Premier League Matchday 17: Top flight makes long-awaited return

The Premier League finally makes its long-awaited return with all 20 teams in action over the festive period.

League leaders Arsenal resume their campaign at home to West Ham, while Manchester City take on Leeds and Manchester United welcome Nottingham Forest.

Brentford vs Tottenham (Boxing Day, 12.30pm, Amazon Prime)

Tottenham begin the second half of their campaign with a three-point cushion over United in fourth ahead of a trip to Brentford.

Spurs are unbeaten in 13 games against their London counterparts — last tasting defeat in March 1948.

But the Bees have largely enjoyed Boxing Day clashes of late, losing only two of their last 13 — though they did go down 2-0 at Brighton last season.

Striker Harry Kane also enjoys his post-Christmas outings though, with no Premier League player scoring more than his nine on this day.

Crystal Palace vs Fulham (Boxing Day, 3pm, Amazon Prime)

A second all-London clash of the day sees Crystal Palace host Fulham at Selhurst Park.

Both sides have eyes on the top half, with the ninth-placed Cottagers and 11th-placed Eagles only separated by goal difference.

Palace are currently enjoying a five-game unbeaten run against the West Londoners since a 4-1 defeat in October 2013.

Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored in each of his last three London derbies, having netted only one in his first 17 previously.

Everton vs Wolves (Boxing Day, 3pm, Amazon Prime)

Two struggling sides who will be desperate for some festive cheer are 17th-placed Everton and rock-bottom Wolves.

Former Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui takes charge of his first league game at the Midlands outfit under no illusions about the tough task he is facing.

They did beat the Toffees 1-0 in this fixture last season and will look to record back-to-back league victories over them for the first time since February 1960.

Since Frank Lampard took over in February, Everton have failed to score in a Premier League game on 13 occasions — with only Wolves (14) doing so more.

Leicester vs Newcastle (Boxing Day, 3pm, Amazon Prime)

Newcastle are set for a memorable campaign if they can replicate the form they showed prior to the World Cup as the third-placed outfit visit Leicester.

Eddie Howe’s men have lost only once this term and are currently on a five-game win streak in the league.

The sensational form of Miguel Almiron was a key figure in their success after he managed eight goal involvements in as many outings.

After a sticky start to the campaign, the Foxes had been enjoying a renaissance on their own, climbing to 13th thanks to a run of four victories from five.

Southampton vs Brighton (Boxing Day, 3pm, Amazon Prime)

Nathan Jones manages Southampton at home in the Premier League for the first time against fellow South Coast side Brighton.

The Seagulls have been one of the teams to watch so far and the seventh-placed outfit are still yet to lose at St Mary’s in five Premier League visits (one win, four draws).

Interestingly, the home side has never won in Premier League meetings between these two, with no fixture being played as often without the hosts winning.

Che Adams has scored twice as many goals as any other Saints player this term with four, while Leandro Trossard can become the first Seagulls man to net more than five on the road in the top flight.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool (Boxing Day, 5.30pm, Amazon Prime)

Liverpool will be desperate to improve on their inconsistent form prior to the World Cup and it is Aston Villa first up.

Unai Emery manages the Villans in the Premier League for the third time having won both of his first two in charge — no manager in the club’s history has ever won their first three games in the competition.

Villa have lost eight of their last nine top-flight meetings with Liverpool, with the exception being a sensational 7-2 reverse in October 2020.

Former Reds striker Danny Ings has scored four goals in his last four league games, as many as he had in his previous 26.

Arsenal vs West Ham (Boxing Day, 8pm, Amazon Prime)

Arsenal return to action at home against West Ham with a healthy five-point lead at the top of the tree.

Mikel Arteta’s men had won their last three previous games by an aggregate score of 8-0 prior to the World Cup break, with the Hammers losing three in a row in the league.

To make matters worse for David Moyes and Co, the Gunners have lost only two of the pair’s last 28 meetings, while they are also enjoying a run of 10 straight Boxing Day wins at home.

Injury to Gabriel Jesus in Qatar will likely see Eddie Nketiah handed a start up front. The 23-year-old has scored 10 goals in his last 10 starts at the Emirates in all competitions.

Chelsea vs Bournemouth (Tuesday, 5.30pm, Amazon Prime)

Chelsea sit down in eighth after a five-game winless run — including losses in their most recent three.

That has cranked up the pressure on manager Graham Potter ahead of the visit of Bournemouth, who play their first game top-flight match since handing the reigns to Gary O’Neil on a permanent basis.

They are something of a bogey team for the Blues in the Premier League, who have lost three of their five home meetings — only suffering more defeats at Stamford Bridge to Liverpool and Manchester City (four each) since the start of 2015-16.

Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have just four league goals between them this term, but the former has nine in nine versus the Cherries while the latter has three in four against them.

Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest (Tuesday, 8pm, Amazon Prime)

The Erik ten Hag revolution continues at United as they look to reduce the three-point gap between themselves and fourth by beating Forest.

The Red Devils have won four of their last five Premier League games, keeping a clean sheet in each of their last three.

Previous form leads heavily towards a home success, with the last six meetings between the pair going United’s way.

Forest midfielder Jesse Lingard hit a brace in the Carabao Cup in midweek and will look to score against his former side for the first time in the competition.

Leeds vs Manchester City (Wednesday, 8pm, Amazon Prime)

Manchester City resume their pursuit of Arsenal at the top as the champions travel to Leeds.

The Citizens suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Brighton in their last game and are looking to avoid suffering consecutive top-flight losses for the first time since December 2018.

That said, they face a Leeds side they notched 11 against across their two league meetings last season.

City star Phil Foden claimed a goal and two assists during England’s World Cup campaign and will look to build on his record of eight goal involvements in his last five Premier League games.

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