Xabi Alonso has been thrown a curveball by the Premier League ahead of the festive period.
The Premier League has selected four Chelsea games for live broadcast to viewers in the United Kingdom during the first three weeks of December.
They were forced to revise the fixture schedule over the festive period due to UEFA competitions, with the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League group stages all in progress.
The Blues will now play Crystal Palace on Wednesday, December 2, at 19:30 on Sky Sports, and Liverpool on Saturday, December 5, at 12:30 on TNT Sports, both at Stamford Bridge. On Saturday, December 12, Chelsea will lock horns with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
The much-anticipated reunion between the Blues and the two Enzos, Maresca and Fernandez, will take place at 17:30 and be broadcast live to viewers in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports. Then, on Monday, December 21, Chelsea play hosts to Aston Villa at 20:00.
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The clash, which will be moved to 20:00 on Saturday, December 19, depending on whether either reaches the latter stages of the Carabao Cup, will also be broadcast live to viewers in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.
Although the Premier League has thrown Xabi Alonso quite the curveball, moving numerous fixtures around in an already congested schedule, he’s already begun preparing for the festive period.
Speaking to reporters last month, the Blues manager acknowledged the need to soldier on through Christmas. When initially asked about the extended international break in October, Alonso said: “We have spent already some time together, and we will have more time to spend together.
“There is no Christmas break here, so we will be together during Christmas as well. There will be plenty of games, so we have taken some steps forward and many more to take forward.”
As a player, though, Alonso claimed that Premier League clubs would benefit from a winter break. Back in October 2015, 11 years ago at the time of writing, the then-Bayern Munich midfielder commented on the ‘very demanding’ nature of the English top flight.
As quoted by the Mirror, Alonso said: “Every country and every league is different, but the Premier League has so many games and so much intensity.
“There is no break in the winter, no Christmas break. I know there is a big debate about whether that is something which has to change.
“At the moment, I am enjoying have winter breaks in Germany because it is quite a nice long one. Whether it has to change is not something which is on my table.
“But it is a fact that the Premier League is very demanding compared to other leagues.”
