How much time each Premier League team in Europe gets to rest between games
Fixture congestion in the Premier League is always a hot topic, and this week Aston Villa has the shortest break between games of the nine teams playing in European competitions. Villa face Norwegian side Viking in the Champions League at Villa Park on Wednesday and then host Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday. There will be just 64 hours and 30 minutes between the start of these matches, but since both are home games, the rest time impact is a bit easier to handle.
Manchester City has a bit more recovery time, but the team with the longest gap between games is Liverpool. They have 114 hours between their two matches this week because of Brighton & Hove Albion’s involvement in the Europa League.
These fixtures come during the week starting Monday, 19 October, with all kick-off times in BST, covering the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.
Leaving out qualifying rounds and Brighton — who play in the Conference League, which has fewer matches than the other competitions — Bournemouth has had the shortest recovery times so far this season. On average, they’ve had 66 hours between Europa League matches and following Premier League games, adding up to a total of 198 hours (about eight days and six hours).
Crystal Palace comes next, with a total of 200 hours and 15 minutes across their first three European matchdays, averaging 66 hours and 45 minutes between games. Both Palace and Bournemouth are the only teams to have had all three breaks under 72 hours. Sunderland, Brighton, Villa, and Liverpool have had at least two breaks shorter than 72 hours.
Even though Sunderland’s Europa League matches are on Thursday nights, Aston Villa actually has the third-shortest recovery time so far this season, averaging 75 hours and 45 minutes between Champions League and Premier League games.
Manchester United and Manchester City have enjoyed the most time to recover, with 274 hours and 45 minutes and 272 hours, respectively.
There are many factors that influence when Premier League games are scheduled after European midweek games. UEFA, the Premier League, the clubs, the police, and broadcasters like Sky and TNT Sports all have a say.
Clubs agreed that teams playing away Champions League games on Wednesday won’t have to play in the Saturday lunchtime broadcast slot, no matter what TNT selects.
While player unions worldwide recommend at least 72 hours between matches for proper recovery, the reality is a bit different. The Premier League states that organizers usually try to give clubs at least two full days between games.
Europa League teams can’t play Thursday and then Saturday, but moving all their matches to Sunday isn’t possible because of the Champions League games on the following Tuesday.
Broadcast choices also affect scheduling. Sky Sports holds the rights to most of the matches and can pick games for Friday evenings, Saturday teatime, various Sunday slots, and Monday nights.
TNT Sports controls the 12:30pm Saturday slot, which creates challenges if their selected teams are also in the Champions League. If a match can’t be played at 12:30pm on Saturday, it moves to later times, including the rare 8:00pm Saturday kick-off.
Teams manage their squads and might prioritize some competitions over others, so the time between European games and Premier League matches can’t always be the same for every player.
Studies on recovery time suggest that 48 to 72 hours might be enough physiologically, but this might not fully prevent injuries over time. The players’ union, FIFPRO, recommends 120 hours between matches to help players perform their best and stay safe.
Research often defines fixture congestion as games played within 96 hours of each other. Studies have looked at how this congestion affects players and competition. One finding is that players often adjust how hard they play during busy times to manage their workload themselves.