Never in Premier League history have the top four accumulated so many points after 14 rounds of matches, making the 2023/2024 campaign the most competitive season to date – at least according to statistics.
Most believe it is a three-horse race between Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City for the trophy but Aston Villa and Tottenham aren’t too far off Arsenal’s 34 points either. Thirteen-time winners Man Utd had been slowly creeping up the table after a dismal start to the season but a 1-0 loss to Newcastle at the weekend has stopped their momentum in its tracks.
The next four fixtures leading up to Christmas will be crucial for the Premier League’s top three sides as they battle it out for the No 1 spot ahead of the New Year. In 10 of the last 14 seasons, the team sitting at the top of the table on December 25 have gone on to lift the Premier League Trophy.
Arsenal were unable to win it last year after building up a five-point lead on Christmas Day but statistically speaking there is an advantage. Man City have the easiest run of games leading up to Xmas with an away trip to Aston Villa being the only fixture that could prove to be a potential banana skin.
Besides that, they play Luton away and Crystal Palace at home. City were supposed to play Brentford before December 25 but the game has had to be rescheduled to allow the Citizens to play in their Club World Cup semi-final on December 19. Man City’s next game after that is Everton at Goodison Park on the other side of Christmas.
Arsenal and Liverpool both have fairly difficult schedules ahead of them including a game against each other on December 23. The Reds will also play Man Utd on December 17 while the Gunners have Aston Villa and Brighton to come.
Find a full breakdown of Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City’s next four fixtures below…
Arsenal: Luton (A) December 5, Aston Villa (A) December 9, Brighton (H) December 17, Liverpool (A) December 23
Liverpool: Sheffield United (A) December 6, Crystal Palace (A) December 9, Man Utd (H) December 17, Arsenal (H) December 23
Man City: Aston Villa (A) December 6, Luton (A) December 10, Crystal Palace (H) December 16, Brentford (postponed, TBD due to Club World Cup), Everton (A) December 27
