Boxing Day: Manchester City v Everton (4.30pm kick-off UAE)
Manchester City will be desperately hoping for some festive cheer having won just once in seven Premier League fixtures and losing nine games out of 12 across all competitions. They sit seventh in the table, four points outside the top four and 12 behind leaders Liverpool.
Everton have shown their defensive steel of late, holding top four sides Arsenal and Chelsea to consecutive goalless draws, making it seven clean sheets for the season. But only bottom club Southampton have scored less than their 14 goals which explains why they are 15th in the table, four points above the drop zone.
Prediction: Man City 2 Everton 0
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Buoyant Bournemouth are up to seventh in the standings after battering Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford for the second season running. The Cherries have also beaten 'Big Six' sides Arsenal, Manchester City and Spurs this season.
Palace fell to only their second league defeat in nine matches, albeit a heavy 5-1 beating off Arsenal, but are still struggling for wins – the Eagles have won just three times in 17 games leaving them two places and four points above the bottom three.
Prediction: Bournemouth 2 Palace 1
Chelsea v Fulham (7pm)
Chelsea go into the West London derby having missed out on the chance of temporarily taking over the top spot last time out when they could only draw at Everton, ending an eight-game winning run in all competitions.
Fulham made it four draws in five games after their match at home to Southampton ended in a goalless stalemate. Manager Marco Silva called the draw a “missed opportunity” that would have moved them just four points behind fourth-placed Nottingham Forest.
Prediction: Chelsea 3 Fulham 1
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (7pm)
Newcastle made it two 4-0 wins on the spin when they thrashed Ipswich Town – with Alexander Isak scoring a hat-trick – after beating Leicester by the same scoreline in their previous match. The Magpies can leapfrog sixth-place Villa by winning at St James' Park.
Villa's 2-1 win over Manchester City – courtesy of goals from Jhon Duran and Morgan Rogers – was their third victory in four games leaving them just three points behind Forest in fourth.
Prediction: Newcastle 2 Villa 0
Nottingham Forest v Tottenham Hotspur (7pm)
Forest's superb season continued after they made it three wins on the trot with an impressive 2-0 win at Brentford's previously impenetrable home fortress and are two points shy of third-placed Arsenal.
Spurs' defensive injury crisis saw them fall to a disastrous 6-3 defeat at Liverpool which was their third loss in four games, leaving Ange Postecoglou's side 11th in the table, eight points off a top-four slot.
Prediction: Forest 3 Spurs 2
Southampton v West Ham United
New Southampton manager Ivan Juric watched from the stands as rock-bottom Saints battled to a hard-fought draw at in-form Fulham. The size of his task remains clear though – Southampton are eight points from safety having won just once in 17 games.
A goal from Mohammed Kudus earned West Ham a point at home to Brighton on Saturday with the Hammers now eight points above the bottom three having won and drawn two of their last three games.
Prediction: Southampton 1 West Ham 2
Wolves v Manchester United (9.30pm)
Vitor Pereira's reign as Wolves manager was off to a flyer as his side swept aside Leicester at the King Power Stadium with Goncalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Matheus Cunha supplying the goals. Wolves are within two points of fourth-bottom Leicester.
United were once again humiliated by Bournemouth with Ruben Amorim's side booed off by the Old Trafford crowd after suffering a defeat that meant they spent Christmas languishing down in 13th.
Prediction: Wolves 1 Man United 1
Liverpool v Leicester City
The Liverpool machine rumbles on after Arne Slot's side stuck six past Tottenham, meaning they would be top of the pile over Christmas for the first time since 2020. The Reds have won 12 out of 16 games, losing just once.
Leicester form has dropped off a cliff in the last two games which has seen them thrashed by Newcastle and Wolves, dragging Ruud van Nistelrooy's men to the edge of relegation zone.
Prediction: Liverpool 5 Leicester 0
Friday: Brighton v Brentford (11.30pm)
Brighton have now gone five games without a win following their draw at West Ham, although they will feel frustrated at having to settle for point at the London Stadium with only a lack of clinical finishing in front of goal preventing them from sealing all three points.
Brentford's top-flight leading home record of seven wins and one draw came crashing to a halt as they lost 2-0 to Forest. The Bees dropped to 12th in the table after three defeats in four games.
Prediction: Brighton 2 Brentford 1
Arsenal v Ipswich Town (12.15am)
Arsenal's 5-1 demolition of Palace last weekend came at a price: key attacker Bukayo Saka suffered a torn hamstring which will rule him out of action for a few months. The Gunners are third, two points behind Chelsea and six shy of Liverpool.
Ipswich's home battering off Newcastle was their fourth loss in five games, leaving them second bottom, four points shy of safety. The Tractor Boys have won just twice and have not tasted victory since November 10 when they edged past Spurs 1-0.
Prediction: Arsenal 4 Ipswich 1
