MY ACCOUNT
After six games were cancelled last weekend, three of the Premier League’s Boxing Day clashes have also fallen foul of coronavirus outbreaks.
Leaders Manchester City and challengers Chelsea are still in action on what is usually the busiest day in the domestic football calendar, while Liverpool’s game against Leeds, Wolves’ meeting with Watford and Everton’s trip to Burnley are all off.
Manchester City vs Leicester (3pm, Sunday)
Leaders Manchester City welcome Leicester to the Etihad looking for revenge after the Foxes’ 5-2 victory in this fixture last season.
Jamie Vardy’s hat-trick was the key that day and his eight Premier League goals against City are only bettered by Alan Shearer (11) and Wayne Rooney (nine).
But City have won eight of their past 10 games against Leicester and will be confident of keeping the veteran striker quiet having only shipped nine goals this term.
Avoiding defeat would ensure Pep Guardiola’s men enter the new year sitting pretty at the top of the table.
Norwich vs Arsenal (3pm, Sunday)
Rock-bottom Norwich host Arsenal hoping that they can become just the fourth team to avoid the drop after propping up the table at Christmas.
And a good place to start would be their first ever Premier League win on Boxing Day, having lost six of their seven previous games and only scored once on December 26.
The reverse fixture back in September saw the Gunners pick up their first victory of the campaign and they are looking to do the double over the Canaries for only the third time.
Gabriel Martinelli will hope to continue his rich vein of form after four goals and two assists in his past six games, as many as he had in his first 33 appearances in the top-flight.
Tottenham vs Crystal Palace (3pm, Sunday, BT Sport)
An intriguing London derby matches Antonio Conte’s resurgent Tottenham against Patrick Vieira’s vibrant Crystal Palace.
Spurs were thrashed 3-0 at Selhurst Park earlier this season but have won six home games in a row against the Eagles.
Palace have also never won back-to-back matches against the North London outfit, despite this being their 46th meeting.
Spurs’ 14-game unbeaten run on Boxing Day is also the longest of any side currently in the top four tiers of English football.
West Ham vs Southampton (3pm, Sunday)
After one win in six Premier League games, the sight of Southampton will warm the hearts of West Ham fans this festive season.
The Hammers are unbeaten in eight against the Saints and have won 14 of their past 18 home clashes with the South Coast side.
It is the first time West Ham will play a home fixture on Boxing Day since leaving Upton Park and they will be hoping to improve on their record of one win their last seven games on this date.
While Michail Antonio has gone eight gamed without scoring, Armando Broja has netted four in his six starts including a double at Palace last time out.
Aston Villa vs Chelsea (5.30pm, Sunday, Sky Sports)
Three points are a must for Chelsea as they look to keep pace with City at the top of the Premier League.
Thomas Tuchel has never gone three league games without a win in his 11 months at Stamford Bridge but a resurgent Aston Villa will provide a tough test.
The Villans lost 3-0 at Chelsea in September but did beat the Blues 2-1 last term and have scored in each of their past nine home outings.
The last time these two met on Boxing Day was in 2007 in West London in a pulsating 4-4 draw, which saw Ricardo Carvalho, Ashley Cole and Zat Knight all sent off.
Brighton vs Brentford (8pm, Sunday, Sky Sports)
Brighton and Brentford meet in a mid-table clash with both sides knowing victory will put further distance between themselves and the bottom three.
After a bright start, the Seagulls have dropped into the bottom half after an 11-game winless run, though they have only lost three of those matches.
Brentford have also stuttered in their first Premier League campaign and are winless in four away contests, conceding 10 goals in that time.
Neal Maupay will want to bag against his former club and he is looking to score in his third game in a row.
Newcastle vs Manchester United (8pm, Monday, Sky Sports)
An iconic Premier League fixture rounds off the Boxing Day games 24 hours late as Manchester United travel to Newcastle.
And after winning two of their last four home games against the Red Devils, the St James’ Park faithful will be dreaming of a late Christmas present.
But Newcastle have dropped more points (17) than any other side from losing positions this term and their 79 goals conceded in 2021 is the joint-most in a single calendar year in the Premier League.
With Cristiano Ronaldo netting seven in his past four meetings with the Magpies and Marcus Rashford scoring four and setting up three in seven matches against them, a new record could easily be set in the North East.
