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.

MORE ON MAN CITY FROM F365
👉 Liverpool ‘bottling’ impossible but Manchester City points deduction chances ‘fast diminishing’
👉 Where will Man City 2024/25 end up in the top 10 worst Premier League title defences?
👉 Michel and Xabi Alonso backed for Man City manager job as Guardiola struggles continue

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.

Paul Merson doesn’t see any other outcome than a “comfortable and easy” victory for Arsenal against Man Utd on Wednesday night.

The Gunners have been back in good form again recently with three wins in a row in all competitions after a spell of four Premier League matches without a win.

Arsenal, who are still nine points adrift of leaders Liverpool, have moved up to second in the Premier League table with a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest and a 5-2 victory over West Ham.

Man Utd are in a decent run of form too with Ruben Amorim’s side taking their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four matches with a 4-0 win over Everton on Sunday.

Amorim has continued Ruud van Nistelrooy’s solid work as interim boss by grabbing four points from his opening two Premier League matches against Ipswich Town and the Toffees.

Man Utd travel to the Emirates Stadium to play Arsenal on Wednesday night and Merson would “be shocked” if the Gunners don’t beat the Red Devils by three or four goals.

Merson told Sportskeeda: “I don’t see anything but an Arsenal win here, it will be comfortable and easy.

“I’d even go three or four nil to Arsenal in this one, they will destroy Manchester United.

MORE PREMIER LEAGUE COVERAGE FROM F365…
👉 Premier League winners and losers: Liverpool, Guardiola, Kluivert, Newcastle, Amorim, Martinez, Saka…
👉 Mailbox: Liverpool man ‘bordered on the psychotic’ in win over Manchester City
👉 Every Premier League club’s worst player in 24/25: Walker, Jesus, Ugarte, Ferguson…

“We shouldn’t get carried away by that Manchester United win against Everton. I watched them against Bodo/Glimt and they weren’t great.

“Ipswich were also by far the better team when they met during Ruben Amorim’s first game in charge.

“Considering how well Arsenal are playing now, I’d be shocked if they don’t win three or four nil at the Emirates.

“Arsenal work day in and day out on their set-pieces and it’s clearly showing this season. It’s not just luck that they are scoring so much from such situations.

“However, the one thing that could work in favour of United in this game is the suspension of Lisandro Martinez. He’s not the tallest of defenders and will now most likely be replaced by Harry Maguire, who is like a magnet when defending set-pieces.

“But United are still working on their best shape under Amorim, while Arsenal under Arteta are flying at the moment. The Arsenal players know everything about their game and you will see that on the pitch in this game.

“I don’t see any other result than an Arsenal win, but I will go kind on the scoreline. Arsenal 3-0 Manchester United.”

Former Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag is reportedly on RB Leipzig’s shortlist of managers with current boss Marco Rose under severe pressure.

Leipzig have lost all five of their Champions League matches this season and are without a win in the Bundesliga since October 26.

They have lost three of their last four in the league, conceding nine goals in their previous two league matches, and could sack manager Rose.

Ten Hag is one manager reportedly on the German club’s shortlist. The Dutchman is available after being sacked by Man Utd in October.

The Red Devils appointed Ruben Amorim as Ten Hag’s replacement. The 39-year-old has started well but faces a tricky test at Arsenal on Wednesday evening.

The decision to sack Ten Hag was right but the timing was not. The club’s hierarchy decided to extend his contract in the summer despite their worst finish in Premier League history.

MORE ON MAN UTD FROM F365
👉 Man Utd in ‘concrete talks’ over £83m transfer as Man City ‘intensify efforts’ to hijack move
👉 Ruben Amorim reveals Man Utd summer signing ‘could’ make highly-anticipated debut v Arsenal

Winning the FA Cup saved the former Ajax boss from losing his job at the end of last season but a miserable start to 2024/25 resulted in his dismissal.

It is unclear whether Ten Hag is eager to jump straight back into a job after two gruelling years at Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag to Leipzig? Ex-Man Utd boss on their ‘list’

Regardless, he is a manager ‘on Leipzig’s list’ with Rose under pressure, according to Sky Sport Germany journalist Patrick Berger.

Berger claims that former Benfica boss Roger Schmidt is ‘a candidate if Rose does not manager the turnaround’ having been ‘close to taking’ the Leipzig job in 2022.

Schmidt has experience working with the Red Bull franchise, managing Austrian outfit RB Salzburg between 2012 and 2014.

However, the German ‘does not currently want to take over a club’ after being sacked by Benfica in August and ‘does not actually want to take on a new challenge before the summer’.

Berger confirms that ex-Man Utd boss Ten Hag ‘has also been on Leipzig’s list recently’ with the Bundesliga side’s next match against Eintracht Frankfurt being treated as a ‘final’ and ‘the most important game of the first half of the season’.

On top of the Sky report, Berger wrote on X: ‘A candidate at RB Leipzig if Marco Rose does not manage the turnaround: Roger Schmidt.

‘The top coach was already close to taking over at Cottaweg in 2022. At the time, however, he was under contract in Eindhoven. Also a topic again due to his Salzburg past.

‘According to Sky information, Schmidt does not currently want to take over a club. A move to a club in the winter is difficult to imagine.

‘After his engagement at Benfica Lisbon, the native Westphalian does not actually want to take on a new challenge before the summer. It would take a lot of persuasion from Mintzlaff and Co.

