How Premier League Clubs Plan Their Training Schedules During the Extended International Break

With the Premier League set to pause for an extended international break, most squads across the league are losing key players to international duty — and Brentford are no exception.

The majority of Brentford’s squad will be away representing their countries, leaving approximately 12 players — including Callum Wilson and Igor Thiago — at the club’s training facility. Notably, five of those players are returning from injury.

Brentford enjoy a longer break than nearly every other team in the division, having hosted Chelsea on Friday evening.

Head coach Keith Andrews has granted his first-team players a full week off, with individual training programmes to follow at home. While these players face no restrictions on leaving the country, it is unlikely that long-haul flights will be officially sanctioned.

The squad is scheduled to reconvene on Saturday, 26 September, to resume collective training, ahead of a behind-closed-doors fixture against another English club during the weekend of 3 October.

That friendly could provide an opportunity for the likes of Nathan Collins and Sepp van den Berg to make their return to action, with the remainder of the squad consisting of under-21 players.

The second international break will follow a markedly different pattern, with Brentford facing Brighton on Sunday, 8 November, and returning to action against Everton on Saturday, 21 November.

Players may be granted the occasional day off, but in general the training programme will proceed as normal, with no friendly matches scheduled before the standard preparation for the fixture against the Toffees.

Liverpool, meanwhile, will continue training with the limited number of players who remain at the club, incorporating a few days of rest into their schedule.

Manager Andoni Iraola has acknowledged that he will have “no more than three days probably to prepare” for the home match against Manchester City on 11 October.

Aston Villa have a considerably different plan for the international break.

Unai Emery will return to former club Sevilla, where he won the Europa League on three occasions, as part of the club’s pre-season activities.

Sevilla and Villa are set to face off in the 15th edition of the Antonio Puerta Trophy on Friday, 2 October.

The match is held in memory of the 22-year-old Sevilla wing-back, who tragically died on 28 August 2007 after suffering multiple cardiac arrests on the pitch during a La Liga match against Getafe.

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