Arne Slot goes against Jurgen Klopp and receives approval from Virgil van Dijk

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Liverpool’s first-team stars will enjoy a rare festive break with their families after boss Arne Slot broke tradition set by predecessors including Jurgen Klopp and granted his squad Christmas Day off. The Reds are usually called in to train on Christmas morning as part of their preparations for the traditional Boxing Day fixture, but a rare quirk in this season’s calendar means they will be able to spend the day at home instead.

This year, only one game is being played on Boxing Day , with all other fixtures spread across the weekend of December 27 and 28 – with the Premier League blaming UEFA for increasing the volume of European matches.

“The Premier League would like to acknowledge the circumstances that have led to a reduced number of matches on Boxing Day this season – impacting an important tradition in English football,” the league said when confirming the schedule for this year’s festive football calendar in October.

“There are now several challenges to Premier League fixture scheduling rooted in the expansion of European club competitions – which led to a revision of our domestic calendar ahead of last season, including changes to the FA Cup .

“This ultimately left the Premier League as a 33-weekend competition – fewer than previous seasons, despite being a 380-match competition since 1995. With fewer weekends to work with, the league is bound by how the calendar falls.”

Liverpool face Wolves at Anfield at 3pm on December 27, giving Slot the opportunity to hand his players and staff a rare Christmas off. The move has gone down well with his players, with skipper Virgil van Dijk saying it would be "special" to spend the day at home for the first time in his Liverpool career.

“We have Christmas Day off which is very nice of the staff,” the 34-year-old said after Liverpool’s 2-1 win at Spurs on Saturday. “It’s a nice change. I’ll be at home Christmas Eve too and I’m really looking forward to it.

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“The staff always have a particular plan for a game. It works well for everyone. It’s special to be off on Christmas Day. I don’t think it’s happened in my Premier League career so far. I’ll make the most of being with my family and enjoy it all.”

Liverpool will instead reconvene on Boxing Day with recovery work taking place earlier in the week. The Reds are currently on a six-game unbeaten run after Saturday’s victory and sit fifth in the Premier League ahead of their fixture against Wolves, 10 points behind leaders Arsenal , who they face at the Emirates on January 8.

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