Noel Whelan has claimed that Tottenham’s schedule is unfair in comparison to Liverpool as it allows them to have certain players available for selection this weekend.
Jurgen Klopp confirmed that Alisson and Fabinho would miss their Saturday lunchtime kick-off against Watford after their involvement in Brazil’s 4-1 win over Uruguay in the early hours of Friday morning and they were indeed nowhere to be seen in the 5-0 win.
The tight turnaround meant they would not make Liverpool’s Premier League trip to Vicarage Road, and instead flew directly to Spain in preparation for next week’s Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid.
The likes of Chelsea and Leeds United were also without their Brazilian players as the turnaround was simply too tight. Raphina and Thiago both missed their respective matches.
Tottenham, meanwhile, are said to have their South American stars available for selection, as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side travel to Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon.
That gives Spurs over 24 hours extra to prepare for their Premier League fixture this weekend compared to Liverpool, which has angered former Leeds United striker Whelan.
He claims the schedule is unfair for some sides as their players will not be ready in time, and has blasted the league’s officials for not giving clubs much thought or leeway.
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Whelan told Football Insider: “I don’t think there’s been much thought about the clubs. Where they’ve got to go and the games they’ve got to play.
“The schedule could have been arranged a little bit better, in my opinion. Give them that bit of time so they can come back to domestic football and play for their respective clubs.
“Because of the game on Sunday, that gives those players a little bit of extra time to recover.
“When you look at Liverpool, who are playing Saturday afternoon, it was always very unlikely they would get risked. The same with other clubs who have South American representatives playing abroad.
“It’s a little bit unfair and little bit hard to take. You want your players in form. You want your strongest squad out there to win games. That’s what it’s all about.”
Spurs Web Opinion
The international break has yet against thrown up a whole host of problems for Premier League sides, while the schedule hasn’t exactly helped.
It was a very quick turnaround considering games were still being played early on Friday morning, but that’s the way the schedule was drawn up, unfortunately.
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