‘With Lisbon, the former Leverkusen coach is in the final stages of terminating his contract, which runs until 2026. In Portugal, he recently earned around €12m gross!

‘Erik ten Hag, who is currently without a club, has also been on Leipzig’s list recently.’

👉 MORE: Man Utd news | Erik ten Hag archives | Next Premier League manager to be sacked

Ruben Amorim could be dealt a harsh dose of reality against Arsenal as we wonder what’s worse than a crisis as Man City welcome Nottingham Forest.

Game to watch: Arsenal v Manchester United
Ruben Amorim was wise to urge caution after what on paper looked to be a shellacking of Everton on Sunday to hand him his first Premier League victory as Manchester United manager.

“Today was 4-0 – but I think Everton deserved [more]. So let’s focus on the performance,” Amorim said in a bid to downplay the expectations of United fans ahead of a trip to Arsenal that threatens to provide quite the bump back down to earth.

Amorim’s side had an xG of 0.79 to Everton’s 0.76, suggesting that their work in both boxes put gloss on what was otherwise a “very average” display, at home, against a side that’s won just two of 13 league games this season and has failed to score in their last four.

Everton can’t hold a candle to a Martin Odegaard-less Arsenal, let alone one with the captain back fit and firing.

The Gunners’ improvement on his return wasn’t in doubt but the speed and extent of their increased performance is extraordinary. He’s made everyone immediately better and his relationship with Bukayo Saka on Arsenal’s right seems if anything to have improved. Maybe absence really does make the football grow in wonder…

Amorim has so far enjoyed a soft landing in English football, with games against Ipswich, Bodo/Glimt and Everton granting him time to bed in, allowing him to experiment with line-ups in what has felt like an in-season pre-season for the Portuguese boss.

Arsenal – now somewhere back towards the peak of their powers – will provide a proper gauge of where Amorim’s Manchester United are. The honeymoon might well be over.

Manager to watch: Eddie Howe
That sound you hear might just be Eddie Howe’s head bumping against his Newcastle ceiling.

He claimed after Crystal Palace scored a last-gasp equaliser on Saturday that his team “did what we needed to do as the away team”. In so far as they were winning before Marc Guehi set up Daniel Munoz in stoppage time he’s right, of course, but we wonder whether the travelling Magpies fans would have taken quite such a literal and positive stance at full-time having watched their side have one shot which failed to find the target in the 90+ minutes at Selhurst Park.

The glass-half-fullers will focus on them being just four points off the Champions League spots, but the majority will look at the teams vying for those places and consider Newcastle rank outsiders. They have neither the personnel nor the control of games as things stand to mount a serious challenge, and with Liverpool to come on Wednesday, as we wonder for the 427th time what has to happen for the Newcastle bosses to consider Howe’s future at the club, a proper spanking by Arne Slot’s table-toppers might be a Look What You Could Have Had moment to make the Toon Sheikhs consider a change.

PSR has stopped the state-backed project in its tracks. Newcastle couldn’t take advantage of their Champions League dalliance because of the restrictions and have no room to manoeuvre in the transfer market to take the next step, meaning the only real recourse is a change of style.

Newcastle don’t play like a Big Team. They run, they break, they swarm, but they don’t dominate, no matter who’s playing for them or which team they’re playing against. That’s a Howe limitation, not a Newcastle one, and not something that’s going to change even if he was handed £200m to spend in January.

Team to watch: Manchester City
Who would have thought when Erik ten Hag was still in the job at Manchester United that just over a month after his sacking the sadists who had derived such pleasure from watching the Red Devils crash and burn on a regular basis would instead be getting their kicks out of watching Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City? Incredible.

No neutral would ever previously have considered the visit of Nottingham Forest to the Etihad as a viewing option on Amazon Prime night, but there’s every chance it will at least be a second screen as there’s not much in football that garners as strong a feeling as the fall of the mighty.

We wonder, what’s worse than a crisis?

READ MORE: Premier League winners and losers: Liverpool, Guardiola, Kluivert, Newcastle, Amorim, Martinez, Saka…

Player to watch: Ollie Watkins
We get that Unai Emery loves him. He was the Premier League’s best striker last season with 19 goals and 13 assists, and his contributions to the team aside are significant: willing runner, occupies defenders etc etc. After what he did for England, we love him too.

But with Jhon Duran burning a hole in the bench, surely Emery needs to drop Watkins soon, even if he does so in the name of rotation.

Watkins will be thoroughly f***ed off if Brentford at home is the game his manager decides to make the change.

He’s scored just once in his last eight games in all competitions, hasn’t provided an assist since September and no Premier League player has missed more than his 13 big chances this season, but taking him out of the side for the visit of Brentford, who are world-beaters at home but have just one point from a possible 18 away from the Gtech, would be like waving a tasty treat in one dog’s face before handing it to another.

There’s no guarantee Duran would swallow his chance given his goals from the bench have dried up. But he’s started three games this season, against Bologna, Wycombe and Palace, and scored in all of them. Emery needs to change something to turn their season around and Duran for Watkins is too easy a potential fix not to be tried.

No goals for Watkins at Villa Park against the Premier League’s worst travellers may well finally force that change.

EFL game to watch: Walsall v Notts County
Walsall haven’t lost in League Two since being spanked 6-2 by Fleetwood on October 1, an eight-game unbeaten run that sees them in second place, but victory for Notts County will see them draw level on points with their hosts in a bid to secure automatic qualification.