The Premier League has scrapped fixtures played between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve in an attempt to ease fears of player burnout after the World Cup, according to the Telegraph.
Fixture lists released on Thursday revealed the absence of games held on December 28 to alleviate concerns over the return of club football, which will be interrupted for the international tournament during the season (Premier League).
With the Premier League’s resumption pencilled in for Boxing Day, a decision to alter the festive calendar has been made which will now only feature matches to be played on December 26, New Year’s Eve and January 2.
The report adds similar moves will be made across the English Football League with the festive period to include three matchdays on December 26, December 29 and January 1.
Meanwhile, FA Cup ties are also set to be affected with ties expected to be spread across the weekend of January 7.
Tottenham face a trip across London to play Brentford on Boxing Day before welcoming Aston Villa to N17 five days later.
Antonio Conte’s side will then travel to Crystal Palace before FA Cup matches briefly take over league action.
Spurs Web Opinion
The upcoming season is set to be a bit more abnormal given there is a World Cup midway through it. The removal of that game over the festive period is a good way of easing player burnout concerns but there are still games to be played over a short span of time, so managers need to be very wary of their decisions.
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