Premier League: What is happening during the winter break?  

Hopefully you made the most of the Premier League weekend that’s just passed because there won’t be any action in the top-flight now for almost a fortnight.

The next scheduled match in the competition is on Saturday February 5 when Burnley host Watford, and the next full set of fixtures isn’t until the midweek round on February 8-10.

Yep, it’s winter break time in the Premier League but this year it’s a little bit different with quite a few stars jetting off on international duty.

Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in the next couple of weeks and why.

The Premier League is now on its winter break with the next game not until February 5

Hold on, so there’s no Premier League football now for two weeks?

Afraid so. This is the scheduled winter break for the Premier League season and there’s no action in the top-flight now until February 5.

It was meant to be February 8 but the aforementioned Burnley vs Watford fixture, which has twice been postponed because of Covid-19 outbreaks at first Watford and then Burnley, has been set for what is the FA Cup fourth round weekend.

Both Burnley and Watford were knocked out in the third round of the competition, losing to Huddersfield and Leicester respectively, so it’s a handy time to pencil in this rearranged game.

The twice-postponed Burnley vs Watford game will be played over the FA Cup weekend 

I thought the winter break had been canned?

No, although it’s understandable you may think that.

It was introduced in the 2019-20 season to allow players and managers some mid-season downtime as is the case in quite a few European leagues.

Then it took place in February with the fixture list staggered over two weekends to mean each club essentially got a fortnight off.

But then the Covid pandemic struck, causing the 2019-20 season to continue into July and the start of the 2020-21 campaign to begin a month later than usual in September.

With the whole fixture list now squeezed into a shorter season, there wasn’t time for a winter pause then but it has returned this season.

Sunday’s game between Arsenal and Burnley was one of the last ones before the pause

Surely this would be the ideal opportunity to play other games postponed because of Covid?

You’d think so. 22 Premier League games have been called off so far because teams were unable to name 13 players, plus a goalkeeper, in their matchday squad.

These rules were created because of Covid outbreaks within clubs but has become contentious because a combination of injuries, suspensions and players away at the Africa Cup of Nations has led to games being postponed.

Tottenham were left furious, for example, by Arsenal saying they were unable to put a team out for the north London derby last weekend despite having just one confirmed Covid case.

But the Premier League decided not to use the blank fortnight to get some of this remaining backlog cleared (with the exception of the Burnley vs Watford game).

The FA Cup fourth round is one factor, as is the desire to make sure teams get a breather. There are also World Cup qualifiers being played in South America which affects a good few teams and the Premier League really doesn’t need another row over player availability. 

There are South American World Cup qualifiers this week with Brazil and Argentina in action

When’s the FA Cup?

The fourth round weekend is February 4-6 and 14 Premier League clubs remain in the competition.

Typically, this round would be played in late January but there was little point scheduling a winter break and then have the leading clubs play in the Cup.

It does explain why the Premier League will return with a midweek round.

Manchester United are among 14 top-flight sides in the FA Cup fourth round after they knocked out Aston Villa in the third round

What about these internationals you speak of?

Just to add a further layer of complexity to the situation, the coming days see World Cup qualifying matches in South America, North America and Asia.

With a good few players still on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, such as Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, plenty will be occupied during the next fortnight.

11 Premier League players have been called up to the Brazil squad for their qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay, while four are in the Argentina squad for their matches against Chile and Colombia.

So it’s far from a break for the considerable number of players who will be flying off long-haul to represent their countries in the next few days.

Despite all the other leading European leagues also pausing, there are no UEFA nations in international action this month with the next games in March.

Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah is still on international duty with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations

So what’s everyone else up to?

Most Premier League managers will give their players a few days off, while some teams are heading off on training camps.

It’s a decent enough window to fit in a holiday and also return for some training sessions prior to the resumption.

Arsenal are heading to Dubai for a warm weather training camp to aid their push to finish in the top four, while Newcastle United have flown to Saudi Arabia to train after their takeover by the country’s Public Investment Fund.

Newcastle United’s owners and manager Eddie Howe arrive in Saudia Arabia on Monday

The Newcastle players will spend some time in Saudi Arabia for a warm weather training camp

Premier League leaders Manchester City were set to head off to Abu Dhabi but those plans have been abandoned following a Covid outbreak and Pep Guardiola has given his players a week off instead.

Various players were pictured flying off on holiday after Saturday’s games with Manchester United stars Harry Maguire, Diogo Dalot and Marcus Rashford going to Dubai.

Jack Grealish and John McGinn, former Aston Villa team-mates, are on holiday in Dubai

Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger gives the thumbs up as he heads to Sierra Leone 

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne was already on the beack with his family

Aston Villa duo Tyrone Mings and John McGinn were also seen at Manchester Airport on Saturday night also heading to the UAE.

Some managers will be switching off as well with Brentford boss Thomas Frank taking a skiing holiday in Switzerland.

Brentford manager Thomas Frank is heading off on a skiing holiday to Switzerland this week

Please tell me there’s still some football to watch!

Yes, don’t panic. The EFL is continuing at full pelt with midweek matches in all three divisions and then the Championship taking centre stage at the weekend. The Scottish Premiership is also carrying on.

The AFCON is ongoing and into the knockout stages, while the South American qualifiers are on Thursday and Tuesday next week.

The Championship continues apace as the Premier League stops with Fulham leading the way