The international break has come to an end, and it certainly produced some incredible games as well as some incredible drama.
The past week has seen international teams taking part in their 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, with Scotland earning a hard fought 1-0 win in Austria.
However, despite the return of domestic action this weekend and more opportunities for online football betting here, five clubs south of the border will be facing a tough opening game with their Brazilian cohorts of players banned for five days, after their parent clubs blocked their international call-ups.
Due to travel restrictions, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Leeds United prevented their Brazilian selection from travelling for the South American country’s games.
Most notably, Brazil’s game against Argentina was postponed after Brazilian health officials stormed the pitch to detain four Argentinian players after they entered the country without quarantine.
The four players - Emiliano Martinez, Emiliano Buendia, Giovani Lo Celso, and Cristian Romero, were all deported from the country - it clearly showed that the aforementioned clubs were right to prevent their players from joining up on national duty as they two would have been required to quarantine for 14 days.
Now, it seems as though the Brazilian FA and FIFA are taking action against the five clubs, with their Brazilian players given a five day ban.
Even though none of them travelled for the game, they are being punished for exactly that reason, which does not make any sense in regard to what actually happened during the game.
This leaves Liverpool without their Brazilian trio of Alisson, Fabinho, and Roberto Firmino for Sunday’s game against Leeds - with the Yorkshire side also without Raphinha for the game.
The Reds will surely miss their contingent, meaning that the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher, Diogo Jota, and a reshaped midfield will fill in the gaps left by their absence. Kelleher has not played for the Reds for some time now and impressed last season with some great performances in the Premier League and Champions League.
Jota will be returning from international duty having carried on his fine goalscoring form after his header against Azerbaijan as Portugal ran out 3-0 winners. Hopefully, the forward will be able to carry this on after his fine start in the league, with 2 goals from the first 3 games.