Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Tottenham at Stamford Bridge on Sunday brought an end to Premier League football for the next two weeks.
After years of pressure, the Premier League decided to introduce a winter break – much like our European neighbours – in 2019/20 in the hope of dealing with player burnout.
The winter break didn’t take place in 2020/21 after the season became compressed and congested due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It has been reintroduced this campaign and the next fixture is set to take place at 18:00 on February 5th when Burnley host Watford in a rescheduled game, while the first full round of games comes midweek between February 8th and February 10th.
There are FA Cup fourth-round ties scheduled to be played between February 4th and February 6th with 14 top-flight clubs still in the competition.
Fixtures Piling Up
The 2021/22 season appeared to be advancing smoothly enough until we hit December and Brighton’s home meeting with Tottenham was postponed.
That opened the floodgates and, to date, 22 games have been postponed with Burnley’s fixture against Watford twice being called off.
There were discussions over the past week with regards to potentially rescheduling some of those matches during the winter break.
However, the Premier League confirmed last week that wouldn’t be happening and some clubs are going to have a huge backlog to work through when the term resumes.
Burnley, who are 1/2 to be relegated, sit at the bottom of the table and have been the hardest hit over recent weeks.
Sean Dyche’s side have played just 18 times after games with Watford, Aston Villa, Everton and Leicester failed to take place.
Warm Weather Training
Most players have been given some time off after a hectic Christmas and New Year but some clubs are using the break to get in some warm weather training.
Arsenal, priced at 5/2 to finish in the top four, have travelled to Dubai, while Newcastle landed in Saudi Arabia on Monday following their takeover by the country’s Public Investment Fund.
Manchester City were hoping to spend some time in Abu Dhabi but those plans were shelved following a Covid outbreak and their players have been given a week off.
Manchester United trio Harry Maguire, Diogo Dalot and Marcus Rashford have flown to Dubai, while Chelsea ace Antonio Rudiger confirmed on Twitter that he’s heading to Sierra Leone “to finally launch The Antonio Rudiger Foundation For Sierra Leone”.
Meanwhile, Brentford boss Thomas Frank, who has just penned a new deal through to 2025, is taking a well-deserved skiing holiday in Switzerland.
Internationals Back on the Agenda
With the World Cup set to take place later this year, FIFA ring-fenced the current window for international matches.
UEFA elected not to utilise the break but, due to earlier Covid fixture postponements, there will be a double round of games in the South America, North and Central America, Asia and Oceanic confederations.
Gabriel Jesus, Raphinha, Philippe Coutinho, Fred, Fabinho, Thiago Silva, Emerson Royal, Alex Telles, Alisson and Ederson have all linked up with Brazil for World Cup Qualifiers.
Meanwhile, a number of the Premier League’s African-born stars are still in action at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Football League Comes to the Fore
The winter break doesn’t fall any lower down the ladder than the Premier League so there is still plenty of action to enjoy in the Championship and below.
The EFL is continuing with its regular programme and there are midweek matches in all three divisions as well as games throughout the weekend.
*All odds correct at time of writing