Seven of Liverpool’s festive fixtures have been moved – including December’s Merseyside derby at Goodison Park
Christmas – it’s the most wonderful time of the year. That is, of course, unless you’re a Premier League manager gearing up to face your most grueling run of the campaign, contesting a seemingly endless roster of top-flight fixtures over the course of the festive season.
The congested nature of English football’s winter schedule, while polarising, is nothing new. The tradition of playing games on Boxing Day has been a staple of this country’s footballing DNA since the inception of Football League in 1888.
And, while the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have previously lamented the lack of a Christmas break in the Premier League calendar, the likelihood of the division’s decision-makers amending the schedule accordingly appears further away than ever.
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For Arne Slot, who has grown accustomed to having a two-week winter break during his time in the Eredivisie, the next few months promise to be something of a culture shock. The visit of Chelsea to Anfield this weekend marks the first of seven games in 20 days for Liverpool, while the Reds will then contest 10 games in the space of just five weeks on the other side of the November international break.
Encompassed in that formidable run are trips to the Emirates, Goodison Park and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Bayer Leverkusen, Real Madrid and Manchester City are among the opponents Liverpool will host in L4. If the prospect of those fixtures was not intimidating enough, then the latest round of broadcast picks has made the Reds’ life even harder – most notably in the week building up to the Merseyside derby.
Liverpool had been slated to take on Newcastle United at 7.45pm on Wednesday, December 4 before facing Everton at Goodison at 3pm on the Saturday afternoon. While the dates of both fixtures remains the same, the timings have been changed so that the Reds will now kick-off at 7.30pm at St James’ Park before venturing across Stanley Park for a 12.30pm start – broadcast live on TNT Sports – at the home of their city rivals just three days later.
Liverpool’s acrimonious relationship with the early Saturday kick-off was the stuff of infamy under Klopp, who regularly branded the regular use of the time slot as a “crime”. Slot has been slightly more diplomatic about the matter during his short time at the helm, citing a change in the Reds’ training schedule as one of the factors that could help give his team the edge in the dreaded 12.30 spot.
However, with games coming thick and fast over the festive period, it’s fair to assume that the Dutchman will feel slightly aggrieved to see two tough away games scheduled in such close proximity to one another. Even though the kick-off time has only been brought forward by a matter of hours, it is enough to have a bearing on Liverpool’s performance levels, particularly when the margins at the top of the Premier League are so tight.
That is before you even begin to consider what should arguably be the most important factor behind all of football’s major decisions: the fans. Disregarding the possibility that Liverpool could be drawn against Everton in the FA Cup, December’s clash will be the last meeting of the two sides at Goodison Park, with the Blues set to move into their state-of-the-art new stadium at Bramley-Moore dock next term.
With that in mind, it is a crying shame that the final ever meeting of the city rivals at Everton’s famous old stadium will be played on a Saturday lunchtime, instead of being afforded a more atmospheric time slot under the lights. That, however, is nothing compared to the flagrant disregard that has been shown towards supporters on Boxing Day, with Liverpool now slated to take on Leicester City at Anfield at 8pm.
The game had initially been due to take place at 3pm, allowing more scope for both home and away fans to enjoy a more reasonable return journey. That Amazon Prime have now chosen the fixture as their Boxing Day finale means plans will have to be hastily revised to accommodate for the unreliable nature of the festive public transport schedule, likely coming at added expense for many at a time when finances are at their tightest.
It is a similar story three days later, with Liverpool’s away clash with West Ham United having been pushed back by two hours to 5.15pm. For supporters, these latest fixture changes are yet another example of the havoc wreaked by football’s increasingly gluttonous orbit.
For Liverpool, it is simply an other obstacle they must overcome if they are to ensure this festive period is a happy one for Slot.
