Gareth Southgate has pleaded with the Premier League not to schedule any ‘big six’ clashes the weekend before the start of the World Cup.
England will discover their opponents in Qatar on Friday and Southgate is hoping to be in a group which has a later start date than others, giving his squad extra days to prepare.
The 2022-23 Premier League season is set to be paused after the weekend of November 12-13, with the opening game of the World Cup just over a week later.
At least one round of top-flight fixtures is set to be played after Southgate has named a provisional squad.
The England manager does not expect the Premier League to adjust the final round of matches but has called on them to ensure none of Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool or the Manchester clubs meet that weekend, which would minimise the chances of his players going head-to-head.
“I wouldn’t think that’s going to happen,” Southgate said of the chances of the Premier League adjusting the November 12-13 match week.
“What would help is if we don’t get a derby or those sorts of ‘big six’ games. But it’s not the fault of the League the World Cup is being held in the winter.”
