FIFA could intervene as Leeds United involved in fresh Premier League drama
Leeds United are set for their toughest spell of the Premier League season.
Daniel Farke’s job is on the line after the final international break of the year, with Leeds taking on Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool.
It doesn’t get any easier after that, with trips to Sunderland and Brentford wedged between a home game against Crystal Palace just before Christmas.
Games are known for coming thick and fast around the Christmas period, with Oliver Glasner and Crystal Palace already making several requests.
With those looking unlikely, FIFA could even step in soon.
What is Crystal Palace’s request for Leeds game?
As it stands, Palace are due at Elland Road on 21 December, a game which has already been moved due to Europa League commitments on the previous Thursday.
Crystal Palace have requested that the Premier League move the Leeds game back to 20 December, which would allow more preparation for a Carabao Cup clash at Arsenal on 23 December.
Where this makes less sense is that Palace play KuPS in the Europa Conference League on 18 December, so either way, they are cutting their recovery down either side.
That’s where FIFA come in.
Read more: Adrian Durham shares what he’s noticed about Farke that could get him sacked
The Daily Mail has reported in its print edition on 11 November that FIFA are now proposing a mandatory 72-hour break between fixtures due to concerns around player workload.
It is said that Palace’s current schedule of three games in six days, including the trip to Leeds, would be a thing of the past, something that Premier League clubs would welcome.
When could Daniel Farke be sacked?
With the horror run of the next four games already mentioned, it would be little surprise to see Leeds in the bottom three before Christmas.
Farke has one thing on his side: the games against Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool are all at Elland Road, and if he can use the home crowd to pick up points, he could be saved.
Letting a gap be created after heavy embarrassing defeats at Brighton and Nottingham Forest should be the end of the line, though, so he will know how important these games are.
Time will only tell if FIFA get involved, though.
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