The final international break of the year is over and we’re now closing in on the most wonderful time of the campaign. The festive season is filled with football matches galore. We kick this off at the Etihad on Saturday afternoon with one of the biggest matches in Europe.
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
Top spot up for grabs
Manchester City host Liverpool in the early kick-off on Saturday with first position in the Premier League up for grabs. A win for the champions would see them open up a four-point lead at the summit. A win for the Reds would see them leapfrog City.
The international break couldn’t have been more different for these clubs. City had a number of injuries with Rodri, Ederson, John Stones and Nathan Aké all ruled out. Erling Haaland then caused concern for Pep Guardiola and his coaches when he picked up a knock against the Faroe Islands.
Rodri, Ederson, and Haaland have all made miraculous recoveries though and should be fit for the visit of the Reds.
By comparison, Liverpool players enjoyed stints away with their respective national teams. Luis Díaz, Darwin Núñez and Harvey Elliott scored multiple goals while Trent Alexander-Arnold was named Player-of-the-Match for England.
Jürgen Klopp will hope his players can carry their momentum into the game against the leaders. The Reds are without a league win at the Etihad since 2015 and their away form this season hasn’t been great. They have won just two of their six fixtures and have conceded eight goals. City have a 100% record at home and are averaging over three goals per game.
Newcastle need to dig deep
The narrative heading into the game between Newcastle United and Chelsea is that the former have struggled while the latter are having yet another positive campaign. Yet a win for Mauricio Pochettino’s side would move them to within a single point of their hosts.
Newcastle suffered back-to-back losses before the international break, losing to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and Bournemouth in the Premier League. Eddie Howe’s men have just one goal across their last three matches – Anthony Gordon’s controversial winner against Arsenal – and injuries are threatening to derail their campaign.
If results don’t go their way this weekend, they could finish matchday 13 in eighth position, nine points off the pace in their pursuit of another top-four finish.
Believe it or not, Chelsea have found their form. The loss to Brentford skews perception but they’ve beaten Spurs and drawn with Manchester City and Arsenal over recent weeks. After early season struggles in front of goal, the Blues have found their shooting boots with eight goals across their last two outings.
The only thing missing for Pochettino is a statement victory against a top team. They’ve performed well against Liverpool, Arsenal and City but weren’t able to pick up maximum points while the win over Spurs was, oddly enough, disappointing from a performance point of view.
A strong performance and a win at St James’ Park would make people sit up and take notice.
Can Spurs get back to winning ways?
A lot can change in the space of a week as Spurs found out prior to the international break.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were Premier League leaders and unbeaten heading into their Monday night game against Chelsea. They lost 4-1 but, perhaps more worryingly, they lost Micky Van De Ven and James Maddison to injury while Cristian Romero was sent off. In their next outing, they conceded two stoppage-time goals to lose to Wolves. They’re now fourth in the table and play host to fifth-placed Aston Villa this weekend.
A win for Unai Emery’s men would see them leapfrog Spurs.
Villa have been in unbelievable form this term.
A recent shock loss to Nottingham Forest has allowed them to go somewhat under the radar. That defeat was only their third of the season. Prior to that, they had put together a six-match unbeaten run that included five wins. This run included a 6-1 win over Brighton and a 4-1 victory against West Ham. Only leaders Manchester City (31) have more goals than Villa (29) and the Villians are going to fancy their chances of adding to that tally against a depleted Spurs side this weekend.
A sticky situation for the Toffees
This is Everton’s first match since their 10-point deduction. A defiant Goodison Park is going to be up for the visit of Manchester United on Sunday afternoon and, if truth be told, they’re going to need to be.
The Toffees have an abysmal home record this season, picking up just four points from their six matches at Goodison. They have lost four times in front of a home crowd and are averaging less than a goal a game.
All things considered, United have a surprisingly good away record this term. The Red Devils have won three of five and have taken as many points away from home as Liverpool this term despite having played a game fewer.
Erik Ten Hag’s side have won four of their last five in the Premier League with their only defeat coming against rivals Manchester City. The performances might not be great but they are getting points on the board. A win here ensures they retain sixth position in the Premier League and remain within touching distance of the top four places.
Wolves on the prowl at Craven Cottage
Matchday 13 comes to a close on Monday night when Fulham entertain Wolves.
Gary O’Neil’s team have found their groove. They have suffered just one defeat in their last seven and it was a shock one against Sheffield United In their last outing, they beat Tottenham, coming from 1-0 down to snatch all three points in stoppage-time. During this run, they have also beaten Manchester City.
A win here could see them climb into ninth position. It’d be quite the turnaround for a team tipped to be involved in a relegation battle during the pre-season predictions. They’re up against a Fulham side in free fall.
Marco Silva’s side have lost three of their last four and have just one win since the September international break. Only Burnley (nine) have scored fewer goals than Fulham (10) and it is their lack of fire power following the sale of Aleksandar Mitrović which has seen them drop into a relegation scrap.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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