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FREE KICKS: The Premier League is about to get crazy

Things are about to get frantic in the world’s top soccer league.

After that agonizingly long international break (wait, it was only a weekend off?), we’re back with top-flight soccer – and we’re going to be getting a LOT more over the next month and a half.

In fact, starting with Saturday’s games, the next 11 rounds of gameweeks take place over just 47 days. That’s 30% of the Premier League schedule in just 47 day, from Nov. 17-Jan. 3. All 20 clubs will play, on average, every four days.

Now you can understand why squad depth and conditioning is paramount in the Premier League. A nagging injury could have a player miss multiple games in just a short span of time.

While other leagues give their clubs a respite, it’s just the opposite in England – another reason why the EPL is the toughest league in the world to play or manage in. It’s next to impossible to trot out the same lineup twice in four days, making rotation a necessity and planning ahead a certainty.

And if you think that it’s hectic enough already, don’t forget that there are several clubs with Champions League, Europa League and EFL Cup ties to contend with as well.

Take Man City for example, who downed Leicester 2-0 on the weekend before squeaking out a 1-0 win over Feyenood on Tuesday. The Sky Blues will only have three days off in a row five times from this past Saturday until a Jan. 2 date with Watford. This is one of the reasons why manager Pep Guardiola bemoaned losing key centre back John Stones for four to six weeks.

This is the portion of the season where every team will be tested. It’s how you do around the holidays that will go a long way to determining a club’s place in the league at season’s end.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Playing in just his third game of the season Callum Wilson made up for lost time by scoring three against Huddersfield Town in a big 4-0 win for Bournemouth.

That’s two victories in a row now for the Cherries, who have escaped the relegation zone, and a date with the struggling Swans next. Things are looking up for the South Coast side and with Wilson finding his form after his long absence, the outlook should only get sunnier.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

With the fixture pileup we mentioned earlier, Spurs are going to be tested without Toby Alderweireld in the lineup for at least a month. The misery has already begun, with Tottenham losing to North London rival Arsenal on the weekend, moving the Gunners just a point back in the table for fourth … Arsenal has quietly put together a nice string of nine points in its past four games, with its only loss coming last week to City. The race for fourth is certainly going to be a tight one … Liverpool has a new Fab Four and they showed how much they can rock with a great display against Southampton. It was the first time this season that the Reds have been able to trot out the quartet of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino this season. The big question now is how long can Jurgen Klopp keep this fragile group together and how will it fare against a tougher side like Chelsea this coming weekend? … Salah is the first Liverpool player since Luis Suarez left to score 14 goals in a season and he has done it in just 18 games. The Reds really got a bargain on him for $40 million and, in this current market, you have to think that he could be worth $100 now … Reports are the Manchester United board has told Jose Mourinho that he’ll have to sell first in order to buy new players in the January window, which we’re sure that the Special One is delighted by … Paul Pogba showed the Red Devils how much he was missed in his return this week. The Frenchman was brilliant on the ball and covered well in defence. He’s a true all-around midfielder and it makes you wonder if United could be up there with City atop the table if he didn’t get hurt … Also returning this week for United: The one and only Zlatan. And, of course, his first attempt on goal was a flying scissor kick, so we know he hasn’t changed. But where does he fit in with Romelu Lukaku leading the line? Will the mighty Ibra be fine with coming off the bench? And , if so, for how long? … Vincent Kompany should’ve been sent off for taking down a breaking Jamie Vardy. Not sure how that wasn’t a red card for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity … With Tony Pulis getting sacked at West Brom, who will the Baggies bring in to help them in the relegation fight? Do you know which English manager has a stellar record of shoring things up and has never been relegated? Tony Pulis … Pulis’ sacking brings up another round of the managerial carousel. It boggles the mind how guys like Alan Pardew, Big Sam David Moyes – West Ham’s new manager – are continually brought in, bring a little success and then fail within a year or so. Why not look elsewhere instead of going to the bargain retread store?

THE LAST WORD

The field is set for the World Cup – and there are some very notable absences.

We already knew that the Netherlands and the U.S. were staying home from Russia next summer, but the real big shocker is Italy.

The Azzurri couldn’t bulge the net once in 180 minutes against a Swedish side that was content to put 10 men behind the ball. Italy manager Gian Piero Ventura made some very questionable decisions, like not utilizing Lorenzo Insigne more, and was justifiably fired.

The loss also marked the end for goalkeeping Gianluigi Buffon, who is retiring after this season. A trip to Russia would’ve been an excellent sendoff for the legend, but instead, he had to settle for tears of sadness, not joy.

Russia will also be worse off without Irish fans there to cheer on their club. After an excellent display in the streets of Copenhagen, it would’ve been great to see the Green Army let loose in Moscow.

But this is the nature of qualifying for the World Cup. It can be a crapshoot at times and we’re not guaranteed to see teams that we think are the world’s best competing. Is it better that minnow Panama are going to Russia but Italy isn’t? No, but it’s fair based on the rules setup for the event.

Of course, this will all change for the 2026 World Cup, which will be expanded to 48 teams. Now, if you’re top nation that misses out on that tournament, you really have to question how things went THAT wrong.

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