English Premier League Winter Break: Why Arsenal, Liverpool Are Not Playing This Weekend

• Arsenal and Liverpool are among the Premier League clubs that won't be in action
• This is after the EPL adopted a winter break schedule spread over two weekends
• We explain how the winter break works in comparison to the other leagues

The English Premier League is known for its congested fixtures over the festive period, where clubs play at least twice in seven days.

From Boxing Day games to New Year fixtures, the Premier League is always a stark contrast to other top five leagues, where action stops momentarily for the festivities or the winter break.

How the EPL winter break works

This year, however, the Premier League adopted a different schedule where players will be accorded rest, albeit in breaks. Rather than stop the league entirely like in the Bundesliga or Serie A, matchday 21 was split into two weekends, as BBC Sports reports.

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This explains why clubs like Arsenal or Liverpool will not be in action on the weekend of 12 to 14. Ten teams will play that weekend, then rest the other weekend when the other ten teams play their matchday 21 fixtures.

This is the second time the Premier League has had a winter break after January 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic after that and the 2022 World Cup held in December then disrupted the continuance of the break.

However, clubs like Everton, Brentford and Crystal Palace will see their breaks cut short as they have to play their FA Cup replays on January 17.

When do top six teams resume?

Chelsea play Fulham in the Saturday early kickoff before Mauricio Pochettino's side take a 10-day break. They'll return to action on the 23rd when they face Middlesbrough in the second leg of the Carabao Cup.

Manchester City face an acid test away to Newcastle United later this evening and will only return to action on the 26th when they play Tottenham in the FA Cup.

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Tottenham Hotspur's visit to Manchester United on January 14 will be the biggest fixture of the spread-out game week. Afterwards, Spurs resume action on the 26th, while United resume on the 28th in the FA Cup fourth round.

Arsenal, who were in the first batch of the break, are currently in Dubai for their warm weather training. They resume on January 20 with a clash against Crystal Palace. Liverpool play Bournemouth on January 21.

Arteta's awkward moment with Salt Bae

While in Dubai, Sports Brief reported that Gunners boss Mikel Arteta had an uncomfortable run-in with celebrity chef Salt Bae. The chef cut a steak for the Spanish head coach in his trademark fashion before feeding it to him.

It is not the first time the celebrity has caused controversy with football figures after celebrating Argentina's World Cup triumph in 2022 with the players on the pitch.