Arsenal’s two games are 43 hours apart. After Klopp, Moyes also complained about the unmanageable schedule

The Premier League is the first of the Top 5 leagues to report a post-Christmas return. Vladimir Coufal returns to the scene after a red card penalty and will face Southampton’s attacks in a West Ham jersey. However, his coach David Moyes complained a bit before the game.

English Premier League matches on Boxing Day are loved by fans around the world. When there was speculation two weeks ago that the postponement of the post-Christmas games was due to covid, the vast majority of the football public was against it.

Even the footballers themselves wouldn’t disturb the ritual, matches two days after Boxing Day have a special appeal, sometimes played in the snow. But the negative for the players is that the English leagues’ schedule is extremely busy after Christmas.

“There is always such a schedule at the end of the year, as far back as I can remember. When I was a kid I used to go to the league on Boxing Day and also on New Year’s Day. It’s part of football. It’s just that the portion of games now is huge. I think something has to change, but it’s up to the experts to decide, not me,” Moyes thinks.

For West Ham, Boxing Day and the demanding schedule around it came at the worst possible time. The Hammers have won only one of their last six games and have dropped out of the top four.

The perfect prey for the resurrection of the Hammers arrives at London Stadium. Southampton have been waiting for a win for six games in the league and are slowly slipping closer and closer to the relegation zone. Moreover, in five of their last six games they have scored at least two goals.

“We know very well that we have to win now. We are not going to attack the top positions if we don’t win these games,” Moyes added.

Jürgen Klopp complained about the demanding schedule before Moyes. He does not understand how it is possible to play on Sunday and then on Tuesday. The German coach may have glossed over it a bit, as Liverpool’s game against Leeds was postponed due to a covid.

Arsenal players will have the least time to recover. Their game against Norwich will finish on Sunday at around 6pm, and their clash with Wolverhampton starts at 1:30pm on Tuesday. These matches are thus separated by 43.5 hours.

“I don’t have a problem with it being played on Boxing Day, it’s a beautiful thing and nobody wants to cancel it. But to play on the 26th and then again on the 28th is absolutely impossible,” thinks Klopp.

Source: Sky Sports, West Ham United