Premier League winter break scrapped
The Premier League has opted to scrap its winter break for the 2020/21 campaign due to the condensed fixture list caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The postponement of the league in March meant that, when it recommenced, it would move into the summer months.
As a result, the new season was pushed back, with league organisers having to squeeze fixtures in nearly every week, including taking into account European matches and internationals.
In the 2019/20 campaign, teams were given scattered holidays of one weekend off and one midweek off in February to try and ease the pressure following the always hectic Christmas and New Year schedule.
That was originally put in place due to the Euro 2020 Championships, but that has been postponed until 2021, meaning that players will not actually receive the additional rest for the tournament that was originally planned.
What the Premier League has done is split a round of fixtures in the middle of January over two midweeks, giving teams a midweek off around the 13th-20th January.
For the first time in seven years, there will also be a full round of Premier League fixtures played on the same weekend as the FA Cup final.
Next week the official Premier League fixture list will be announced.
Both Manchester United and Manchester City are expected to delay their return to Premier League action for the 2020/21 season after reaching the semi-final of the Europa League and Champions League respectively.