are the four sides coming up from the Championship. It is often a long, hard fight for promotion, but this would see the current top four teams automatically given a spot in the top flight. No full season, no playoffs, nothing. 

​Leeds are currently sat at the top of the Championship, with West Bromwich Albion in second, ​Fulham in third and Brentford in fourth – while Nottingham Forest continue their 20+ year absence from the top flight on goal difference alone. 

Other sides that would benefit from this proposal include the current sides in the top division who have been fighting to avoid the drop. Bournemouth currently sit in the bottom three, and they would greatly profit from a proposal such as this because...well, they've been hopeless this season. 

Elsewhere, Norwich have looked likely to head straight back down despite their best efforts and West Ham, who have not exactly been fantastic in 2019/20 either, would be safe. Karren Brady, for the record, has already advocated for 'voiding' the season. 

Of course, the teams that would be playing European football next season (including Sheffield United!!!) would profit from this idea. 

Who Would Benefit Least? 

Well, this one is pretty obvious, isn't it? 

​Liverpool were charging towards the title and while they may have stumbled in recent weeks, the Reds were fully expected to go on and seal their first ever Premier League title. Should the DFB and DFL's proposal play out in England though, Liverpool's wait for their first league title in 30 years would continue.

Elsewhere, in the grander scheme of things, this system could actually have a negative impact on the majority of the teams. 46 league games in the top flight could take its toll on certain sides.

Most notably, the likes of Wolves and Sheffield United would struggle with the amount of league and European games that would need to be played. Nuno Espirito Santo's men do not exactly have a large squad and have done extremely well to compete both in Europe and domestically this season, but 2020/21 could prove too much for them if the league was expanded.

We'd also have to deal with a lot more ​whining from Jurgen Klopp. 

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