Leeds United man hosting traditional Christmas celebrations 24 hours before team-mates

Gabriel Gudmundsson plans to bring a little of his native Sweden to West Yorkshire this Christmas. According to to Sweden's official tourism and travel website the Swedes begin to get into the Christmas spirit in November and then mark four Advent Sundays in December. But Christmas Eve is their main event, when they gather around a 'julbord.' The website states: "A Christmas smorgasbord that offers the full medley of Swedish Christmas food, with everything from Christmas ham [‘julskinka’] and Swedish meatballs to pickled herring [‘sill’] and chopped beetroot salad [‘rödbetssallad']." Quite how much 'julöl' [a dark, seasonal beer] is permissible for a Premier League footballer who still has to train this week is a matter for Gudmundsson's better judgement but he has stocked up on the essentials to at least eat traditionally on the big day.

"I've already ordered some Swedish food," he said. "So it's back home in the fridge waiting for me to have enough for Christmas. So my mum is coming here to have a good time here. Actually, my cousins live outside Derby, so they will also come up, because in Sweden, we celebrate on the 24th. So on the menu, meatballs, of course, some sausages, Swedish traditional food, salmon, fish, meat, obviously, everything."

One English tradition that Gudmundsson will not get to partake in this year at least is Boxing Day football. The Premier League and its broadcasters have, in their wisdom, scheduled just one single match for December 26 and that doesn't kick off until 8pm. There are some upsides to the situation though. Daniel Farke said this week that the absence of a fixture on Boxing Day had benefits for players.

"I think, for the families, also for the staff, it's quite good that we don't have to spend the night again in the hotel, because in these last years, it was always like an away game, and then Christmas Day you train, you travel, you spend the night in a hotel. I love Boxing Day, it's great but we can't just show upf or the game, we have to prepare for it. In this business it can be a bit difficult for the families, becuase you're working with human beings, not robots."