The Christmas schedule is wonderful for fans and writers but hellish for players, managers and their families. There are games every other day, with a couple of cup competitions thrown in for good measure.
Sorry guys, but we are really bloody excited – it is the best time of the year to be a football fan.
With that in mind, we have ranked the Christmas schedule of every Premier League team from the easiest to the most difficult. Everton fans will have coal and another relegation battle in their stockings, while Chelsea supporters may have some unexpected expectations.
20) Chelsea
Tottenham (A) – December 8
Astana (A) – December 12
Brentford (H) – December 15
Shamrock Rovers (H) – December 19
Everton (A) – December 22
Fulham (H) – December 26
Ipswich (A) – December 30
Crystal Palace (A) – January 4
Chelsea will be very happy with this. The dreaded Thursday to Sunday schedule isn’t even an issue given the size of their squad and Cole Palmer not being eligible in the Europa Conference League.
Enzo Maresca claims his side are not in the title race. We’ll be the judge of that in a few weeks, thank you.
19) Arsenal
Fulham (A) – December 8
Monaco (H) – December 11
Everton (H) – December 14
Crystal Palace (H) – December 18
Crystal Palace (A) – December 21
Ipswich (H) – December 27
Brentford (A) – January 1
Brighton (A) – January 4
There are games every three or four days for Arsenal from their home clash against Manchester United on Wednesday, December 4 to their trip to Crystal Palace on the 21st. Champions League and Carabao Cup matches are crammed in there as well. Midweek fixtures are certainly taken into account when weighing up the difficulty of their Premier League tests. Hell, it’s kind of the point.
Palace is one of those back-to-backs against the same opposition after/before a cup match, a niche fascination of mine, and another tough one if the Eagles play as we all know they can. Everton at home, meanwhile, should be an easy three points for the Gunners, and with no ‘Big Six’ opponents in there, you have to say that Arsenal have a pretty friendly Christmas period.
18) Bournemouth
Ipswich (A) – December 8
West Ham (H) – December 16
Manchester United (A) – December 22
Crystal Palace (H) – December 26
Fulham (A) – December 29
Everton (H) – January 4
It’s a great time to be a Bournemouth fan. Their trickiest match is probably at Manchester United – who they beat 3-0 at Old Trafford last season.
17) Manchester City
Crystal Palace (A) – December 7
Juventus (A) – December 11
Manchester United (H) – December 15
Aston Villa (A) – December 21
Everton (H) – December 26
Leicester (A) – December 29
West Ham (H) – January 4
It’s difficult not to take into account a team’s true ability and even with Manchester City enduring their worst spell under Pep Guardiola, we think they should win the majority of these matches. The last three in particular are very favourable. Palace comes days after hosting Nottingham Forest and we reckon the winless run will end in one of those games.
Juventus away, United at home, then Villa away looks difficult on paper but Juve are without a Champions League win since matchday two, United are United, and Villa have been ruddy awful.
We just feel that when that first win comes, the floodgates will open, and while United, Villa and Juventus could cause some problems, none of them are anywhere near the same level as Man City.
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16) Liverpool
Everton (A) – December 7
Girona (H) – December 10
Fulham (H) – December 14
Southampton (A) – December 18
Tottenham (A) – December 22
Leicester (H) – December 26
West Ham (A) – December 29
Manchester United (H) – January 5
Liverpool’s wheels were supposed to fall off during a horrendous run of fixtures between Chelsea at home on October 20 and Everton away on December 7, yet they have passed every single test they have faced with flying colours.
They have comfortably beaten Premier League champions Manchester City, European champions Real Madrid, Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen and drew at Arsenal – the only game they have failed to win since losing to Nottingham Forest on September 14.
Sure, Tottenham away could be tricky and Man United are improved under Ruben Amorim, but this is a decent fixture list for any team, let alone one nine points clear of second in the Premier League table.
