Five Premier League festive talking points 🎄 | OneFootball

Christmas time is here and one of our favourite periods of the football calendar. As you sit down to tuck into your Turkey, what better way to spend the festivities than pondering these Premier League talking points?

Can anyone stop Liverpool?

Liverpool are celebrating Christmas at the summit, with the Reds the standout team of the Premier League campaign. Arne Slot deserves huge credit for his debut campaign to date, having taken the reins from Jurgen Klopp and kicked on.

Liverpool have lost just once all season and have a four-point lead, having played a game less than the chasing pack. Bigger leads have been squandered in past seasons, but none of the other would-be contenders appear as complete – or as consistent – as Slot’s machine.

Exactly half of the Christmas Day leaders (16/32) have gone on to lift the title, though Liverpool have done so just once in six attempts previously. Things can change quickly in football but the Merseysiders look strong favourites as things stand.

Can Arsenal combat the loss of Bukayo Saka?

Just as things appeared to be clicking back into gear for Arsenal, the Gunners have suffered a seismic setback. The image of Bukayo Saka clutching his hamstring at Crystal Palace was enough to spread fear among Gooners and Mikel Arteta has confirmed their worst fears. Saka is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines, leaving Arsenal without their most creative talent. Having missed Martin Odegaard for much of the campaign, the North Londoners now must combat the loss of another integral part of their side.

Saka has scored five times and created 10 goals so far this season, the sort of productivity that is almost impossible to replace. With a significant, if not insurmountable, gap already to leaders Liverpool, Arsenal must find the formula quickly.

Bournemouth are sitting on a gold mine

Andoni Iraola has guided Bournemouth into the European places and there is optimism on the south coast that the Cherries can stay there. Almost under the radar, Bournemouth have assembled a squad brimming with talent, collecting a constellation of starlets in a wonder kid-focused recruitment drive.

Milos Kerkez’s (21) endless endeavour at left-back is already attracting admiring glances, while the centre-back pairing of Illya Zabarnyi (22) and Dean Huijsen (19) have demonstrated a maturity far beyond their years. Hopes remain high that Alex Scott (21) can fulfil his potential at the Vitality Stadium, while Antoine Semenyo – a relative elder statesman at 24 – is expected to attract big bids in the near future.

Whether on the pitch or off it, Cherries are likely to reap the rewards of their faith in emerging talent.

Will any of the promoted teams survive?

Last season, all three teams that were promoted to the Premier League the previous season were relegated. Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton all went straight back down, with an argument as the worst bottom three ever. Statistically, no relegated trio has ever amassed a lower combined total as the trio finished on a paltry 16, 24 and 26 points respectively. Even points deductions for Everton and Nottingham Forest failed to make things overly interesting, emphasising the growing gap between the top two divisions.

It was only the second time in Premier League history that all three promoted teams had gone straight back down, after Crystal Palace, Barnsley and Bolton did so in the 1997/98 campaign. This time around, however, we could see a repeat.

Christmas Day will see Southampton and Ipswich mired in the bottom three, while Leicester sit just above the relegation places. However, the manner in which 18th-placed Wolves thrashed the Foxes last weekend indicated Ruud van Nistelrooy has a huge challenge to keep Leicester up. Southampton are already eight points from safety, while Ipswich have failed to win at home all season. Is the Premier League becoming a closed shop?

Newcastle facing defining run

After an indifferent start to the season, Newcastle have found form. Eddie Howe’s team have won three on the spin, scoring 11 goals in the process and booking a place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

The Magpies are five points from the Champions League places ahead of what could be a defining run of games in their season. Top-four rivals Aston Villa arrive at St James’ Park on Boxing Day, before Newcastle take on Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal (Carabao Cup) on the road in successive games.

With Alexander Isak in red-hot form and Sandro Tonali impressing at the heart of the side, confidence is high in the North East. Sven Botman also made his recent return for the u-21 side and the Dutch defender could have a huge role to play over the second half of the campaign.

Read – Remembering when a 21-year-old Ronaldo Nazario won the Ballon d’Or

See more – Premier League Team of the Week – Isak, Salah, Murillo

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