Premier League Preview Holiday Highlights: Leicester Influences Title Race; Boom Times for Gunners; Canaries Drop More Goose Eggs; Poor Return for Manchester United; Chelsea Falters; Seagulls Escape Schneid; New Year Begins with Top Four Clashes; Hammers Look to Rejoin the Chase

Leicester influenced the title race during the holiday week with two very different performances by the Foxes. Manager Brendan Rodgers’ team wanted to climb into a foxhole under a barrage of goals delivered by Pep Guardiola’s league leading Manchester City squad. The Citizens jumped out to a four-goal lead before Leicester came to life with three goals over a ten-minute span of the second half. Just as traveling Leicester fans thought their trip might have been worthwhile, Manchester City pummeled the Foxes with two more goals for a 6-3 final which marked a ninth straight victory for the defending league champions.

Just two days later, Leicester’s battered defense posted a clean sheet against Manchester City’s closest pursuer in a 1-0 Leicester win over high scoring Liverpool.

Defeat at Leicester. #LEILIV pic.twitter.com/jlmAxWj5Lg

— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 28, 2021

The Foxes’ defensive masterpiece included a penalty save by Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel on league leading scorer Mohamed Salah. Liverpool failed to score for the first time in 29 league matches as a second half goal by the Foxes’ Ademola Lookman secured the points for Leicester. Leicester’s win put Liverpool six points behind steamrolling Manchester City after 19 matches as the Reds lost for just a second time this season.

Chelsea moved level on points with second place Liverpool as the Blues put down Aston Villa 3-1. Jorginho converted on two penalty kicks for the win which also saw Romelu Lukaku return to the scoresheet for Chelsea. In the spirit of holiday giving, Chelsea conceded an own goal for Villa’s only score.

Arsenal increased its hold on fourth position by blasting Norwich 5-0 on Boxing Day, a fourth consecutive victory for the Gunners. Bukayo Saka scored a brace and Emile Smith Rowe scored in a substitute role for a third consecutive match as the young Gunners put the Canaries to the sword.

Norwich looks helpless to avoid a relegation fate as the Canaries were again held scoreless a few days later by Crystal Palace, a fifth consecutive defeat without scoring a goal for the East Anglia team.

After 19 matches played by all five of the top teams, West Ham was odd man out, the Hammers trailing Arsenal by four points in the top four chase. The Hammers fell 3-2 to Southampton on Boxing Day, a second consecutive defeat, before returning to the win column with a 4-1 hammering of Watford two days later.

Tottenham Hotspur trails West Ham by just a point despite having completed only 17 matches. Spurs picked up four points with a 3-0 Boxing Day defeat of Crystal Palace followed by a 1-1 draw with Southampton two days later. Manchester United, also having completed just 17 matches, trails Spurs by two points after a desultory 1-1 draw with Newcastle United on Monday. New manager Ralf Rangnick is having little positive effect in his short tenure which has included lethargic performances and periods of Covid induced inactivity.

The Red Devils are back at it Thursday when Burnley comes to Old Trafford. A win by the Clarets would see them escape the relegation zone for the first time since the third week of the season.

Brighton’s 2-0 Boxing Day win over Brentford snapped the longest Boxing Day losing streak in English football and marked the Seagulls first win in over three months. The Seagulls moved level on points with 10th place Crystal Palace after the win with Brighton having played two fewer matches than their rival.

Wednesday saw two of the top teams in action as Chelsea and Manchester City became the first teams to play a 20th match in this postponement plagued campaign. Manchester City notched a tenth straight win in a 1-0 victory over Brentford, a grinding victory quite different from recent City goal fests. Chelsea failed to keep pace as Brighton struck for a stoppage time equalizer in a 1-1 draw which put the Blues eight points back of Manchester City after 20 matches. Brighton’s late point marked the fourth time this season that the Seagulls have struck for a tying goal in the 89th minute or later. Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is already feeling pressure over Chelsea’s diminishing title hopes and was embarrassing in listing various excuses for Wednesday’s dropped points.

Upcoming Saturday and Sunday action features a pair of top four clashes when Manchester City visits fourth place Arsenal followed by a Sunday matchup between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. Arsenal will be without Manager Mikel Arteta who has contacted Covid for a second time. Chelsea is in dire need of three points after three draws in their last four matches while Liverpool will be anxious to recover from their scoreless outing at Leicester. West Ham, meanwhile, will try to close the gap on Arsenal and rekindle its top four ambitions when the Gunners visit Crystal Palace for a London derby.

