- Published
The first international break of the season is under way - and this one is longer than fans will have become accustomed to.
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fans → publish → way
For the first time, the Premier League and the Championship will come to a halt for three weeks rather than the usual two.
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League → come → two
Football fans tend not to love international breaks, but this change has been done with good intentions.
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change → tend → intentions
It merges the four games played in the old September and October breaks into one slot.
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It → merge → slot
So the domestic game stops for three weeks, rather than four weeks across two windows.
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game → stop → windows
Club football is actually getting a week back.
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football → get → week
But for players not on international duty, three weeks is a long time for finely tuned athletes not to play competitively.
So how are clubs going to deal with this change?
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clubs → tune → change
Here's how different teams plan to balance the international break.
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teams → plan → break
Brentford's remaining players given week off
Most squads in the Premier League these days are packed with international players, and Brentford are no different.
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Brentford → remain → players
Most of the Bees' squad are away, with about 12 players - including Callum Wilson and Igor Thiago - left at their training facility, including five who are coming back from injury.
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who → include → injury
Brentford have a longer break than almost every other team, given they hosted Chelsea on Friday evening.
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they → have → evening
Boss Keith Andrews has given his first-team players a week off with individual training programmes to follow.
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Andrews → give → programmes
Those players will not have restrictions on leaving the country, but it is unlikely long-haul flights would be sanctioned.
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flights → have → country
The squad will reconvene on Saturday, 26 September to begin training again, before playing a behind-closed-doors game against another English club on the weekend of 3 October.
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squad → reconvene → October
That friendly could potentially give the likes of Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg a chance to return to action, with the rest of the squad made up of under-21 players.
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rest → give → players
The second international break will look very different, with the Bees playing Brighton on Sunday, 8 November and back in action against Everton on Saturday, 21 November.
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Bees → look → Saturday
Players may be given the odd day off, but in general it will be a normal training programme with no friendly before the usual preparation for the fixture against the Toffees.
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it → give → Toffees
Liverpool, meanwhile, will carry on training with the small number of players that remain, with a few days off.
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that → carry → days
Manager Andoni Iraola says he will be left with "no more than three days probably to prepare" for the home game with Manchester City on 11 October.
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he → say → October
Aston Villa have a very different international break planned.
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break → have → ?
Unai Emery will return to former club Sevilla, where he won the Europa League three times on the bounce.
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he → return → bounce
Sevilla and Villa will face off in the 15th edition of the Antonio Puerta Trophy on Friday, 2 October.
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Sevilla → face → Friday
The game is played in memory of the 22-year-old Sevilla wing-back, who died on 28 August 2007 after having multiple cardiac arrests on the pitch during a La Liga game against Getafe.
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who → play → Getafe
Blackburn glad to get injured players back
While Premier League teams see their squads decimated by international call-ups, it is not quite as dramatic in the Championship.
Many clubs will only have a handful, such as Blackburn Rovers with just four call-ups.
For Rovers boss Tony Mowbray this break will be a positive for a couple of reasons.
Mowbray has had to contend with an injury crisis in the early part of the season, with more than 10 players ruled out in the opening weeks.
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players → get → weeks
The break gives Rovers the chance to ease some of those players back into action, such as Gady Beyuku and Moussa Baradji who recently made their comebacks, and others close to a return like Scott Wharton.
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who → give → Wharton
After the trip to Portsmouth on Saturday, Rovers headed back to Lancashire and will have a few days on the training ground this week.
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Rovers → head → ground
After such a busy start to the campaign, with league fixtures and the Carabao Cup, it also gives Mowbray - who returned to the club in the summer - a chance to properly work with his players.
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who → give → players
But it will not all be training.
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it → train → ?
Mowbray intends to give the players a few days off from the end of the week.
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Mowbray → intend → week
Players such as Yuri Ribeiro will be able to return home to Portugal, if they so wish.
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they → return → Portugal
The cycle will then be repeated the following week, training the first half with a short break over the weekend.
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cycle → repeat → weekend
Mowbray is also looking to find a Premier League or League One team to play in a behind-closed-doors friendly.
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Mowbray → look → friendly
It will help those returning from injury to get minutes in the bank, and keep other members of the squad ticking over.
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members → help → squad
In the two-week break in November, players may still get a short spell off while matches are more likely to be in-house affairs with teams made up of senior and under-21 players.
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matches → get → players
Games off in League One, but no long break
The three-week international break might have posed a unique situation for a couple of clubs, whereby they could have a full squad and no games to play.
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they → pose → squad
League One carries on playing unless clubs get three call-ups which meet the EFL's criteria, then a postponement can be requested.
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postponement → carry → criteria
Only four of the 12 matches have survived on each of the two weekends.
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matches → survive → weekends
Yet many clubs prepared in advance by scheduling Football League Trophy fixtures during these three weeks.
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clubs → prepare → weeks
Clubs tend to rotate in this competition anyway, so the games still go ahead even if league games are postponed.
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games → tend → competition
Twelve teams will play two trophy ties, with 10 clubs playing once.
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clubs → play → ties
…and 2 more, not listed.
The Aporia
