Premier League Project Restart: The Survival of the Fittest When We Return June 20
One thing is certain; there is going to be massive fixture congestion in the Premier League. Just think of Los Angeles traffic pre-pandemic.
Regardless of when the league resumes, there will be matches in rapid succession. In all likelihood, the finish to the competition will be a sprint of multiple matches per week for four weeks.
The inclusion of two additional substitutes per match will help. It is evident one of the biggest factors that will determine success is how quickly players will recover from matches. Which group of players will recover the quickest? The youngest.
There is no doubt younger players recover quicker than those who are older and more experienced. What this suggests, in theory, is that the younger teams overall will have an advantage. The average age of Premier League players is 27.3 years.
Seven clubs are, based on the average age of their players, significantly younger than average. Those clubs are (in order by the youngest average age of players): Arsenal, Wolves, Southampton, Manchester United, Tottenham, Chelsea, and Bournemouth.
Battle of the Young Ones
The Gunners, only eight points from the last Champions League spot, have the advantage of having the youngest squad. However, there are four teams ahead of them that also field youthful squads.
Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Red Devils are nipping at the heels of that last coveted spot, but Chelsea has a pretty young team themselves while Tottenham is not far behind both on the table and in youthful vigor.
The team, based on this metric, who is at a disadvantage is Sheffield United. They have the fourth oldest squad on average.
Southampton and Bournemouth hold the age advantage in the relegation battle. They have the third and seventh youngest clubs, respectively. Brighton is not too far behind, but their average player age is nearly a year older.
The clubs who are at a disadvantage in that scramble from the drop are West Ham and Watford. The Hammers and Hornets have the third and fifth oldest squads.
It would be a strong argument to suggest that the older teams have the advantage because of their talent and experience. However, when there is such significant match congestion, more senior players are more susceptible to injury.
If a club’s best players are older and they are stuck in the training room, they will be of little help on the pitch. However, there may be one mitigating factor that offsets the youth advantage.