15) Wolves
West Ham (A) – December 9
Ipswich (H) – December 14
Leicester (A) – December 22
Manchester United (H) – December 26
Tottenham (A) – December 29
Nottingham Forest (H) – January 6
Wolves were handed the toughest start of all so it’s only right that December is kind to them. They are playing West Ham at the right time and are better than Ipswich and Leicester. The next three could all easily be defeats, but we also wouldn’t be surprised if they got five or six points out of them. Wolves are pretty unpredictable, but so are Man United and Spurs…
14) Brighton
Leicester (A) – December 8
Crystal Palace (H) – December 15
West Ham (A) – December 21
Brentford (H) – December 27
Aston Villa (A) – December 30
Arsenal (H) – January 4
Title push, anyone?
13) Newcastle
Brentford (A) – December 7
Leicester (H) – December 14
Brentford (H) – December 18
Ipswich (A) – December 21
Aston Villa (H) – December 26
Manchester United (A) – December 30
Tottenham (A) – January 4
It all depends on if you’re a glass half full or half empty person. If you are a Newcastle fan, that glass is probably half empty, which makes trips to Man United and Tottenham on either side of the year look daunting.
Brentford away will test any team right now but should be a lovely fixture at home in the Carabobbins. No matter the contents of your metaphorical glass, the Toon Army should be relatively happy with their Christmas schedule. At least the ‘Big Six’ teams they face are the two most inconsistent ones.
12) West Ham
Wolves (H) – December 9
Bournemouth (A) – December 16
Brighton (H) – December 21
Southampton (A) – December 26
Liverpool (H) – December 29
Manchester City (A) – January 4
We don’t know if Julen Lopetegui will be in charge for all of these games. The New Manager Bounce could help inspire wins in tricky matches against Bournemouth and Brighton but we have zero faith for the Liverpool and City matches, even if Jurgen Klopp is Lopetegui’s replacement.
11) Crystal Palace
Manchester City (H) – December 7
Brighton (A) – December 15
Arsenal (A) – December 18
Arsenal (H) – December 21
Bournemouth (A) – December 26
Southampton (H) – December 29
Chelsea (H) – January 4
We would not be surprised if Crystal Palace are in the bottom five and out of the Carabao Cup by the Chelsea match. Realistically, the only game we think they should win is against Southampton.
Selhurst Park is not living up to the Difficult Place To Go cliche but it is going to have to be hell for Brighton, Arsenal, Bournemouth and the Saints for Steve Parish to have complete faith in head coach Oliver Glasner going into 2025.
10) Ipswich Town
Bournemouth (H) – December 8
Wolves (A) – December 14
Newcastle (H) – December 21
Arsenal (H) – December 27
Chelsea (H) – December 30
Fulham (A) – January 5
A couple of winnable fixtures in there for Ipswich but they are four very tricky home games. We fear for them.
9) Brentford
Newcastle (H) – December 7
Chelsea (A) – December 15
Newcastle (A) – December 18
Nottingham Forest (H) – December 21
Brighton (A) – December 27
Arsenal (H) – January 1
Southampton (A) – January 4
Away games are something of a write off for Brentford this season. They are capable of beating anyone at home but none of their matches at the Gtech are simple ones. Newcastle and Arsenal won there last season, while a dodgy Ivan Toney free-kick was the difference against Forest, who are a lot better now.
Zero points from 18 would not shock us (Newcastle away is in the cup). Neither would 15 from 18; Brentford are definitely capable.
8) Leicester City
Brighton (H) – December 8
Newcastle (A) – December 14
Wolves (H) – December 22
Liverpool (A) – December 26
Manchester City (H) – December 29
Aston Villa (A) – January 4
Wolves at home is a must-win game for Ruud van Nistelrooy. Brighton could go either way. The other four matches are very tough. What has RvN got himself into?
