Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers has added his voice to the growing concern over this year's holiday schedule and insisted it is 'not good' for the players.
Rodgers takes his Foxes to leaders Manchester City with Jamie Vardy among seven first-teamers unlikely to make the game through injury.
The Leicester boss is about to lose four other stars - Daniel Amartey, Wilfred Ndidi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Nampalys Mendy - to the Africa Cup of Nations, with the quartet due to fly to Camroon on January 3.
And with his depleted squad facing the champions on Sunday and Liverpool barely 48 hours later, Rodgers has raised his concerns about the strain on players.