When is the 2021-22 Premier League winter break?

The Premier League’s 2021-22 winter break will see English football’s top sides take a rest from league action for a two-week period.

We have gathered all the key information on the pause in one helpful place below. 

When is the 2021-22 Premier League winter break?

The Premier League’s winter break is scheduled to take place between January 23 and February 7, 2022.

The 2020-21 campaign saw the gap in the fixture list scrapped due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic but all indications are that it will take place as normal this season.

When did the Premier League introduce a winter break?

The debate over a winter break in the Premier League had raged for a long time before it was finally introduced ahead of the 2019-20 season.

Managers frequently lobbied for a designated rest period to be added midway through the campaign to help reduce the risk of injury among their players and take the edge off what is a hectic schedule.

Many other major leagues including LaLiga, the Bundesliga and Serie A have been taking a break over the festive season for many years.

England’s pause comes slightly later than the others due to the long-standing tradition of Boxing Day and New Year’s Day fixture lists in the United Kingdom.

Will players and teams be completely out of action during the 2021-22 Premier League winter break?

The concept of the winter break is to allow teams and players a rest period — yet many stars will still be playing in some capacity.

This season’s break coincides with an international window for certain regions, including two sets of fixtures in South America’s World Cup qualifying and the rescheduled 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

While the likes of Manchester City duo Ederson and Gabriel Jesus will likely travel to Brazil, Liverpool stars Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will look to lead their respective nations’ quest for AFCON glory.

There is also the possibility of cup games taking place given the break is only administered by the Premier League.

This was the case in 2019-20, when Jurgen Klopp opted to play Liverpool’s youth team in an FA Cup replay against Shrewsbury and put coach Neil Critchley in charge of the tie to ensure his full senior group could enjoy their time off.

Can postponed fixtures be rearranged for the 2021-22 Premier League winter break?

A surge in coronavirus case numbers in the UK over the winter period has seen several Premier League fixtures postponed with minimal space in the calendar for them to be rearranged.

However, there is currently no indication that chiefs will reschedule any clashes to be played during the designated period. 

That situation could still be subject to change considering several cancelled matches are yet to have been allocated a new date.

When will AFCON be played?

The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on Sunday, January 9, 2022 and runs until Sunday, February 6, 2022.

Therefore, thanks to the winter break, the number of games missed by stars such as Salah, Mane and Riyad Mahrez is less than it would have been under normal circumstances.