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Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira has insisted that the tough calendar is the “same for everybody” after Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa raised a major fear.

The Premier League is in full swing from now until March after the three international breaks earlier in the season. However, December always proves to be the toughest month of that period.

Indeed, as well as the regular weekend matches, teams play the first two midweek rounds of the campaign. That all comes before the Christmas period makes the schedule more hectic.

Leeds manager Bielsa slammed the fixture list in his press conference on Monday.

He said: “The calendar is so overcharged, it doesn’t bear in mind the development of the preparation.

“That’s why I have serious doubts over the future of professional football because it is constantly commercialised and the product every time is constantly worse.”

However, Vieira hit back in his media briefing. He said: “I think it’s the same for everybody. So we just have to adapt to the number of games that we have to play.”

The Frenchman also talked about Leeds’ form, ahead of their clash with his Crystal Palace side at Elland Road on Tuesday.

The Whites have only won two of their 13 games so far and therefore sit only three points above the relegation zone.

They may have sat in the bottom three as it stands, had 18th-placed Burnley played Tottenham on Sunday and won.

Vieira credits Bielsa and unlucky Leeds

“I think the way that Leeds play is really demanding and obviously a lot of energy game after game is really difficult to maintain,” the manager said.

“But I think when you look at the game as well, they’ve been really unlucky in some of the games where they should have scored and they didn’t.

“I think at the moment things are not going their way but that doesn’t take away the energy and the quality that they have.

“Regarding the physicality from last year to this year, it is difficult because I didn’t watch them play so many times last year, but this is the team that for me, play with organisation and energy, and that didn’t change, really.

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“So I think they’ve been unlucky not to win a couple of the games that they played so far.”

Leeds beat Palace 2-0 at Elland Road last season courtesy of goals from Jack Harrison and Patrick Bamford.

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