The modern football calendar appears more congested than ever.
In the period following the Champions League final, numerous players have participated in two international fixtures, as many as seven FIFA Club World Cup matches, and a series of pre-season friendlies across various continents.
This intense schedule follows a season marked by the most expansive European club campaigns to date, a pattern that is set to repeat itself in the upcoming year.
Furthermore, the season will be punctuated by the Africa Cup of Nations and culminate in an expanded 48-team World Cup hosted in North America.
This raises the question: Which clubs’ players have accumulated the most match appearances over the past year, and which teams might possess the most physically fresh squads?
Additionally, which individual players face the risk of exhaustion even before the season commences?
BBC Sport, in collaboration with Opta, has analyzed the competitive playing time of current Premier League players, including recent acquisitions, since the beginning of last summer, spanning an impressive 104 competitions.
For each club, we identified the 20 outfield players who featured in the most league games last season, replacing those who have departed (or had the fewest appearances last season) with new signings.
Our analysis focuses on the total minutes played for both club and country since June 1, 2024.
The findings are compelling…
Based on our data, Everton’s squad should be the most rested in the Premier League this season.
Players in Everton’s current roster averaged just 1,847 minutes of play last season, equivalent to approximately 21 full matches.
Only one player, 35-year-old Senegalese midfielder Idrissa Gueye, exceeded 4,000 minutes (44 full games).
Among current Premier League clubs, only West Ham played fewer games than Everton last season, as both teams experienced early exits from domestic cup competitions.
Bournemouth’s squad ranks as the second-most rested in terms of minutes played.
However, considering their league-leading number of sprints under Andoni Iraola’s high-intensity pressing system, they might not feel as refreshed.
Our analysis indicates that Manchester City possesses the least rested squad in the Premier League.
While City’s Champions League campaign ended prematurely, they reached the FA Cup final and participated in the Club World Cup in June and July.
Many of City’s players are also established internationals, averaging 3,780 minutes of play over the past 14 months, equivalent to 42 full matches. This is double the total for Everton.
Notably, some of City’s summer acquisitions have increased their average playing time.
Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, who represented Guardiola’s side in the Club World Cup, has accumulated an impressive 6,032 minutes for AC Milan, the Netherlands, and City since last summer, equivalent to 67 full games.
Our data suggests that Arsenal has the second-least rested squad, with an average of 3,552 minutes played.
The seven teams that participated in European competitions topped the list for most games played, along with Championship play-off winners Sunderland.
Chelsea, despite exiting both domestic cups in the fourth round, actually played more games than any other team last season, including their journey to winning the Club World Cup. They also rotated their squad in the Conference League.
Youth could also prove advantageous for Chelsea.
Enzo Maresca’s side possesses the youngest squad in the Premier League by a considerable margin.
No player over the age of 27 played for the Blues in the league last season, and they fielded the youngest squad at the Club World Cup.
Their oldest summer signing is 23-year-old Joao Pedro. The question remains: Does youth mitigate the effects of accumulated playing time?
In contrast, Chelsea’s west London rivals, Fulham, have the oldest playing squad in the top flight.
Their average age of 27 is equivalent to the age of Chelsea’s oldest player, Tosin Adarabioyo, who coincidentally joined from the Cottagers last summer.
New Wolves signing Jhon Arias leads the list of players with the most minutes played in 2024-25.
The 27-year-old winger accumulated a remarkable 6,577 minutes for Brazilian club Fluminense and the Colombian national team, equivalent to 73 full matches.
Brazilian clubs compete in their national league, state competitions, cups, and continental tournaments.
Arias, who joined Wolves for £15 million, also participated in the Club World Cup with Fluminense, reaching the semi-finals.
The only other Premier League players to have exceeded 6,000 minutes of play are Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes and new City signing Reijnders.
Fifteen other players accumulated more than 5,000 minutes, including Leeds and Wales defender Joe Rodon.
Additional writing by Emlyn Begley
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