The English Premier League is the biggest provider of international players, as shown at this past summer’s World Cup when 129 players from the top flight were in Russia, compared to 81 from Spain’s La Liga which was second on the list.
Qualifying for the major international tournaments is no different as 165 Premier League players flew all around the world to represent their country earlier this month.
As if the hectic schedule of the Premier League and European competition wasn’t enough, the elite clubs in England also have to deal with their players jetting off all over the place a couple of times a season, known as the international break.
With the likes of South American nations playing midweek, just days before players are due to represent their club in the Premier League at the weekend, it can skew up squads and make for some interesting results.
For example, Manchester City host Burnley after the international break – the defending champions had 12 players representing their country in October, including nations such as Algeria, Argentina and Brazil, whereas the Clarets only had five players, of which three were playing for the Republic of Ireland.
Likewise, fellow title-chasers Liverpool had 15 players, playing for the likes of Brazil, Egypt and Guinea. Jürgen Klopp’s side are at Huddersfield Town immediately after the international break, with the Yorkshire club only having three players off during the same period!
However, the EPL Odds from Betfair do still heavily favour Manchester City and Liverpool to pick up three points from their respective games this weekend, despite also being followed up by Champions League action during the week!
The graphic from Betfair below shows the number of players representing each nation and from which club they come from:
