Who’ll be top of the Premier League tree at Christmas? City host Liverpool and Spurs, while Arsenal go to Anfield in hectic period… and Mail Sport predicts one team will be FOUR points clear 

• Manchester City went into the international break top of the Premier League 
• City welcome Liverpool when the Premier League returns on Saturday 
• Everton players will be fed up with the owners – listen to It’s All Kicking Off 

With the last international break of the year firmly in the rearview mirror, attention turns once again to the Premier League this weekend.

With just over a month to go until Christmas, all the signs suggest there may be a closer title race than expected wrapped up under the tree on December 25.

Manchester City went into the international break top of the league, but Liverpool and Arsenal are just a point behind them with Tottenham a point further back despite consecutive losses to Chelsea and Wolves in their last two outings.

And there could hardly be a better fixture to fire the starting gun on the hectic festive period than City hosting Liverpool at the Etihad this Saturday afternoon.

Due to their commitments in the FIFA Club World Cup, the Premier League champions will play five games between Saturday and December 23, one fewer than their three immediate rivals.

Intriguingly, there are another two fixtures involving top four rivals to look to over the next month, as City host Spurs on December 3 and Arsenal travel to Anfield two days before Christmas.  

Here, Mail Sport looks at how the Premier League table may look like come Boxing Day. 

Manchester City host Liverpool on Saturday as the Premier League season resumes

Manchester City – 28 points

Upcoming fixtures:

• Liverpool (h) – November 25
• Tottenham (h) – December 3
• Aston Villa (a) – December 6
• Luton (a) – December 10
• Crystal Palace (h) – December 16

City went into the international break top of the league, but have no time for resting on their laurels as they face three top five sides in the next two weeks.

Liverpool are first up at the Etihad, where they haven’t won in the Premier League in eight years, on Saturday afternoon before City host Tottenham the following week and travel to Villa Park three days later.

Spurs have won three of their last four meetings with City, but their early season momentum has been checked by an injury crisis that has stretched Ange Postecoglou’s squad. 

A trip to Villa could prove similarly difficult, as Unai Emery side have won their last 13 Premier League games at home and held City to a draw at Villa Park last season.

Manchester City went into the international break top of the Premier League table

Luton’s draw against Liverpool shows they cannot be underestimated, but City should still come away from Kenilworth with three points on December 10.

The home fixture against Crystal Palace, who have won twice at the Etihad in the Premier League in the past five seasons is City’s last before they head to Saudi Arabia for the FIFA Club World Cup.

The Premier League champions face Red Star in Belgrade three days earlier but with his team having already secured qualification to the knockout stages of the Champions League, Pep Guardiola should have plenty of chances to rotate his team. 

Predicted results:

• Liverpool – Draw
• Tottenham – Win
• Aston Villa – Draw
• Luton – Win 
• Crystal Palace – Win 

Total points: 11 

Liverpool – 27 points

Upcoming fixtures:

• Manchester City (a) – November 25
• Fulham (h) – December 3
• Sheffield United (a) – December 6
• Crystal Palace (a) – December 9
• Manchester United (h) – December 17
• Arsenal (h) – December 23  

Jurgen Klopp isn’t a fan of his team having to play in the early Saturday kick-off slot and a trip to City, where Liverpool haven’t won in the league since 2015, is unlikely to alter his stance on the matter.

The good news for the German is that his team faces a relatively favourable run in early December, with a home game against Fulham followed by trips to Sheffield United and Palace. 

The Cottagers have proved a tricky opponent for the Reds under Klopp, winning at Anfield in 2021 and drawing twice. However, Liverpool have been back to their best this season and it’s hard to see them drop points.

Liverpool have looked back to their best this season and are second, one point behind City

Similarly, while Liverpool have won just twice in seven attempts away from home in the league this season, visits to Bramall Lane and Selhurst Park should provide the perfect opportunity to improve their record.

Sheffield United have picked up just four points from six home games, conceding 16 in the process, while Palace have won once on home turf in six attempts.

Manchester United are next up at Anfield and bar a drastic improvement in form, Erik ten Hag’s men could be in for another torrid afternoon on Merseyside.

United have lost their last four Premier League meetings to their rivals by an aggregate score of 17-2 and were shellacked 7-0 on their last visit to Anfield.

Arsenal visit Merseyside a week later looking for their first win at Anfield in over a decade. The fixture could well decide who will be top of the league at Christmas.

And on current form, it’s difficult to look past Liverpool.  

Predicted results:

• Manchester City – Draw
• Fulham – Win
• Sheffield United – Win
• Crystal Palace – Win
• Manchester United – Win
• Arsenal – Win

Total points: 16 

Arsenal – 27 points

Upcoming fixtures: 

• Brentford (a) – November 25
• Wolves (h) – December 2
• Luton (a) – December 5
• Aston Villa (a) – December 9 
• Brighton (h) – December 17 
• Liverpool (a) – December 23 

If last season’s collapse hurt Arsenal they have done a superb job to conceal their scars through the first three months of the campaign.

The international break came at a right time for the Gunners, with Martin Odegaard and Ben White close to returning to action following injuries, along with Gabriel Jesus.

And Mikel Arteta needs a fully fit squad ahead of a hectic festive period, which begins with trips to Brentford and Luton either side of a home game against Wolves.

Arsenal have the fourth best away record in the league and have won on their last two visits to Brentford, after losing when the Bees kicked off their inaugural Premier League campaign two years ago.

Wolves have defied expectations under Gary O’Neil but have lost their last four meetings against Arsenal. It would be a surprise to see them take points off the Gunners this time around.

Arsenal trail City by two points but face a tough run of games in the lead up to Christmas 

Like City, Arsenal face trips to Luton and Villa and the latter could prove particularly difficult given Villa’s scintillating home form.

Intriguingly, Arsenal visit Villa Park just four days after the Premier League champions are in town. Will Unai Emery lead his team out against his former side on a high after beating City or will the Gunners catch them at a low ebb?

The home game against Brighton comes after a trip to Eindhoven in the Champions League. Arteta will hope to have sealed qualification to the knockout stages by then, allowing him to rotate his team.

Beating Liverpool on December 23 would be the perfect Christmas present, but Arsenal haven’t won at Anfield in 12 years. Their title hopes suffered a major blow when they surrendered a two-goal lead on Merseyside in April. 

They may need a Christmas miracle. 

Predicted results:

• Brentford – Win
• Wolves – Win
• Luton – Win
• Aston Villa – Lose
• Brighton – Win
• Liverpool – Lose

Total points:  12

Tottenham – 26 points 

Upcoming fixtures:

• Aston Villa (h) – November 26
• Manchester City (a) – December 3
• West Ham (h) – December 7
• Newcastle (h) – December 10
• Nottingham Forest (a) – December 15
• Everton (h) – December 23 

Spurs’ flying start to the season came to an abrupt end before the international with back-to-back defeats against Chelsea and Wolves exacerbated by injuries to James Maddison and Micky Van der Ven.

The pair are out until January, which is bad news for Ange Postecoglou whose team face a difficult run of games to Christmas, albeit one containing four home fixtures.

The first of those is on Sunday against a Villa side that have picked up just seven points in six away games so far this season, before a daunting trip to Manchester Ciy on December 3.

Spurs have won three of their last four meetings against the Premier League champions but their injury crisis means they will be up against it at the Etihad.

Spurs went into the international break on the back of consecutive defeats but Ange Postecoglou’s men should still be in the top four come Christmas 

After losing to Chelsea in a chaotic Monday night game earlier this month, Postecoglou has the chance to get back to winning ways against one of Spurs’ main rivals when West Ham make the trip to North London on December 7.

Like Villa, West Ham have picked up just seven points in six away fixtures this season and have lost in their last three visits to their London rivals.

Newcastle, visitors at the Tottenham Stadium three days later, have an even worse record on the road with just one win in six attempts. Eddie Howe is dealing with an injury crisis of his own and the game comes just three days before a potentially crucial Champions League against AC Milan.

A draw wouldn’t be a surprise, but Tottenham should have enough to beat Forest and Everton in their next two fixtures before Christmas to keep pace with their top four rivals. 

Predicted results:

• Aston Villa – Draw
• Manchester City – Lose
• West Ham – Win
• Newcastle – Draw
• Nottingham Forest – Win
• Everton – Win

Total points: 11

IT’S ALL KICKING OFF! 

It’s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.

It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.

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