Solskjaer's dream start, Leicester excel and Everton's woe: Ranking the Premier League sides in the festive period

Goals galore from Tottenham Hotspur while Huddersfield Town get zero points are among the other talking points

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  Huddersfield Town 0 points. Four defeats, which extends their losing run to eight games in the league, leaves David Wagner's. pictured, men in big trouble. Eight points adrift of safety with 17 games to go, it is not looking good for the Yorkshire side. Action Images via Reuters / Jason Cairnduff

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  Newcastle United 2 points. A winless festive period has pulled them back into the relegation scrap. Defeats to Liverpool and Manchester United were not unexpected for Rafa Benitez's, pictured, team, but failing to beat Fulham and not being able to hold out for a win at Watford was frustrating. EPA

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  Everton 3 points. The honeymoon period is well and truly over for Marco Silva, pictured. A 5-1 win at Burnley was a good response to losing 6-2 at home to Tottenham Hotspur, but 1-0 losses to Brighton and Hove Albion and Leicester City were poor. Action Images via Reuters / Carl Recine

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  Cardiff City 4 points. Neil Warnock's side remain outside the relegation zone. Hammered by Manchester United and Tottenham, their highlight was a 1-0 at Leicester thanks to Victor Camarasa's, pictured, last-gasp strike. Getty

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  Bournemouth 4 points. Eddie Howe's side were nothing if not entertaining, but not always for the right reasons. They conceded 12 goals in four goals, five of which came at Tottenham, with David Brooks's, pictured, double in the win over Brighton the high point. Reuters

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  West Ham United 4 points. The epitome of inconsistency. Sandwiched losses to Watford and Burnley with a fine showing, led by Felipe Anderson, pictured, at Southampton to pick up all three points. Then had to come from two goals down to draw with Brighton. Reuters

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  Wolverhampton Wanderers 4 points. Started with a 2-0 home loss to Liverpool and ended it with another defeat at Molineux, by the same scoreline, to Crystal Palace. Sandwiched in between was a scrappy draw at Fulham and a stunning 3-1 win at Tottenham. Action Images via Reuters

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  Southampton 4 points. Still in the bottom three, but an impressive point at Chelsea, along with the 3-1 triumph at Huddersfield, inspired by the rejuvenated Danny Ings, gives them cause for optimism for 2019. PA via AP

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  Fulham 5 points. Still in the bottom three, but the win over Huddersfield, thanks to Aleksandar Mitrovic's, pictured, late goal, gives Claudio Ranieri's side hope they can still beat the drop. Reuters

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  Brighton and Hove Albion 5 points. Chris Hughton's, pictured, side continue to pick up the points. Beat Everton, came from behind to draw with Arsenal, and could have had another win at West Ham, but let slip a two-goal lead. Action Images via Reuters

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  Watford 5 points. A mixed bag. Won at West Ham, lost to Chelsea, scored a late equaliser to salvage a draw with Newcastle, and failed to build on Troy Deeney's, pictured, early double to draw 3-3 with Bournemouth. Could have been better, but could have worse too. Reuters

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  Burnley 6 points. Sean Dyche's, pictured, side remain in the mire, but at least the wins over West Ham and Huddersfield have moved them out of the relegation zone. Reuters

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  Manchester City 6 points. The shock losses to Crystal Palace and Leicester dented the title hopes of the champions. But the 3-1 success at Southampton and then Leroy Sane's, pictured, winner to give them a 2-1 triumph over Liverpool has lifted Pep Guardiola's side. Reuters

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  Chelsea 7 points. A lack of goals, three in four games, highlighted their problems. Eden Hazard's, pictured, double saw them past Watford and they also engineered a win at Palace, but failing to find the net at home led to a loss at Leicester and a stalemate with Southampton. EPA

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  Arsenal 7 points. The London side were fine at home, beating Burnley and Fulham. But Unai Emery's, pictured, side could only draw at Brighton and then had their defensive weaknesses ruthlessly highlighted by Liverpool. Getty

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  Crystal Palace 7 points. A great festive period for Roy Hodgson's men. A goal of the season contender from Andros Townsend, pictured, helped them stun Manchester City. They also beat Wolves, drew with Cardiff and lost a competitive match with Chelsea. EPA

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  Leicester City 9 points. Claude Puel, pictured, was under pressure when the festive period started. Wins over Chelsea, City and then at Everton has alleviated that. The loss at home to Cardiff was the only disappointment. Reuters

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  Liverpool 9 points. The leaders slipped up against Manchester City, but wins over Wolves, Newcastle and Arsenal, with Roberto Firmino's, pictured, hat-trick a standout effort, ensure they still have control of their own destiny at the top. EPA

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  Tottenham Hotspur 9 points. Fifteen goals in four games. Mauricio Pochettino's side were great fun over the past two weeks. Harry Kane, pictured, Son Heung-min, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen fired on all cylinders and the goals flew in. Losing to Wolves was a setback, but Spurs end the festive period still heavily involved in the title race. Action Images via Reuters

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  Manchester United 12 points. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's, pictured, instant impact since replacing Jose Mourinho is clear. The only side with a 100 per cent record, they scored 14 times, playing some good football with Paul Pogba particularly rejuvenated. AP via AP

It is often described as the time of year that defines the season.

Four games in less then two weeks is the busiest time of the campaign for the Premier League sides.

So, who came out on top this year?

Well, Liverpool may be top, with an increased points advantage, but it is Manchester United who have had the most to celebrate as they took maximum points.

But, who else has done well? And who has toiled?

Sports editor Graham Caygill has looked at all 20 teams and how they have done in their respective quartet of matches.

While it was one to forget for Huddersfield Town and Everton, Crystal Palace and Leicester City were among the surprise packages.

To view how each side performed check out the photo gallery above. To move on to the next image, click on the arrows, or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.

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