There's no rest for the Premier League wicked at Christmas as the games keep coming thick and fast across the country.
Arsenal topped the Premier League table heading into Christmas Day festivities, but with Liverpool and surprise package Aston Villa hot on their heels. Don't discard champions Manchester City either, who are lurking in fourth place and ready to pounce with a game in hand.
At the other end, Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton are looking to escape the drop zone, with Nottingham Forest and Everton in immediate danger, and there's probably one eye over the shoulder from Crystal Palace, Brentford and Wolves.
Here's how 90min sees gameweek 19 panning out after a barrel load of turkey and nut roasts.
Premier League predictions: Week 19
Newcastle United's season is at risk of derailing, though not because Eddie Howe's side have been playing particularly badly. Instead, they've been decimated by injuries to a number of key players and that's seen recent results undermine a decent start.
On Boxing Day, they take on Nottingham Forest in the day's early kick-off - a side now getting used to working under Nuno Espirito Santo - and will hope they have just about enough in the tank to get over the line.
Sheffield United and Luton go head-to-head in a relegation clash at Bramall Lane, with results picking up for both sides in recent games. The Blades may edge matters at home, under the wily guidance of Chris Wilder, at the same time that improving Bournemouth could squeak past Fulham in a potential goal-fest on the south coast.
Liverpool could grab top spot with a win at Burnley - they've won just one of their nine Premier League home games, losing the other eight - and three points for the Reds could deepen the misery of Manchester United fans. They've got to watch their struggling side attempt to overcome Aston Villa at Old Trafford, who are a different animal this season under Unai Emery.
Will they do it? With their current goalscoring woes, it doesn't look good for Erik ten Hag.
Date | Kick-off time (GMT) | Fixture & prediction |
|---|---|---|
26/12/23 | 12:30 | Newcastle 2-1 Nottingham Forest |
26/12/23 | 15:00 | Bournemouth 3-2 Fulham |
26/12/23 | 15:00 | Sheffield United 1-0 Luton |
26/12/23 | 17:30 | Burnley 1-3 Liverpool |
26/12/23 | 20:00 | Man Utd 0-2 Aston Villa |
27/12/23 | 19:30 | Chelsea 1-0 Crystal Palace |
27/12/23 | 19:30 | Brentford 1-1 Wolves |
27/12/23 | 20:15 | Everton 1-2 Man City |
28/12/23 | 19:30 | Brighton 1-3 Tottenham |
28/12/23 | 20:15 | Arsenal 3-0 West Ham |
The following day's action sees two games in the capital, headlined by Chelsea's game with Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are yet to click into gear under Mauricio Pochettino - to the extent that some are questioning his position already - but they may have enough in the tank against an Eagles side enduring a bit of a festive form dip.
Brentford are counting down the days to Ivan Toney's return, especially now Bryan Mbeumo is sidelined for three months through injury. That leaves much of the goalscoring pressure on the shoulders of Yoane Wissa and Neal Maupay, who may not have enough firepower to see Thomas Frank's side to three points against Wolves.
Manchester City are back in Premier League action after their Club World Cup exploits and they travel to Goodison Park to take on an Everton side they've beaten 11 times in their last 12 meetings across all competitions. Sean Dyche's side will be no pushovers but may find it difficult to nullify the threat of Erling Haaland, should the goal-hungry Norwegian return to action.
The gameweek finishes up with two mouthwatering games, kicked off by Brighton and Tottenham at the AMEX Stadium. In the battle of De Zerbiball against Angeball, it could be the latter who leads his team to victory in an end-to-end Premier League thriller.
Arsenal may then need three points against West Ham to get back on top of the Premier League table - something they will be confident of getting because of David Moyes' rather iffy historical away record against the division's 'big six'.
