Who will make the most of the Christmas period?

DECEMBER is notoriously a brutal and demanding month in the Premier League and with the 2013/2014 campaign truly hotting up, this December could be the most exciting in the history of the league.

There are a host of exciting and crucial matches over the Christmas period and Liverpool themselves are involved in their fair share. Intriguingly, the current top four face their own private battles between now and January 1^st. Within that time period, Manchester City face Arsenal at the Etihad, Chelsea entertain Liverpool, the Gunners then host Chelsea while Liverpool travel to Manchester to face Manuel Pellegrini’s side. Those fixtures alone should go a long way to deciding who will be at the forefront of the battle for the top positions in the league table.

As for Christmas fixtures (December 21^st – January 1^st), all Premier League clubs face four matches over the course of twelve days. Liverpool face Cardiff and Hull at Anfield but then have the difficult task of travelling to the Etihad on Boxing Day and Stamford Bridge just four days later.

Arsenal, looking comfortable in top spot, host Chelsea and Cardiff at home but then have to negotiate tough trips to in-form Newcastle and West Ham. Man City have Fulham and Swansea away as they look to continue on the road to recovery from their poor early season away form. The former champions also welcome Liverpool, as mentioned, to the Etihad as well as lowly Crystal Palace.

Chelsea don’t have it easy over Christmas with trips to the Emirates and then to St Mary’s to face Premier League surprise package Southampton. As for home games, Stamford Bridge welcomes Swansea and, of course, Liverpool. Our Merseyside rivals Everton have got arguably the pick of the Christmas fixtures. Sunderland and Southampton at home coupled with trips to Swansea and Stoke means that Roberto Martinez’s team don’t face any of the top seven over Christmas. A fact no other top six side can boast.

Similarly to Liverpool, Tottenham have, on paper, a straight forward couple of home fixtures matched with difficult away ties. Spurs face West Brom and Stoke at White Hart Lane as well as trips to Manchester United and Southampton in a period that should test the  now, Villas-Boas-less, club. Finally, although languishing in ninth position, it would be careless to leave out Manchester United from the reckoning. David Moyes and his team face Norwich and Hull away while welcoming Spurs and West Ham to Old Trafford.

Realistically, Arsenal should pick up enough points from their quartet of fixtures to remain at the top of the pile going into 2014. The way in which the Gunners are currently performing suggests that maximum points from those four games is not out of their reach, however, the chasing pack will be praying for a few slip ups from Arsene Wenger’s boys.

You would expect Liverpool to pick up six points from their two home games in comfortable fashion. Nevertheless, as a Liverpool fan, you often have to brace yourself for the unexpected and those two matches will be treated with just as much caution as the daunting away fixtures in the pipeline. If the Reds could somehow get four points from Man City and Chelsea away the fans would be delighted but if one win and one defeat was offered now, I think most supporters would take that gracefully. It is an unpredictable run of fixtures for the Reds and games that must be approached with full concentration and commitment in order to make the most of the opportunity to prove our credentials.

It is fully expected that both Man City and Everton, given their run of games, will make the most of their festive fixtures and both should be in perfect position for a top four place – with City primed for an assault on the title. The Blues next eight or nine fixtures look, in theory, an excellent opportunity for Martinez to get a healthy points total going into the final third of the season and I am predicting that Everton will soon take their place in the top four and stay there until February. It will be down to Liverpool to stay one step ahead of their arch rivals.

Man United should pick up some points over Christmas despite being drastically out of form. Having said that, a few bad results and Moyes could be handed his P60 as the Red Devils will be in threat of not only losing their grip on the title but also European qualification. With Villas-Boas relieved of his duties I have my doubts over Spurs, and do not expect them to be a threat to the title challengers.

For me, Manchester City will benefit most from the Christmas period and will go into 2014 in at least second place with only a few points to make up on Arsenal. The current top four, in my opinion, will stay similar to what it is now, however I do believe Liverpool and Everton will alternate between fourth and fifth quite frequently over Christmas. Spurs and Newcastle will stay knocking on the door with Man United lingering just outside. As a side note, I do believe Christmas is the time when Southampton may lose their way and become a mid-table team, nevertheless, I am willing to be proved wrong.

What are your thoughts? What will Liverpool achieve over Christmas? Will Arsenal stay top? Can the Reds fend off Everton?