Leicester City’s game with Tottenham on Thursday and Manchester United’s match with Brighton on Saturday have been postponed because of Covid-19.

The Premier League said there was “an increase in positive Covid-19 cases” at Leicester on Thursday while Manchester United have an ongoing outbreak.

It added that it still intends to continue with fixtures despite calls for the 2021-22 season to be paused.

Chelsea have also been hit by several positive cases before Thursday’s game against Everton, but that match is set to go ahead.

“While recognising a number of clubs are experiencing Covid-19 outbreaks, it is the league’s intention to continue its current fixture schedule where safely possible,” said a Premier League statement.

“The health and wellbeing of all concerned remains our priority.”

Manchester United said they would also suspended training at their Carrington base for “a short period to help reduce risk of further transmission”.

The club added in a statement: “The health of players and staff is our priority. Given the number of players and support staff having to isolate due to Covid-19, the club had no option other than to request the match be rearranged.

“We regret any disappointment and inconvenience caused to fans by the postponement.”

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said on Wednesday that an initial request to cancel the game had been rejected, with the club expecting to be without nine players because of Covid-related issues and injuries.

Tottenham also wanted the game postponed to use the date to play their Europa Conference League game with Rennes, which was called off last week after a Covid outbreak.

“In light of the new information, Leicester applied [on Thursday] for the fixture to be called off due to an ongoing outbreak within the squad, which has resulted in more players and staff testing positive for Covid-19 today,” read a Premier League statement.

“This has left the club with an insufficient number of players available to fulfil the game.”

A Leicester statement read: “Given the increase in positive tests among first-team personnel, first-team operations at Seagrave will now be closed for 48 hours, serving as a circuit breaker to help reduce the risk of further infection.

“First-team players and staff will undergo a subsequent round of testing on Saturday.”

Leicester’s next game is scheduled to take place at 12:00 GMT at Everton on Sunday.

The two most recent top-flight postponements follow the calling off of Tottenham’s match against Brighton last Sunday, Brentford’s game with Manchester United on Tuesday and Burnley’s match with Watford on Wednesday.

“Regarding Manchester United’s game on Saturday [against Brighton], the club continues to have an ongoing Covid-19 outbreak within their squad, which has left them unable to field a team for the match at Old Trafford,” said the Premier League.

“A significant number of Covid-19 cases led to their game against Brentford being called off earlier this week, and today [Thursday] additional positive tests have been confirmed.”

Brentford boss Thomas Frank has called for this weekend’s Premier League fixtures to be postponed to let clubs deal with the outbreak.

Brighton boss Graham Potter questioned how long “football can continue on the path it’s on” after revealing his Covid-hit team wanted Wednesday’s game against Wolves, which they lost 1-0, to be postponed.

The Premier League said it “assesses applications on a case-by-case basis” and decisions are “based on existing rules and Covid-19 postponement guidance issued to all clubs”.

It added: “It [the board] will assess a number of factors, including the ability of a club to field a team; the status, severity and potential impact of the Covid-19 outbreak at the club; and the ability of the players to safely prepare for and play the match.

“The board must also consider the wider risks to the opposition and other people the club may come into contact with.”