5 Premier League festive speaking factors 🎄

Christmas time is right here and one in all our favorite intervals of the soccer calendar. As you sit all the way down to tuck into your Turkey, what higher method to spend the festivities than pondering these Premier League speaking factors?

Can anybody cease Liverpool?

Liverpool are celebrating Christmas on the summit, with the Reds the standout staff of the Premier League marketing campaign. Arne Slot deserves enormous credit score for his debut marketing campaign to this point, having taken the reins from Jurgen Klopp and kicked on.

Liverpool have misplaced simply as soon as all season and have a four-point lead, having performed a recreation lower than the chasing pack. Larger leads have been squandered in previous seasons, however not one of the different would-be contenders seem as full – or as constant – as Slot’s machine.

Precisely half of the Christmas Day leaders (16/32) have gone on to raise the title, although Liverpool have completed so simply as soon as in six makes an attempt beforehand. Issues can change shortly in soccer however the Merseysiders look sturdy favourites as issues stand.

Can Arsenal fight the lack of Bukayo Saka?

Simply as issues gave the impression to be clicking again into gear for Arsenal, the Gunners have suffered a seismic setback. The picture of Bukayo Saka clutching his hamstring at Crystal Palace was sufficient to unfold concern amongst Gooners and Mikel Arteta has confirmed their worst fears. Saka is ready for a prolonged spell on the sidelines, leaving Arsenal with out their most inventive expertise. Having missed Martin Odegaard for a lot of the marketing campaign, the North Londoners now should fight the lack of one other integral a part of their aspect.

Saka has scored 5 instances and created 10 objectives to date this season, the kind of productiveness that’s virtually not possible to interchange. With a big, if not insurmountable, hole already to leaders Liverpool, Arsenal should discover the system shortly.

Bournemouth are sitting on a gold mine

Andoni Iraola has guided Bournemouth into the European locations and there’s optimism on the south coast that the Cherries can keep there. Virtually below the radar, Bournemouth have assembled a squad brimming with expertise, gathering a constellation of starlets in a marvel kid-focused recruitment drive.

Milos Kerkez’s (21) limitless endeavour at left-back is already attracting admiring glances, whereas the centre-back pairing of Illya Zabarnyi (22) and Dean Huijsen (19) have demonstrated a maturity far past their years. Hopes stay excessive that Alex Scott (21) can fulfil his potential on the Vitality Stadium, whereas Antoine Semenyo – a relative elder statesman at 24 – is anticipated to draw large bids within the close to future. 

Whether or not on the pitch or off it, Cherries are prone to reap the rewards of their religion in rising expertise.

Will any of the promoted groups survive?

Final season, all three groups that have been promoted to the Premier League the earlier season have been relegated. Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton all went straight again down, with an argument because the worst backside three ever. Statistically, no relegated trio has ever amassed a decrease mixed complete because the trio completed on a paltry 16, 24 and 26 factors respectively. Even factors deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest did not make issues overly attention-grabbing, emphasising the rising hole between the highest two divisions.

It was solely the second time in Premier League historical past that each one three promoted groups had gone straight again down, after Crystal Palace, Barnsley and Bolton did so within the 1997/98 marketing campaign. This time round, nonetheless, we may see a repeat.

Christmas Day will see Southampton and Ipswich mired within the backside three, whereas Leicester sit simply above the relegation locations. Nonetheless, the way by which 18th-placed Wolves thrashed the Foxes final weekend indicated Ruud van Nistelrooy has an enormous problem to maintain Leicester up. Southampton are already eight factors from security, whereas Ipswich have did not win at dwelling all season. Is the Premier League changing into a closed store?

Newcastle dealing with defining run

After an detached begin to the season, Newcastle have discovered kind. Eddie Howe’s staff have received three on the spin, scoring 11 objectives within the course of and reserving a spot within the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

The Magpies are 5 factors from the Champions League locations forward of what might be a defining run of video games of their season. High-four rivals Aston Villa arrive at St James’ Park on Boxing Day, earlier than Newcastle tackle Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal (Carabao Cup) on the street in successive video games.

With Alexander Isak in red-hot kind and Sandro Tonali impressing on the coronary heart of the aspect, confidence is excessive within the North East. Sven Botman additionally made his current return for the u-21 aspect and the Dutch defender may have an enormous position to play over the second half of the marketing campaign.

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