It is that time of the year again. That time of the year which is unique to English football; that time of the year when the fixtures come thick and fast.
This period tests the fitness, mental fortitude and most importantly, the ability to grind out results.
During the span between Boxing Day (26th December) and 4th January, all Premier League teams play three games; some teams have an acceptable break between the games, while others have a set of fixtures that would test the depth of their squad.
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The complicated world of TV listings and the money clubs get from it, is the primary reason for the disparity in the number of days clubs get in between games.
Chelsea are running away with the title right now, but can the chasing pack, led by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, make up some ground on the Blues in this period?
We take a look at the fixtures of the top 6 and analyse the games played by them over the festive period, and whether there will be any change in the way the table will look come the second week of January.
Chelsea (Currently 1st – 43 points)
Fixtures: Bournemouth(H), Stoke City(H), Tottenham Hotspur(A)
The league leaders are sitting pretty and they have a festive period that could have been much harsher on them. They play their 3 games in 9 days, with at least three days in between their games. They start with the visit of Bournemouth to Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day.
That will be a tough game for Chelsea; more so because of Diego Costa’s suspension than any of the threat that Bournemouth. The Spaniard picked up his first booking in 12 games, after picking up four in the first five games of the season.
Chelsea have settled into a system with Costa at the centre of their attack. It will be interesting to see what Antonio Conte does without his talismanic striker – whether Michy Batshuayi finally makes a league start or if Antonio Conte would prefer to play Eden Hazard or Pedro through the middle. Whatever they do, Chelsea start as overwhelming favourites and should beat Eddie Howe’s men.
That game is followed by the visit of Mark Hughes’s Stoke City to Stamford Bridge on New Year’s Eve. Costa should be back for that one, which will be their last game of a crazy 2016 for them – a year that saw them recovering from the depths they had fallen to and shoot up to the top of English football.
It will be a festive atmosphere at the Bridge as former Blue Hughes will try to stop the Chelsea juggernaut.
But the biggest game of the festive period for Chelsea with be on 4th January at White Hart Lane. Tottenham traditionally never do well against Chelsea, and even last season, when everything was going wrong for the Blues, they didn’t lose to their London rivals.
Sportskeeda Prediction: Chelsea will take full points from their festive fixtures, cementing their position at the top of the Premier League. That will cause Spurs to lose further ground on the leading pack in the league.
Liverpool (Currently 2nd – 37 points)
Fixtures: Stoke City(H), Manchester City(H), Sunderland(A)
The Reds enter the festive period with Sadio Mane’s injury time winner ensuring a win for Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby, which would surely have given them a huge lift. Jurgen Klopp also welcomed back Emre Can and Daniel Sturridge back into the scheme of things. Liverpool’s star player Philippe Coutinho is expected to be back for the game against Manchester City on the 31st of December.
The Reds don’t play a match on Boxing Day for the first time since 2010, but welcome Stoke City to Anfield on the 27th of December; a challenge that Liverpool should stave off easily.
Klopp’s men have been unstoppable at Anfield this season, until they hit a roadblock in the form of a 2-2 draw against West Ham. They will be itching to set things right against Stoke before the big day when Manchester City visit on New year’s Eve.
But the real problem that Klopp has – which he has been very vocal about– is that there is less than 48 hours between their game against City and their away game against Sunderland on the 2nd of January. With the style that Liverpool play and the intensity that the manager demands from his players, it will be interesting to see how the German manages the squad for those two games.
Sportskeeda Prediction: Liverpool will win against Stoke and Sunderland and will draw against Manchester City. That will take their total points tally to 44.
Manchester City (Currently 3rd – 36 points)
Fixtures: Hull City(A), Liverpool(A), Burnley(H)
City have had a curious season so far. They have hit blips, far too many of them. Maybe this is because the team are still adapting to Pep Guardiola’s style and what he demands from his teams. But there is also a case that Guardiola is trying to change too much too soon.
City end 2016 with two away fixtures at Hull City and Liverpool. Guardiola’s team will have to do something different if they are going to get full points out of both those games.
Hull maybe the bottom club in the league, but they are playing much better than their position in the table suggests and should have won their last game against West Ham. With City still uncertain about their best team and best system, Mike Phelan will look to take advantage of City’s woes.
