North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham go head to head once again at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday night, with the winner moving forward to the EFL Cup semi finals, leaving them just one step away from the final. These two met in the league recently, with Arsenal coming out on top of that one, and there was a lot to like about how The Gunners played that day, they completely dominated Tottenham and prevented them from playing.

On their day, there is little doubt that Tottenham are one of the best attacking teams in the Premier League, and to beat Tottenham you have to prevent them from playing with confidence and having a flow about their game. That is exactly what Arsenal did in that first meeting with Spurs, and what they need to do again here, despite the fact that they are likely to come up against a slightly under-strength team as both of these clubs look to rest players with a busy schedule ahead.

This is of course an important game for these two teams on two different levels, the first is that this is a quarter final and the second is that these two are fierce rivals. However, even though that is the case these two teams will still rest players because of the schedule that is ahead of them. The Christmas period is always a busy time for Premier League clubs, and this year looks to be no different. With midweek league games and European games already under their belts this month, players have already played plenty of games in December.

Do Our Top Premier League Teams Play Too Many Games?

The EFL Cup is always a topic that divides opinion, and while some people like the tournament and some are against it, is it the case that this competition is actually part of a bigger problem that we have in the Premier League? Do our top clubs play too many games, and are we hindering their European chances by putting so much on them and not giving them a winter break during the season.

Compare the schedule that our top Premier League teams have right now to that of those who are in other European countries that are about to go into a winter break. Our teams have already played every weekend, plus a midweek Premier League game, a midweek European game and now this midweek EFL game. They are playing midweek on Boxing Day next week, and midweek on New Years Day the week after.

When the Champions League returns in February, our English clubs will have had a very tough run in December, and not been allowed to rest in January, which means they are not going to be as fresh as some of the other club around Europe.

There are three England vs Germany ties in the Champions League, with Tottenham vs Borussia Dortmund, Liverpool vs Bayern Munich and Manchester City vs Schalke. After an incredibly tough December for the English clubs, things continue as normal in January for them and they have to play league games week in week out, as well as playing in the FA Cup and any potential replays from those games.

Compare that to the Bundesliga teams, who go on their winter break for one month this season. The last possible date that any Bundesliga team can play is 23rd December, and the earliest they can return to act

ion is 18th January. That means the rest period will be a minimum of three weeks and five days for the German teams, just weeks before they go into Champions League action against the English clubs.

We have seen a number of English clubs perform well in the group stages of the Champions League in recent years, before fading away when we get to the knockout round. Do we put too much pressure on the teams, and do we force them to play too many games when the rest of Europe is resting?

A winter break could be on its way to English football, and that would certainly help but if the league wanted to do something a little more radical, they could look at the European teams not playing in the EFL Cup. This would take out a few games for them, and if it means more rest and more time to focus on big European games then I am sure the clubs would be interested in discussing it.

Our clubs play a lot of games at the moment, probably too many and that is harming our progress in Europe. Something will eventually need to be done about this, and the most logical thing to do is to intoduce a winter break during the season, to give clubs time to recharge their batteries before the second half. The 2022 World Cup is set to be played in the winter, and that could provide the league with the perfect excuse to trial a winter break, and once the clubs and players see the benefit of it, it is likely they would push for it to stay.

Arsenal vs Tottenham Betting Tips

Arsenal and Tottenham go head to head again at The Emirates and Tottenham will be looking for revenge after their defeat here. Both teams are expected to field weakened teams in this one, so don’t be surprised to see numerous changes to the starting line ups.

Despite that, we should still be in for a very good contest, those players that are coming into the teams will understand the importance of this game both because of the rivalry and because there is a semi final place at stake. Regardless of the starting eleven, we know that 22 committed players will be out on that field trying their best.

When it comes to squad depth, I think Tottenham have a slight advantage over their North London neighbours and that could be the key that gives them the advantage in this one. Arsenal have some youngsters they can call upon, and we have already seen those players do well in this competition and in the Europa League, but this is a completely different type of game.

I am going to back the experience and better squad strength of Tottenham to come out on top on Wednesday night and make the semi finals. They were beaten in the league here a couple of weeks ago, but I think they will gain compensation here, and winning the EFL Cup will certainly be on Tottenham’s agenda. This should be a very good game to watch, but it is Spurs who have my vote.

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