The Premier League has introduced a winter break for the first time this season, staggering it over the first two weeks of February. It will give top flight footballers a well earned rest, but Championship players aren’t so lucky.
There’s no such break in the EFL despite each club playing eight more league games than their Premier League counterparts. Of course, EFL clubs don’t have Europe to contend with and are less likely to go on long cup runs, but the same could be said of Crystal Palace and Watford.
There are a whole host of Championship players who have played more football than most Premier League players. In Bristol City's squad, Andreas Weimann has played 2,748 minutes of football in all competitions this season - the 11th most of any outfield player in the Championship.
It’s also more minutes of football than all but 14 outfield Premier League stars including Conor Coady (3,510 minutes), João Moutinho (3,221 minutes), Virgil van Dijk (3,120 minutes), Leander Dendoncker (3,038 minutes), Raúl Jiménez (3,019 minutes), Harry Maguire (3,012 minutes) and Andrew Robertson (3,004 minutes).
Four Championship players have played more football than all but seven top flight players - Leeds’ Ben White (2,924 minutes), Birmingham’s Kristian Pedersen (2,880 minutes), Millwall’s Jake Cooper (2,880 minutes) and Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall (2,873 minutes).
Another two players - Christopher Schindler and Matt Grimes - have only played fewer minutes than 12 Premier League players, while nine have only played fewer minutes than 14 Premier League players.
Most minutes played in Championship
Ben White (Leeds) - 2,924
Kristian Pedersen (Birmingham) - 2,880
Jake Cooper (Millwall) - 2,880
Joe Worrall (Nottingham Forest) - 2,873
Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield) 2,790
Matt Grimes (Swansea) - 2,790
Eberechi Eze (QPR) - 2,765
Matty Pearson (Luton) - 2,760
Jarrod Bowen (Hull/now West Ham) - 2,758
Liam Moore (Reading) - 2,758
Andreas Weimann (Bristol City) - 2,748
Reece Burke (Hull City) - 2,740
Mateusz Klich (Leeds) - 2,730
Sam Clucas (Stoke) - 2,727
Maxime Colin (Birmingham) - 2,700
Matty Cash (Nottingham Forest) 2,697
Semi Ajayi (West Brom) - 2,682
Kalvin Phillips (Leeds) - 2,677
Stuart Dallas (Leeds) - 2,673
Karlan Grant (Huddersfield) - 2,669
