Raheem Sterling defends Gareth Southgate amid England criticism while clubs make fixture requests

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The winter World Cup has seen Premier League clubs make more requests for the 2022/23 season than usual, the fixture list compiler has revealed. The campaign, which starts earlier than usual on August 6, will pause between November 13 and December 26 due to the tournament in Qatar and it has put heavy pressure on Glenn Thompson, the man responsible for putting the fixture list together.

Thompson, who works for Atos, an international IT services company used by the Premier League, has been working on next season's fixtures since the start of the year and has had a lot to contend with, with 2,036 games across the top four divisions to arrange. Clubs are invited to send fixture requests - such as asking to be at home on a certain date - in March and Thompson says there have been more than usual.

"The early start to both the Premier League and EFL means we have encountered more date requests from clubs than usual," he said ahead of Thursday's release of the 2022/23 fixtures. "The various start, break and end dates between the leagues has also posed a few sequencing problems."

Raheem Sterling leapt to the defence of under-fire Gareth Southgate following England's Hungary humbling, saying it is unfair to judge the manager on this Nations League run given what he has done for the team and nation. Just 11 months ago the Three Lions went agonisingly close to joining the heroes of 1966 in immortality, with the country's first ever European Championship final ending in a penalty shoot-out loss to Italy.

Southgate had already led England to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and third at the inaugural Nations League the following year, but the former defender is now facing the biggest