London (Reuters)
Crystal Palace coach Patrick Vieira said on Friday that allowing five substitutions may help clubs relieve the pressure of a crowded schedule on players in the midst of the Covid-19 epidemic, but this step would greatly benefit the big teams.
Manchester United coach Ralf Rangnick and his counterpart Pep Guardiola, Manchester City coach, urged the Premier League to increase the number of substitutions from three to five to protect players.
“I think the five substitutions in the current crowded period of matches would be the ideal solution for us as coaches, but I don’t think it will be fair for us against the top five teams, people are always divided over any decision to support or oppose,” Vieira told reporters before facing his host Tottenham Hotspur on Boxing Day. But for me, I don’t really know if we need to continue with the three substitutions.
The French coach said that the large number of matches during the Christmas period does not concern him, but he said that it is difficult for players returning from Covid-19 to play directly without sufficient training.
He added: “I am not worried about the safety of the players, given the number of matches in this period, because it has been like this for years, I am more worried about Covid-19.”
Vieira confirmed the discovery of two cases of HIV infection in Crystal Palace in recent days, and Palace’s trip to Watford was postponed earlier this month due to the outbreak of Covid-19 in the ranks of the hosting team.
Palace is 11th in the Premier League with 20 points from 17 games, six points behind Tottenham Hotspur.
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