The big one is on New Year’s Eve against Liverpool, and there is very little to separate the two sides at this point. It will come down to who plays better on the night and as of now, both on paper and on the pitch, both teams look difficult to separate.
City play Burnley on the 2nd of January, and like Liverpool, they have less than 48 hours between the two games.
Sportskeeda Prediction: City will drop points as Hull and Mike Phelan have a knack of getting points in the most unfavourable of positions. Guardiola’s men will beat Burnley easily, after they draw at Anfield.
Arsenal (Currently 4th – 34 points)
Fixtures: West Brom(H), Crystal Palace(H), Bournemouth(A)
After the disappointment of the loss against Manchester City, Arsenal have three relatively easy fixtures over the festive period. They play West Brom and Crystal Palace at home on the 26th of December and the 1st of January respectively, before travelling to Bournemouth on the 3rd of January.
The Bournemouth fixture will be made much easier for Arsenal by Jack Wilshere’s ineligibility to play against his parent club. Wilshere has been a significant part of most good things that Bournemouth have done on the pitch recently and he will be a huge miss for the Cherries in that game.
West Brom are playing pretty well, but at the Emirates, Arsenal should be putting teams like the Baggies away in their sleep. The first day of 2017 sees them play a Palace side who have had a nightmare 2016 and will be looking for a fresh start in the new year.
Sportskeeda Prediction: Arsenal to win all three games comfortably and leapfrog Manchester City and get out of the dreaded fourth position.
Manchester United (Currently 6th – 30 points)
Fixtures: Sunderland(H), Middlesbrough(H), West Ham United(A)
Jose Mourinho’s side has hit form just in time. In this kind of situation, with games every three or four days, it is ideal to be in the kind of form that United are in. And the fixtures themselves don’t pose United much of a threat either. They play Sunderland and Middlesbrough at home before beginning the new year with a trip to the London Stadium to play West Ham.
With the kind of form that Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in, United will fancy themselves in any game they play. It is not just the Swedish striker, Jose Mourinho seems to have found the ideal system to accommodate his star midfielder, Paul Pogba. Michael Carrick has made an exceptional difference since coming into the side and so has Phil Jones.
United have also got contributions from the other attacking players – the likes of Wayne Rooney, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard. Things are looking good for United.
Sportskeeda Prediction: United to stroll through all three games, ensuring that they are still breathing down the necks of the top four.
Tottenham Hotspur (Currently 5th – 33 points)
Fixtures: Southampton(A), Watford(A), Chelsea(H)
Of the teams in the top six, Spurs probably have the most difficult set of festive fixtures. They travel to Southampton and Watford before a daunting home game against the leaders, Chelsea.
The Saints have been a tough nut to crack this season, especially at St. Mary’s. It will be no different for Spurs. Watford have taken some big scalps at Vicarage Road over the last two seasons, but they have had a severe dip in form.
The bigger concern for Spurs though is the spacing out of the fixtures. They play on Wednesday, Sunday and Wednesday. You’d argue that they should be used to it thanks to playing in Europe – either the Champions League or the Europa League – for a few seasons now. But often in the Europa League, Mauricio Pochettino has picked weakened sides and kept his stars fresh for the league games.
He cannot do so here, because if Spurs take it lightly against either Southampton or Watford, they will be punished.
Sportskeeda Prediction: A win, a draw and a loss for Spurs in these three games. They will beat Watford and draw against Southampton, but the test posed by Conte’s Chelsea will be a bridge too far. That will ensure they lose further ground on the top four.
What will the table look like?
After our prediction that Chelsea will win all three of their games and their closest rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City to drop points, the Blues will extend their lead to eight points.
This is what the top six of the Premier League will look like if our predictions all come true:
| Position | Team | Matches Played | Points |
| 1 | Chelsea | 20 | 52 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 20 | 44 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 20 | 43 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 20 | 41 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 20 | 39 |
| 6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 37 |
Although Chelsea would have pulled further away from the chasing pack, the race for the other positions in the top four would be even more alive than it has been so far this season. So, a week of football. A week of only English football. And in many ways, it is possibly the most pivotal week of English football through the season.