Premier League Preview Boxing Day: More Postponements; Red Devils Return; Chelsea Visits Villa; Manchester City Seeks Ninth Straight Win; Spurs Face Palace in London Derby; Gunners Take Aim at Canaries

Three of ten Boxing Day matches were to be postponed as of Friday due to COVID concerns. Liverpool v. Leeds, Wolves v. Watford and Burnley v. Everton will need be played another day. Watford’s fixture list becomes tricky as the Covid stricken Hornets will be three matches behind most of their competitors after the Boxing Day matches with another at risk match planned two days later for the Hornets. Burnley will be a full four matches behind schedule when they return to the field against Manchester United next Thursday. Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp, meanwhile, had already voiced concern at playing on Sunday and Tuesday so the postponement of the Leeds match, if not its circumstances, is welcome news for the German manager.

Manchester United returns to action on Boxing Day for the first time in more than two weeks when the Red Devils visit struggling Newcastle. Newcastle has been fortunate with respect to Covid but unfortunate in having to play matches where the Magpies are thoroughly outclassed. Newcastle has won but a single match all season and has lost more matches than all clubs but Watford and Norwich.

Tottenham Hotspur is beginning to find success under Manager Antonio Conte, winning three consecutive matches before grabbing a point versus Liverpool last week. Seventh place Spurs host a London derby versus Crystal Palace on the day after Christmas hoping to get back in contention for the European places. Palace defeated Spurs 3-0 when the two clubs met earlier this year and the Eagles, led by dynamic midfielder Conor Gallagher, pose a more attacking threat this season under new manager Patrick Vieira.

West Ham has failed to score in three consecutive league matches as the Hammers prepare to host Southampton. A dry spell from striker Michail Antonio has exposed a dearth of other attacking options for manager David Moyes’ side who may try to address the problem in the January transfer window. Southampton is six points from the relegation places as the Saints have failed to post a win since the first week of November.

Leicester has won just two of its last seven league matches as it approaches Sunday’s match with league leading Manchester City. City, meanwhile, will look to increase its lead on idle Liverpool with a ninth consecutive league victory.

Chelsea trails the league leaders by six points and will face a difficult test at Aston Villa. Thomas Tuchel’s side have struggled of late with a roster ravaged by Covid absences. Aston Villa has impressed in moving into the top half of the table under new manager Steven Gerrard despite dropping December decisions to top clubs Manchester City and Liverpool.

Fourth place Arsenal will try to win a fourth consecutive league match when the Gunners visit cellar dwelling Norwich. The Canaries, having earned valuable points during a brief November flurry, have faltered again in losing all three of their December matches.

Brighton has the longest winless run on Boxing Day of any team in the top four divisions of English football. The Seagulls will try to shed that unfortunate distinction by beating Brentford Sunday when the Bees visit American Express Community Stadium. Brentford will be playing in the topflight on Boxing Day for the first time since 1946. 

Carabao Cup

Liverpool staged a dramatic comeback to take Leicester to penalties and the Reds emerged triumphant to advance to the Carabao Cup semifinals. After the Reds were down 2-0 early in the match, Liverpool’s Takumi Minamino struck five minutes into stoppage time to knot the clubs at two goals apiece and send things to penalties. Leicester missed two of its penalty tries versus one for Liverpool and the Reds are on to the next round.

Chelsea and Brentford were scoreless until the 80th minute when a Brentford own goal put the Blues ahead. Five minutes later, Jorginho sealed Chelsea’s advancement with a successful penalty kick for a 2-0 victory. Tottenham Hotspur was a 2-1 winner over West Ham in the other London derby played Wednesday. The match was a bitter disappointment for a Hammers squad which had defeated both Manchester City and Manchester United to advance in previous rounds. Spurs will get to continue their hunt for a first trophy since winning the League Cup in 2007/2008. A third London club in the semifinal round will be Arsenal which was an easy 4-1 victor over League One side Sunderland in their quarterfinal match. The Gunners’ win was notable for three individual performances by players not habitually in Arsenal’s first team Premier League line-up. Eddie Nketiah struck for a hat trick. Nicolas Pepe had a goal and two assists. 18-year-old Charlie Patino, a much-ballyhooed youngster who has drawn comparison to a young Phil Foden, made his senior debut for Arsenal and scored 12 minutes after entering the fray in the second half. Arsenal will play Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur will play Chelsea in the home and away semifinal fixtures in January. 

