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Premier League fans and FPL players will have noticed a sparse nature to January’s schedule in England’s top flight.
All 20 teams from the division had fixtures to fulfil in the Third Round of the FA Cup between January 4-8. There’s also the Fourth Round of the world’s oldest knockout competition to consider around the weekend of January 27-28.
Chelsea, Liverpool and Fulham will also contest the semifinals of the Carabao Cup in the first month of the year.
Still, where are all the games?
Well, in the event that you’d (understandably) forgotten, the Premier League has a winter break.
MORE: English Premier League table 2023/24
Is there a winter break in the Premier League?
There will be a break from Premier League football in January 2024, but it’s not as simple as every team taking the same two weeks off.
The English tradition of football on Boxing Day and across the Christmas period, along with the Third Round of the FA Cup having its place on the first weekend of the new year, means that it has never aligned with more traditional breaks across Europe.
Premier League clubs only voted in favour of a winter break in 2018 and it was introduced for the first time in the 2018/19 season.
However, outside of FA Cup weekends, there will still be Premier League fixtures on every weekend in January, along with a midweek round on January 30 and 31.
Confused? The workaround that allows each team to have two weeks free of league action is to split one matchweek across January 13-15 and January 20-22.
This is how the fixtures are being split this season.
Saturday, January 13
Chelsea vs. Fulham (12:30 p.m. GMT / 7:30 a.m. ET)
Newcastle vs. Man City (5:30 p.m. GMT / 12:30 p.m. ET)
Sunday, January 14
Everton vs. Aston Villa (2 p.m. GMT / 9 a.m. ET)
Man Utd vs. Spurs (4:30 p.m. GMT / 11:30 a.m. ET)
Monday, January 15
Burnley vs. Luton Town (7:45 p.m. GMT / 2:45 p.m. ET)
Saturday, January 20
Arsenal vs. Crystal Palace (12:30 p.m. GMT / 7:30 a.m. ET)
Brentford vs. Nott’m Forest (5:30 p.m. GMT / 12:30 pm. ET)
Sunday, January 21
Sheff Utd vs. West Ham (2 p.m. GMT / 9 a.m. ET)
AFC Bournemouth vs. Liverpool (4:30 p.m. GMT / 11:30 a.m. ET)
Monday, January 22
Brighton vs. Wolves (7:45 p.m. GMT / 2:45 p.m. ET)
In another break from tradition, the lack of any 3 p.m. kickoffs during this round of games means every match will be broadcast live in the UK by either Sky Sports or TNT Sports as they fall outside the Saturday blackout.
MORE: Premier League top goal scorers 2023/2024
Why was there no Premier League winter break last season?
Despite coming in for 2019/20, this will be only the second season when the Premier League winter break has taken place.
The coronavirus pandemic meant the 2020/21 season started late and had to finish in time for the rescheduled Euro 2020 in summer 2021, leaving no time for a mid-season break.
Considerations then turned towards the 2022 Qatar World Cup, which was staged across November and December. The 2021/22 season was condensed to allow an early start to 2022/23, when the Premier League paused for six and a half weeks so the World Cup could take place.
A belated return to normality in 2023/24 means the winter break is back.
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