7) Nottingham Forest
Manchester United (A) – December 7
Aston Villa (H) – December 14
Brentford (A) – December 21
Tottenham (H) – December 26
Everton (A) – December 29
Wolves (A) – January 6
The final two matches of Forest’s Christmas schedule are lovely but both away from home, which makes it less so. This is actually very difficult but they will play without fear, just as they have done all season. Being the only team to beat Liverpool this season means anything is possible. But yeah, there is no hiding how hard this will be for Nuno Espirito Santo and his players.
6) Aston Villa
Southampton (H) – December 7
RB Leipzig (A) – December 10
Nottingham Forest (A) – December 14
Manchester City (H) – December 21
Newcastle (A) – December 26
Brighton (H) – December 30
Leicester (H) – January 4
Leipzig are winless in Europe this season and might be without a manager by December 10, so it is very hard to predict given Villa’s current rut. Southampton at home is the best way to get out of said rut but if Villa fail to beat them, they are in a crisis. Especially considering the fixtures that follow. Every single one is hard until the home match against Leicester, which could be another potential springboard for an upturn in form.
5) Fulham
Arsenal (H) – December 8
Liverpool (A) – December 14
Southampton (H) – December 22
Chelsea (A) – December 26
Bournemouth (H) – December 29
Ipswich (H) – January 5
Southampton and Ipswich are obviously two nice fixtures to have in there but Fulham are a weird team. They went from being hammered 4-1 at home to Wolves to being disappointed to leave Tottenham with only a point. Facing three of the ‘Big Six’ shouldn’t be fun but they have a solid recent record against Arsenal. We would be surprised if they get 10 points from these six matches.
4) Tottenham
Chelsea (H) – December 8
Rangers (A) – December 12
Southampton (A) – December 15
Manchester United (H) – December 19
Liverpool (H) – December 22
Nottingham Forest (A) – December 26
Wolves (H) – December 29
Newcastle (H) – January 4
Lads, it’s Tottenham. So that means wins against Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle and dropped points against Wolves, Southampton (oh, definitely Southampton) and Nottingham Forest.
They welcome United in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and also have a tricky trip to Ange Postecoglou’s best pals Rangers in the Europa League. Even the seemingly easier games are difficult. Wolves have had Spurs’ number a few times recently and Forest away is tough for any club.
3) Southampton
Aston Villa (A) – December 7
Tottenham (H) – December 15
Liverpool (H) – December 18
Fulham (A) – December 22
West Ham (H) – December 26
Crystal Palace (A) – December 29
Brentford (H) – January 4
There is a strong possibility that Southampton will be so bruised and battered by the time their final three fixtures come around that the outcome will be decided in them all before kick-off. Going to West Ham feeling sorry for yourselves won’t end well, even if they have been poor themselves. They might also have a New Manager Bounce!
Liverpool in the Carabao Cup is salt in the wounds, really. Hopefully Russell Martin can repeat Nathan Jones’ heroics and earn a shock cup win over the Quadruple-chasing Premier League title favourites.
2) Manchester United
Nottingham Forest (H) – December 7
Viktoria Plzen (A) – December 12
Manchester City (A) – December 15
Tottenham (A) – December 19
Bournemouth (H) – December 22
Wolves (A) – December 26
Newcastle (H) – December 30
Liverpool (A) – January 5
The serious business is coming, Ruben. City, Spurs and Liverpool away are hellish, while Wolves away has banana skin written all over it. Throw in a trip to the Czech Republic for good measure and you have a schedule full of awkward matches on the road.
United will struggle for respite at Old Trafford. Forest and Bournemouth are both flying and Newcastle are a top team when they feel like it. They don’t feel like it enough, especially away to the bigger clubs, which amusingly makes that United’s easiest fixture…probably. Of course, the amount of football they will have to play is a key factor in their ranking.
1) Everton
Liverpool (H) – December 7
Arsenal (A) – December 14
Chelsea (H) – December 22
Manchester City (A) – December 26
Nottingham Forest (H) – December 29
Bournemouth (A) – January 4
Yeah…these guys are doomed. We would be very surprised to see Everton above the relegation zone and Sean Dyche in a job by the end of December.