Premier League Results Match Week 18: Manchester City Increases Lead as Liverpool and Chelsea Drop Points; Arsenal’s Young Guns Strike Again; Holiday Matches To Play On

A truncated weekend schedule saw only four matches played but each of those matches included one of the top four teams in the table. Table leader Manchester City increased its advantage over Liverpool and Chelsea by taking care of business in a 4-0 defeat of Newcastle while the Citizens’ nearest pursuers both dropped points in their matches. Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka prevented matters from getting completely out of control but City’s four goal production on Sunday made it 17 goals in the last five matches for Manager Pep Guardiola’s men. Newcastle, meanwhile, has conceded 11 goals in losing its last three matches.

Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp was understandably displeased with the officiating in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur. Harry Kane was given the benefit of the doubt on a severe tackle on Liverpool’s Harry Robertson in the first half which drew only a yellow card whereas a comparable foul committed by Robertson in the second half drew a red card and ejection for the Liverpool defender. More egregious, however, was Referee Paul Tierney failing to award a penalty kick when Liverpool’s Diogo Jota was clearly taken down in the box during first half action. Apart from the questionable officiating, the match was entertaining and saw both clubs come back from deficits to salvage the point. Kane made a rare appearance on the scoresheet for Spurs with his second league goal of the season.

First home league goal this season. Second Premier League goal of the season. Against Liverpool.

Harry Kane finally delivering 😤 pic.twitter.com/N1gBYUD0S4

— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 19, 2021

Liverpool falls four points back of Manchester City with the result. Spurs are 7th in the table, one point behind sixth place Manchester United with a match in hand on the Red Devils.

Like Liverpool, Chelsea also faltered in its title chase by dropping points in a goalless standoff with Wolves. Chelsea has now dropped seven points in its last four matches as Manager Thomas Tuchel’s side had looked disjointed even before having to field a patchwork side on Sunday due to Covid absences. Chelsea asked for the match to be rescheduled due its depleted roster and growing virus concerns but was denied by the league. Christian Pulisic started at center forward for a second consecutive match and was again unproductive in an unaccustomed position for the American. Wolves, meanwhile, continue to be both tenacious and toothless. Neither side in the last seven Wolverhampton league matches has managed more than one goal. Wolves has scored a total of two goals in those seven matches while somehow managing two wins and three draws.

Arsenal had no trouble scoring in defeating Leeds 4-1 in the only Premier League match to be played as scheduled on Saturday. The streaking Gunners have scored nine goals in winning three consecutive matches to build a four-point cushion on West Ham for the final Champions League place. All four Arsenal goals were scored by players aged 21 or under as Gabriel Martinelli stuck for his first Premier League brace and Emile Smith Rowe and Bukayo Saka added onto Martinelli’s opening tallies. Smith-Rowe scored in substitute role for a second consecutive match and leads the Gunners in league scoring with his seven goals. Leeds lost for a third consecutive time and have won just once in their past eight league matches. Manager Marco Bielsa’s club is only five points clear of the relegation zone and a Burnley side which has three matches in hand over the Whites due to weather and Covid cancellations.

The Premier league decided Monday to proceed with the holiday period schedule without a formal league wide Covid induced break. Individual match cancellations will occur if a club is unable to roster thirteen healthy field players plus a goalkeeper. Six matches were cancelled last weekend. Beginning on Boxing Day, 30 matches are currently scheduled to be played through January 3rd.

Carabao Cup

The Carabao Cup plays its quarterfinal matches this week. Arsenal hosts Sunderland Tuesday in the only quarterfinal match to include a club from outside the Premier League. The Black Cats, currently third in League One, will be without Manager Lee Johnson for the match due to a positive Covid test. London derbies comprise two of the three Wednesday quarterfinal matches when West Ham visits Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea makes the short trip to Brentford. Leicester goes to Liverpool in the final quarterfinal pairing.

 

Premier League In Europe

Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur was booted from the Europa Conference League after UEFA ruled the club to have forfeited its final group stage match which was to have been played against Rennes. A Covid outbreak had rendered Spurs unable to play the match and UEFA indicated it could not be rescheduled. The London club may yet appeal the ruling.