The holiday season is the best time for English football. The public gets time off work and school for the holidays, and the English leagues up the ante, as teams play as many as eight matches in the span of a month as well as another League Cup and Champions League match for certain sides. This period of football can be key to influencing the title race and the hunt for the top four spots, which guarantee Champions League football. Let’s see how each of the Premier League top-six sides fared this festive season.
Liverpool
Festive record: W7-D0-L1
How Liverpool have played this season is pretty spectacular. They’ve set themselves comfortably above the rest of the league, playing an unrivaled style of football. Their points total at Christmas was record-breaking, and they look well on their way to competing for the title come late-April. They seemed unstoppable until they visited the Etihad Stadium on Thursday. In that game, they were outclassed by the defending champions in what was labeled as the title decider by some. Liverpool are still four points ahead of Manchester City, but they’ll be wary of the last two Liverpool sides who were top at Christmas.
Only Liverpool have been top at Christmas and not won the league. They’ve done this twice. Every other team to be top of the tree (Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Leicester City) have gone on to win the league. While Man United won the league reasonably comfortably in 2009, Liverpool were a slip away from claiming glory in 2014. If those stats weren’t a bad omen, another warning sign may be ahead. That game in 2014 against Chelsea defined their season in Gameweek 34. Liverpool play Chelsea on Gameweek 34 again this season.
Manchester City
Festive record: W5-D0-L3
Manchester City won the Premier League in style last season. Guardiola successfully instilled his style of football into his squad that cost hundreds and hundreds of millions to assemble. While they won so comfortably last season, they have Liverpool to contend with this time around. Last Christmas, City were already 11 points clear of Manchester United in second place. Now, they’re four points behind Liverpool thanks to Laporte clearing a ball which was 93% over the line.
Manchester City can’t be underestimated. Despite the gap, they have the most strength in depth in all of football as well as, arguably, the best manager and the most funds. Liverpool’s modest nature isn’t out of a humble personality. It’s solely due to the fact that one of the greatest teams ever assembled is right behind them.
If Manchester City were to be eliminated before the semifinal of the Champions League, there’s a very real possibility that Liverpool have to win every remaining game in the league. Scarily, seven of Manchester City’s players have four or more goals, compared to Liverpool’s four. That’s with Gabriel Jesus out of form with only three. If anyone can catch Liverpool at the top, it’s Manchester City.
Tottenham Hotspur
Festive record: W6-D0-L2
Tottenham seem to be going under the radar as title contenders this season. Despite their lack of depth, they made it out of their tricky Champions League group ahead of Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven. Even though Tottenham have yet to move into their new stadium, they’re only two points behind Manchester City and six behind Liverpool. With the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, and Dele Alli in their side, they have no shortage of firepower. Their starting XI is as good as any in the Premier League, but their squad size is worrying given that they’re still in all four competitions. If any injuries occur, they’re in a tricky predicament.
Heung-Min Son has been one of Spurs’ standout players this season. With eight goals and five assists in the Premier League, he’s been involved in more goals than everyone on the team not named Harry Kane. Unfortunately for Tottenham, Son will be gone for the month, as he represents South Korea in the Asian Games. It’s difficult to see who can replace him unless Mauricio Pochettino is given a large sum of money to chase a big-name signing this January transfer window. If they can stay fit and healthy, there’s no reason why they can’t stay in the title race until the very end.
Chelsea
Festive record: W5-D1-L2
After beating Manchester City in early December, Chelsea went on a bad run. Had they not dropped silly points to Southampton and Leicester, they’d be level with Tottenham. Now, they’re essentially out of the title race and barely hanging on to their Champions League spot with Arsenal and Manchester United both breathing down their necks. Under Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea have been strange to watch.
Their defense seems solid, but they can’t put the ball in the back of the net. With 38 goals, they have the worst attack in the top-six. With N’Golo Kanté being moved from holding midfielder to a more forward role, it’s no wonder that they can’t score. Sarri said that he has too many defensive midfielders, but what most people can’t understand is why he’d move the best holding midfielder in the world out of position for the sake of accommodating a less-talented Jorginho.
Maurizio Sarri has yet to win over the fans, but there seem to be bigger problems at Chelsea. Eden Hazard is their best player but is horribly inconsistent. He still seems to be flirting with Real Madrid, as Chelsea have yet to offer him a new contract. Olivier Giroud was injured against Crystal Palace, and Alvaro Morata is in terrible form. Sarri won’t give Callum Hudson-Odoi an opportunity, and now Bayern Munich want to buy him. Chelsea did sign Christian Pulisic, but even he was pushed out of the Borussia Dortmund team by Manchester City’s forgotten man Jadon Sancho. It’s worrying for Chelsea fans right now, but a top-four finish could calm things down.
Arsenal
Festive record: W4-D2-L2
Arsenal have been far from convincing in recent games. In the Premier League, they’ve only kept three clean sheets in 21 attempts. Their attack is a force to be reckoned with. Aubameyang, Lacazette, Ozil, Ramsey, Mkhitaryan, and Iwobi are all capable attackers.
As nice as their attacking football is, Arsenal have serious problems at the other end. Out of all their defenders, only Hector Bellerin has been involved in each of their clean sheets. Shkodran Mustafi, Nacho Monreal, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sead Kolasinac, Rob Holding, Sokratis, and Laurent Koscielny are all in and out of the side, as Unai Emery struggles to find the best defensive set-up. No wonder they’re left looking like fools when teams like Liverpool take them to the rack.
Arsenal have the potential to do well this season. They’ve proven themselves to be masters of the FA Cup in recent seasons, but a Europa League trophy and a top-four finish are both realistic aspirations. At the same time, there’s a real chance that they could win nothing and finish outside of the top-four. That’d be an absolute nightmare for Unai Emery, especially if it’s Manchester United that finish above them.
Manchester United
Festive record: W5-D2-L1
Manchester United’s record this season may well have been much improved had a certain Jose Mourinho been sacked earlier in the campaign. After losing 3-1 to Liverpool in Anfield, Ed Woodward called time on Jose’s time at Old Trafford. What surprised United fans more was his choice to replace him.
In his Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s time as manager, he has five wins (four in the PL). While they haven’t moved up the table, they’re now tangibly close to the top-four. Arsenal are only three points ahead in fifth, and Chelsea are three points further ahead in fourth. United have another opportunity against both of these sides. To make things even better (at least in terms of the league), Manchester United look likely to drop out of Europe, as they face PSG next month, while Chelsea and Arsenal have Europa League to contend with. United have more depth than either of their rivals too.
If Solskjaer’s attack keeps working and improving, Manchester United will be a team to be feared once more. In four league games, United have scored 14 goals. The Red Devils have serious depth in attack, boasting the likes of Pogba, Lukaku, Martial, Rashford, Sanchez, Mata, and Pereira. If their defenders were half as good then United would be looking like title contenders.
Unfortunately, they currently have two available CBs in Lindelof and Jones. If United play well against Tottenham, we’ll know that they’re the real deal. If not, the love will wear off painfully quickly, and Solskjaer will face the scrutiny any other Manchester United manager would expect.
Who’ll finish in the top-four? Can Liverpool win a historic first Premier League trophy?
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