Why are no Premier League games this weekend? Quite simply, it's break time.
While most European leagues schedule their winter break over Christmas, the Premier League is busiest around this time, with fixtures coming thick and fast, to keep with a long-held tradition of English football.
But in recent years, we've seen the winter break take place a few weeks later – and this season is no exception.
Why are there no Premier League games this weekend?
Officially, the Premier League's winter break 2022 runs from Monday, January 24 until Monday, February 7, and the league has been adamant not to reschedule COVID-postponed games during the gap.
However, one match has managed to sneak into fortnight: relegation six-pointer Burnley vs Watford will take place on Saturday, February 5. The Clarets have been hit by postponements harder than any other team, having played a whole six games fewer than Chelsea.
The FA Cup fourth round will be played next weekend, meaning that the Premier League will not be on for two weekends in a row, which is unusual. Over the course of the next few months, however, there will be a number of re-arranged fixtures, owing to the COVID-19-enforced postponements of the past few weeks.
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Mark White has been a staff writer on FourFourTwo since joining in January 2020, writing pieces for both online and the magazine. Over his time on the brand, he has interviewed the likes of Aaron Ramsdale and Jack Wilshere, written pieces ranging on subjects from Bobby Robson's season at Barcelona to Robinho's career, and has been to the FA Cup and League Cup finals, working for FFT.
