Premier League sticks to a tight schedule

The clubs of the English Premier League are sticking to their tight schedule around Christmas despite the rapid expansion of the Omikron variant.

Thus both the traditional game day on 26./27. December in the program as well as the immediately following round from December 28th to 30th. According to the BBC, Liverpool FC was one of the clubs that were in favor of canceling an entire match day.

Team manager Jürgen Klopp had already criticized the tight schedule on Sunday. “We play on Wednesday, Sunday and Tuesday. That is impossible. We don’t have the players for it,” said Klopp: “We can’t just push everything through.”

According to BBC there should be no replay at least in the third and fourth round of the FA Cup (January 8th / February 5th) in the event of a tie. In addition, the semi-finals of the league cup in January are only to be played in one game instead of the first and second leg as planned. This is exactly what Klopp suggested on Sunday: “One game is enough, wherever it takes place, I don’t care”.

Above all, the tight schedule in the new year spoke against the cancellation of a game day. “I know the problem – when should we catch up on the games? We said even before Corona that the calendar was tight,” said Klopp.

Tuchel: “How should that be stopped if …?”

Chelsea team manager Thomas Tuchel also called for a rethink in view of seven cases in the squad, including national player Timo Werner, and pointed out the health of the players. “How can that be stopped when we are all sitting on the bus and have dinner together as if it hadn’t happened? People are worried,” said Tuchel.

The highly contagious Omicron variant is spreading rapidly in Great Britain. With almost 90,000 new infections within 24 hours, the corona numbers are at a record level. The highest English league has long been recorded. Of ten games planned on the 18th matchday, only four could be played.