Xabi Alonso was thrown a curveball by the Premier League before the holidays.
The Premier League has selected four Chelsea games to broadcast live to viewers in England during the first three weeks of December.
They were forced to revise their schedule during the festive period due to ongoing UEFA competitions in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League group stages.
The Blues now face Crystal Palace on Wednesday 2 December at 7.30pm on Sky Sports and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on TNT Sports on Saturday 5 December at 12.30pm. On Saturday, December 12, “Chelsea” will face “Manchester City” at the Etihad Stadium.
The much-anticipated meeting between the Blues and the two Enzos, Maresca and Fernandez, kicks off at 5.30pm and will be broadcast live to UK viewers on Sky Sports. Then, on Monday, December 21, Chelsea face Aston Villa at 8:00 p.m.
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The clash, which will be moved to 20:00 on Saturday 19 December depending on whether they reach the final stages of the Carabao Cup, will also be broadcast live to UK viewers on Sky Sports.
Although the Premier League has thrown Xabi Alonso quite a curveball by forcing many matches into an already congested schedule, he has already started preparing for the festive period.
Speaking to reporters last month, the Blues manager admitted the need to recruit before Christmas. Speaking about the extended international break in October, Alonso initially said: “We have spent some time together and we will have more time together.
“There’s no Christmas break here, so we’ll be together over Christmas. There’s going to be a lot of games, so we’ve taken a few steps forward and a lot more.”
As a player, Alonso argued that Premier League clubs would benefit from the winter break. Back in October 2015, 11 years ago when writing this article, the then Bayern Munich midfielder commented on the “very demanding” nature of England’s top flight.
As quoted by the Mirror, Alonso said: “Every country and every league is different, but the Premier League has a lot of games and a lot of intensity.
“No winter break, no Christmas break. I know there’s a big debate about whether that’s something that should change.
“At the moment I’m enjoying the winter break in Germany because it’s been quite a long time. Whether it should change or not is not something that’s on my table.
“But it is a fact that the Premier League is very demanding compared to other leagues.”