PREMIER LEAGUE fixtures have now come to a halt for nearly two weeks. But why is a mid-season break happening in the first place? Here’s everything you need to know.
After Sunday 23rd January fixture between Tottenham and Chelsea, a ball won’t be kicked again in the Premier League until the 5th of February. Clubs will instead be embarking on their mid-season ‘winter break’. However, due to the number of games that have been postponed recently, suggestions have been levelled that clubs should instead use the period to reset the fixture pile-up. So, what’s likely to happen over the next fortnight?
Originally, the rest period was introduced in the 2019-20 season after a number of managers had voiced concerns about player burnout and safety.
There was no Premier League winter break in 2020-21 owing to the compressed season caused by the Covid pandemic.
the next league fixture to take place will be the rearranged match between Watford and Burnley (February 5).
The rest window comes during a winter World Cup year, and while it has been ring-fenced by FIFA for international matches, European nations have not scheduled fixtures.
Due to earlier Covid fixture postponements, there will be a double round of matches in the South American (CONMEBOL), North and Central American (CONCACAF), Asian (AFC) and Oceanic (OFC) confederations.
Consequently, the likes of Manchester City’s Ederson and Gabriel Jesus will be off on international duty with Brazil, while Aston Villa’s Argentinian pair of Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia will also be representing their respective country.
A number of the Premier League’s African born contingent, including Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are also likely to be away during the window provided their national teams remain in the ongoing AFCON tournament.
The Premier League has said it has no plans to use the winter break as a time for clubs to catch up with postponed matches.
To date, a total of 22 top-flight games have been called off, largely because of a lack of available players due to the spike in Covid cases.
Which games have been postponed so far?
The following 22 games have been called off so far in the 2021-22 season:
- Brighton vs Tottenham – Sunday, December 12
- Brentford vs Man Utd – Tuesday, December 14; Manchester United won rearranged game 3-1 on Wednesday, January 19
- Burnley vs Watford – Wednesday, December 15 and Tuesday, January 18 (now re-arranged for Saturday, February 5)
- Leicester vs Tottenham – Thursday, December 16; Tottenham won rearranged game 3-2 on Wednesday, January 19
- Man Utd vs Brighton – Saturday, December 18
- Southampton vs Brentford – Saturday, December 18; Southampton won rearranged game 4-1 on Tuesday, January 11
- Watford vs Crystal Palace – Saturday, December 18
- West Ham vs Norwich – Saturday, December 18; West Ham won rearranged game 2-0 on Wednesday, January 12
- Aston Villa vs Burnley – Saturday, December 18
- Everton vs Leicester – Sunday, December 19 and Tuesday, January 11
- Liverpool vs Leeds – Sunday, December 26
- Wolves vs Watford – Sunday, December 26
- Burnley vs Everton – Sunday, December 26
- Leeds vs Aston Villa – Tuesday, December 28
- Arsenal vs Wolves – Tuesday, December 28
- Everton vs Newcastle – Thursday, December 30
- Leicester vs Norwich – Saturday, January 1
- Southampton vs Newcastle – Sunday, January 2
