Fresh or fatigued – how rested is your Premier League team’s squad?

It seems as if there is more football than ever.

Since the Champions League final some players have had two international games, played in up to seven Fifa Club World Cup matches and featured in some pre-season friendlies – all around the world.

That was after a season with the biggest European club campaigns ever – and it will be the same again this time.

Plus there is an Africa Cup of Nations in the middle of the season and a 48-team World Cup in North America at the end of it.

So which clubs’ players have featured in the most matches in the past year – and who should be the freshest on paper?

And which individual players could be exhausted before this season even starts?

We picked 20 outfield players for each club who played the most league games last season – and then replaced ones who have left (or played the least last season) with new signings.

We have looked at their total minutes played for club and country since the start of last summer – 1 June 2024.

The freshest team this season in the Premier League should be Everton.

The players in Everton’s current squad played an average of just 1,847 minutes of football last season – the equivalent of about 21 full games.

Only one player – 35-year-old Senegal midfielder Idrissa Gueye – played more than 4,000 minutes (44 full games).

Only West Ham played fewer games last season than Everton among the current Premier League clubs, as both teams were knocked out of both domestic cups early.

Bournemouth’s squad is the second freshest in terms of minutes played.

Manchester City have the least fresh squad in the Premier League according to our data.

While City did exit the Champions League early, they reached the FA Cup final and also took part in the Club World Cup in June and July.

Most of City’s players are also established internationals – and played an average of 3,780 minutes in the past 14 months, or exactly 42 full games of football. That is double Everton’s total.

And some of City’s summer signings actually increased their average.

Midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, who played for Guardiola’s side in the Club World Cup, has played an incredible 6,032 minutes for AC Milan, the Netherlands and City since last summer – the equivalent of 67 full games.

Our data found Arsenal have the second-least fresh squad, with an average of 3,552 minutes played.

The seven teams who played in Europe topped the list for most games played, along with Championship play-off winners Sunderland.

Chelsea actually played more games than anyone else last season – including on their way to winning the Club World Cup.

Youth could work in Chelsea’s favour too.

Enzo Maresca’s side have by far the youngest squad in the Premier League.

No player over the age of 27 played for the Blues in the league last season, and they had the youngest squad at the Club World Cup.

Their oldest summer signing is 23-year-old Joao Pedro. So does youth mean they might feel the minutes in their legs less?

By contrast, Chelsea’s west London rivals Fulham have the oldest playing squad in the top flight.

New Wolves signing Jhon Arias tops the list of most minutes played in 2024-25.

The 27-year-old winger played a remarkable 6,577 minutes for Brazilian club Fluminense and national side Colombia – the equivalent of 73 full games.

Brazilian clubs play in their national league and state competitions, plus cups and continental competitions.

Arias, who has joined Wolves for £15m, also played in the Club World Cup this summer with Fluminense, reaching the semi-finals.