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Maurizio Sarri on Chelsea Schedule: 'There Is No Christmas for Us'

Rory MarsdenDec 22, 2018

Maurizio Sarri said there will be "no Christmas" for Chelsea ahead of Saturday's clash with Leicester City because the festive period is so busy.

He revealed there will be training for the Blues squad on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, as they have a Boxing Day fixture at Watford.

The Italian also added he prefers to be working than celebrating Christmas, per Liam Twomey of ESPN FC:

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"There is no Christmas for us. We have to play every three days: [Dec] 19, 22, 26, 30, [Jan] 2, 5, 8/9. So there is no Christmas for us. It depends only on the match. If the match is in the evening, we can stay at home the evening before. If the match is at 3 p.m. or 1 p.m., we will go to the hotel, as usual.

"No, I like more to play football. I am lucky—in Serie B in Italy, we played over Christmas, and I liked it very much. In the Italian stadia, there was a wonderful atmosphere. In Italy, it's not really very easy [to have that]."

Sarri, 59, is in his first season at Chelsea after three seasons with Napoli.

He has never previously experienced the Premier League's packed festive fixture list, although Serie A introduced a Christmas schedule for the first time last year.

The Italian top flight now has its winter break in January.

Following the visit to Watford, Chelsea are away to Crystal Palace on December 30 before they host Southampton on January 2.

All four of Chelsea's upcoming league games are winnable, and they could get themselves back in the title race if they return maximum points.

The Blues went unbeaten in the Premier League until late November, but they have lost two of their past five matches to drop off the pace slightly:

A title challenge may be unrealistic for Chelsea given the immense quality of Liverpool and Manchester City.

But Chelsea open their FA Cup defence against Nottingham Forest on January 5 before their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg versus Tottenham Hotspur.

The Blues are more than capable of winning both competitions, and they are also one of the favourites to win the UEFA Europa League.