Chelsea will have played two games in 48 hours
Frank Lampard has complained of a lack of rest time between matches for his Chelsea side during the festive period.
Chelsea play Arsenal in the late kick off on Boxing Day, before taking on Aston Villa on the 28th, meaning they have just one day’s rest between match days.
Liverpool, meanwhile, play on the 27th and then the 30th, as do Tottenham Hotspur.
Chelsea boss Lampard has laid the blame at the Premier League and the broadcasters for not arranging a schedule that would be more fair to his team in relation to their rivals at the top of the table.
“It’s two games in two days, 48 hours,” Lampard said.
“I’m not trying to be clever, it’s an important point for us because there are other teams that are challenging at the top of the league that play two games in three days.
“Manchester United, Tottenham, Liverpool play two games in three or four days. It’s counterproductive for the quality of the Premier League, it’s a risk for players if they are going to play both games at top-end elite sport, everybody knows that.
“And I know clearly what happened with this one as well; the game’s being broadcast live as they all are now. And we play Arsenal on Boxing Day, and our game with Man City now has been pushed to the Sunday (January 3).
“So the schedule meant that we couldn’t play, and Aston Villa also wanted to play on the Tuesday, they wanted an extra day, and so did we. But we got overruled by both the Premier League and the broadcasters.
“I know in conjunction with each other, and this was bounced around, it got decided that we play twice in 48 hours when other teams that are challenging at the top of the league play twice in three days.
“I don’t see how it’s a fair playing field, I think it’s wrong and it’s not going to be the best for the players that play at the top level. Don’t get me wrong, Aston Villa have the same problem. Us playing them, we’ll both have the same problems.
“But I’m just saying we are not getting the same rest period that other teams are getting. It’s not good even for the players to go out and train let alone play to a high level of 90 minutes. Everybody in the Premier League knows that.”
Expect to see two rotated line-ups from Lampard, as he looks to keep every pair of legs as fresh as possible. The likes of Billy Gilmour, Emerson Palmieri, and Callum Hudson-Odoi could all get some much wanted game time.
“Christmas is normally the hectic time but the hectic time has been throughout this season and I understand it. So every little win you can get by using common sense to put a game that could be broadcast on a day to push it one day and broadcast it on another day, take those small wins to try to help player welfare.
“That’s how I see it. This situation, 26th and 28th for us, when others are not, it’s compromising the players if they are going to play those two games, and some may have to. I think it also compromises the competition because others don’t have to do the same, and it’s clear that it’s not ample recovery time for top-level footballers.”
Lampard did express some sympathy for those in charge of the fixture schedule, acknowledging that sometimes there isn’t a solution that suits everyone, but said that in the case of Chelsea’s game against Villa, there is no reason not to move it.
“But when you have two teams that are asking for a game to be played one day later to try to get their best players on the pitch as fit as they can, why would you not do that? That surprises me.”
