Five substitutions will benefit top teams, says Patrick Vieira

Several clubs have urged the Premier League to increase the number of substitutions from three to five as a way to protect players amid the surge in Covid-19 cases. (AP file)

Man United manager Rangnick and his City counterpart Guardiola have both urged the Premier League to increase the number of substitutions from three to five

By Reuters/AFP

Published: Sun 26 Dec 2021, 12:20 AM

Allowing five substitutions can help clubs manage player workload better given the busy fixture list and surge in Covid-19, but such a move would hand an advantage to the top teams, Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira said on Friday.

Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick and his City counterpart Pep Guardiola have both urged the Premier League to increase the number of substitutions from three to five as a way to protect players.

“I think five subs regarding the period that we are in at the moment can be the right answer for us as a manager. But I don’t think that would be fair for the top five teams and the rest of us,” Vieira told reporters ahead of the Boxing Day clash away to Tottenham Hotspur.

“Any decision you make you always have people who are for and against. But for me, I don’t know if we should remain with the three substitutes.”

The Frenchman said that he wasn’t too concerned about the high number of games during festive period but added that it was tough on players coming back from Covid-19 to play without enough training.

“I’m not worried about the players’ welfare regarding the games in this period as it’s been like this for years. I am worried regarding Covid,” he said.

Vieira confirmed that Palace have reported “a couple of positive cases” in the last few days. Palace’s trip to Watford earlier this month was postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak at the home side.

“We hope we’re going to be okay (to face Spurs) but when you’re looking at the number of cases around we start to be worried,” said Vieira.

“I think (Spurs is) a really difficult place to go. The atmosphere, the players’ energy... so what is important for us is to play with courage, with confidence and belief.”

Palace are 11th in the league standings with 20 points from 17 games, six points adrift of six-placed Spurs.

Rodgers confident

Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers believes his side will recover quickly from their agonising penalty shoot-out exit from the League Cup when they face Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday.

The Foxes twice conceded a two-goal lead in their midweek League Cup quarterfinal against Liverpool — including an equaliser deep into added time — before losing on spot-kicks.

Adding to the pain of defeat, Leicester defenders Caglar Soyuncu and Ricardo Pereira were forced off while star striker Jamie Vardy played the last 20 minutes with a tight hamstring.

None of which augurs well for Leicester’s fixture against Premier League leaders City, even though the Foxes have won with two of their last four meetings against Pep Guardiola’s side.

“There is always disappointment but I said before the game ‘You are coming to Anfield, a great place to play, and whatever happens let’s impose our way’,” said former Liverpool manager Rodgers on Friday.

“That’s what I’ve always had from these players. They have been competitive against the best teams in the country and we saw that, we just couldn’t do enough to get over the line.”

He added: “They (City) are playing well at the minute, so we will just have to see where we are at and then devise a plan with the players available and see what we can do.

“It doesn’t look like there are too many (City) players out, they’ve had a free week without a midweek game. They are a brilliant side with technical players, world-class players, and they are used to winning.

“We’ve done OK against them but it’s going to be a big challenge for us and we need to play with the spirit we played with against Liverpool.”