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Congested schedule challenges Premier League big boys

Liverpool v Chelsea - Premier League

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - JANUARY 31: Marcos Alonso of Chelsea challenges Adam Lallana of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield on January 31, 2017 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

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Every Premier League team will play two league matches in, at most, five days beginning with Leicester City’s trip to West Ham on Friday.

Throw in UEFA Champions League and Europa League, and this could throw a wrench into the Top Four ambitions the big boys.

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The schedule and table status makes life a bit more forgiving for a number of the giants. Man City and Spurs have already advanced, while Manchester United is almost completely through the door. Arsenal’s onto the knockout rounds of Europa, too.

Liverpool and Chelsea can move on with wins over Sevilla and Qarabag, respectively, and the Reds get one more day’s rest before hosting the Blues. Traveling back from Azerbaijan and heading to Anfield makes life even harder for Chelsea.

The European competitions could be great news for all of next midweek’s opponents, but especially for Stoke and Swans. They’ll be getting Chelsea and Liverpool on the heels of two difficult matches each.

We’ll leave Everton out of this, having been eliminated from Europe and likely to start a very green squad from its deepest depth on Thursday.

Manchester City
vs. Feyenoord -- Tuesday
at Huddersfield Town -- Sunday
vs. Southampton -- Nov. 29

Manchester United
at Basel -- Wednesday
vs. Brighton -- Saturday
at Watford -- Nov. 28

Chelsea
at Qarabag -- Wednesday
at Liverpool -- Saturday
vs. Swansea City -- Nov. 29

Arsenal
at Koln -- Thursday
at Burnley -- Sunday
vs. Huddersfield Town -- Nov. 29

Tottenham Hotspur
at Borussia Dortmund -- Tuesday
vs. West Bromwich Albion -- Saturday
at Leicester City -- Nov. 28

Liverpool
vs. Sevilla -- Tuesday
vs. Chelsea -- Saturday
at Stoke City -- Nov. 29

Follow @NicholasMendola