Jose Mourinho is right, Arsenal will get more rest over Christmas than any Premier League club
United's schedule is more congested than Arsenal's, but it could be worse. They could be Leicester
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Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho was right, this time. Arsene Wenger's Arsenal can count themselves fortunate as they will benefit from more rest than any other Premier League club over this season’s hectic Christmas period.
The Manchester United manager wished Wenger’s side a “happy Christmas” on Wednesday after noting how schedulers had granted them a five-day break over the festive period.
Arsenal host Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium on Friday 22 December, the opening match of the Premier League’s 19th round of fixtures this season, but do not play again until 28 December, away to Crystal Palace.
In an interview with The Mirror, Mourinho said: “Do you think it is possible for Arsenal to play 22 December and 28 December? Do you think it is possible?
“You know, I wish them a happy Christmas because they are going to have a Christmas while others they play 23-26.”
With 11 rounds of fixtures squeezed into the next six weeks rather than the usual eight or nine, Premier League clubs are preparing for an unprecedented winter fixture pile-up.
Over the holiday period itself, all 20 will play four times but as Mourinho highlights, some will have longer breaks between matches than others.
By calculating the time between each club's four fixtures, we can approximate the amount of 'rest' their player will have over Christmas.
Time between matches per club over Christmas
23 December - 3 January
The winners
Arsenal will indeed have more time to rest than any other top-flight club, with an average break of almost four days between games.
After the trip to Crystal Palace, Wenger’s side travel to the Hawthorns on New Year’s Eve and, having opened the festive period at home to Liverpool, they close it by hosting Chelsea on the evening of 3 January.
Antonio Conte’s side, meanwhile, are the other beneficiaries from the winter scheduling, with an average of more than three days between games.
Chelsea begin with a lunchtime kick-off at Goodison Park on 23 December, followed by standard 3.00pms against Brighton and Hove Albion and Stoke City, then finish with their away day at the Emirates.
Seven other clubs - including leaders Manchester City and bottom club Crystal Palace - have 10 days’ worth of time between their matches in total.
The losers
Mourinho has a right to moan, but not as much as others. Manchester United come off worse than any other member of the ‘top six’, with less than three days’ worth of time between their fixtures.
However, Burnley, Bournemouth and Brighton are all worse off and, when the latter two meet in a lunchtime kick-off on New Year’s Day, it will have been less than 48 hours since their previous fixtures on 30 December ended.
The team who can feel hardest-done-by though is Leicester City, who face United in a late kick-off on 23 December. After that, Claude Puel’s men have three consecutive 3.00pm kick-offs on Boxing Day, 30 December and New Year’s Day.
Jamie Vardy and friends may have to have a quiet one this Christmas.
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