Sky Sports have reported an increase in viewing figures for the Premier League’s restart in empty stadiums.

Top-flight football returned this week after a three-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, and Manchester City’s 3-0 victory over Arsenal had a peak audience of 3.4million, the broadcaster revealed, which is a 94% increase on the season average.

Aston Villa’s controversial 0-0 draw with Sheffield United had a 43% increase on the season average, with a peak audience of 2.7million.

All the remaining 90 top-flight games will be shown live on TV, with 33 of them free-to-air on Sky’s Pick channel, BBC or Amazon Prime. Norwich City entertain Southampton tonight. The game is followed by a fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United.

Newcastle United return to action on Sunday with a behind-closed-doors home game against Sheffield United. The club is 13th in the league and also in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.