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As the 1970’s rock band Player sang ‘Baby Come Back’, so we sing this to the English Premier League – and we are back baby!
Having taken a six-week hiatus for the 2022 Fifa World Cup, in which Lionel Messi’s Argentina lifted their third title, beating Kylian Mbappe’s France on penalties, we can now refocus our energy on the most important league in world football.
Arsenal sit top of the pile on 37 points from their opening 14 games, with only one defeat to Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United at Old Trafford back in September. Mikel Arteta’s men lead current champions, Manchester City by five points after City were stunned by Brentford 2-1 heading into the world cup break.
Newcastle are third after a strong run, just two points behind City, although they have played a game more than the champions. Spurs (urgh) are fourth, three points ahead of United, who have a game in hand.
Liverpool, currently 6th, are four points adrift of United and have struggled to gain any sort of consistency this term. Brighton are seventh, ahead of Chelsea on goal difference, and two points clear of Fulham, Brentford and Crystal Palace.
Spurs and Brentford get the round of Boxing Day fixtures underway when they meet at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London. Spurs, who came from behind to beat Leeds 4-3 prior to the break, have the longest Boxing Day run in Premier League history, having not lost in 15 matches (12 wins and 3 draws).
Palace, enjoying life under former Arsenal captain Patrick Vieira, take on Fulham at Selhurst Park and will be looking for their first fourth-consecutive home win if they can overcome Fulham.
Two sides who are really struggling in the Premier League, is Everton and Wolves. Frank Lampard’s Everton sit 17th, just four points above bottom club Wolves, who dumped Steve Davis and it will be up to Julen Lopetegui to try and turn things around at Molineux. Lopetegui could be the first Wolves boss to win his debut match since 1978 with the previous 10 managers all failing.
Newcastle’s amazing run in the Premier League has seen Eddie Howe’s men climb to third, heights not seen since Alan Shearer’s days. Newcastle travel to Leicester, who have lost just once in their last six matches – a 1-0 defeat to Man City – with gaffer Brendan Rodgers overseeing his 300th Premier League fixture.
Another side who replaced their manager, Southampton, take on Brighton at St Mary’s on the south coast. The Saints, who are currently just two points ahead of Wolves, ditched Ralph Hasenhuttl before the break with Welshman Nathan Jones taking over at St Mary’s.
Jones could take some comfort from the fact that Southampton are unbeaten in six home Boxing Day matches while Brighton are winless in six away matches.
Unai Emery’s return to the English top-flight, has seen Aston Villa win two on the bounce, beating Man United 3-1 at home and then a 2-1 victory over Brighton at the Amex Stadium. The Villains host an up-and-down Liverpool on Boxing Day and Emery could become the first Villains manager to win his first three games in charge.
Arsenal round off the Boxing Day festivities when they host West Ham with David Moyes under pressure, having won just four of their opening 15 matches and just one point above the drop-zone. Arsenal, who will be without Gabriel Jesus through a knee injury, could equal the club record of seven, straight Premier League home victories from the start of the season.
Jesus’ energy and leadership will be sorely missed although the Brazilian striker has not scored in his last six Premier League matches.
On Tuesday, Graham Potter’s struggling Chelsea host Bournemouth, who appointed Gary O’Neil on a permanent basis after caretaking since Scott Parker’s departure at the end of August.
O’Neil’s presence has seen Bournemouth pick up 13 points in 11 matches while Chelsea, who have lost three straight games, have not won since a 2-0 win over Villa midway through October. Potter, who left Brighton to take over the Blues, won his first three games in charge but since that Villa victory, have picked up just one point in four games and scored just three goals whilst conceding seven, including a 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Brighton at the end of October.
United will look to breathe new life into Old Trafford, now that the Cristiano Ronaldo saga has been dealt with, when they host Nottingham Forest on Tuesday evening.
Ten Hag’s side needed a late winner from teenage sensation Alejandro Garnacho as they overcame Fulham 2-1. United need to maintain the pressure on fourth-placed Spurs and have won three of their last five games with just one defeat.
City complete the “Boxing Day” fixture list when they travel to Elland Road in Yorkshire to take on Leeds United. When City step out onto the famous Yorkshire pitch, they could be facing an eight-point deficit should Arsenal beat West Ham.
Leeds though, have won just twice in five matches, beating Liverpool and Bournemouth and will need to overcome their heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to Spurs in their last outing.
We also welcome Paddy into the Premier League prediction fray after having enjoyed the World Cup predictions. Since Paddy did not start the season with us, we decided to give all previous matches a 0-0 prediction, which has given Paddy a total of 96 points. Woody still leads by a slender point with ChippyBoy juts three behind me.
Paddy though is enjoying the Fantasy Premier League, having built up a 14-point advantage over VAR Rovers and is one of three players to have past the 900-point mark.
This game week will be a landmark as I venture into the 800-point realm, but having said that, Paddy will be hoping for just 49 points to take him past 1000 points!
Let the fun and games begin – again!
