Premier League: Five things to look for this Christmas

With a plethora of fixtures taking place over the festive period, JOE takes a look ahead to consider what matches to watch and avoid, who might surprise and the Irish players to keep an eye on.

By Conor Hogan

Surprise Package: Blackpool

We went for the Tangerines last week as our surprise package, but Ian Holloway’s team didn’t play as, like most of the Premier League fixtures last weekend, it was called off. We’ve decided to go for them as the surprise once again, and by that we mean that we’ll be surprised if their match with Liverpool actually goes ahead. That isn’t to say that if the game goes ahead that they wouldn’t beat Roy Hodgson’s inconsistent Liverpool outfit.

It is very possible and it would mean a historic double for the minnows. It’s just that the Big Freeze is set to continue into Christmas Day, and Bloomfield Road remains the only stadium in the division without under-soil heating (which is pretty much unforgiveable considering the amount of money they received for promotion and the amount of time they spent at the start of the season doing up their stadium).

Blackpool have only played six matches at home in the Premier League so far, and will have a massive backlog of home fixtures in the New Year.

Game not to miss: Arsenal v Chelsea - 27 Decemeber: 8pm

In the last few years, this fixture would have been a foregone conclusion – Chelsea to win and by a reasonably comfortable score. Chelsea have now gone five games without a win, however, and are struggling to put the ball in the back of the net. Arsenal, meanwhile are third in the form guide and second in the table, though admittedly they haven’t exactly been that impressive.

If there’s any match that can awaken the beast within Didier Drogba, however, it has to be this fixture. The Ivorian has netted 12 times in 11 matches against the Gunners. A loss for Arsenal and they could be dragged back into the hunt for fourth place. A win for Chelsea, and they are right back in the title picture.

Game to miss: Stoke City v Fulham - 28 December: 3pm

It may seem harsh, but would any neutral honestly miss Fulham if they were relegated? That isn’t to say that we don’t like them. We revelled in their run to the Europa League final last season. It’s just that since Roy Hodgson left, so has the magic. They’ve become dull, aimless and just plain bad and all their matches seem to be foregone conclusions.

Despite only losing five times, they are level on points with the bottom three. That’s because they’ve drawn ten of their 17 matches. Their current run is a cause for concern too. The Cottagers have now not won in seven and not won away from home all season. That statistic is unlikely to change against Stoke at Fortress Britannia.

Irish interest: Sunderland (v Blackpool and Manchester United)

People thought young David Meyler was the answer to Ireland’s prayers when the Cork lad broke into the Sunderland team last season, only for him to suffer cruciate ligament damage in May, putting him out for an expected 12 months.

The 21-year-old surprised people with his recovery, however and he started for the Black Cats on 11 December against Fulham, lasting 53 minutes and coming out of the match unscathed. He is highly rated by Steve Bruce and it will be interesting to see if he can get back into a midfield containing Jordan Henderson, Lee Cattermole and Bolo Zenden.

While Meyler has recently signed a five-contract, other Irishmen will be hoping for moves elsewhere. Click here to read about them.

What about the rest:

Manchester United have two eminently winnable games against Sunderland and Birmingham, giving them the opportunity to open up a clear gap at the top of the table. At the other end of the spectrum, meanwhile, Avram Grant apparently has to win either of West Ham’s matches against Fulham or Everton in order to keep his job.

Everton should begin their customary mid season turn-around with results against West Ham and Birmingham, while city neighbours Liverpool have, on paper at least, a golden opportunity to gain some ground on those ahead of them.

And in what looks like an intriguing shoot-out for the Champions League places, Manchester City and Tottenham have been handed identical fixtures, against Aston Villa and Newcastle. It could be a pivotal few days in that respect.

Fixtures:

Sunday, 26 December 2010

Fulham v West Ham, 12:00

Blackburn v Stoke, 15:00

Blackpool v Liverpool, 15:00

Bolton v West Brom, 15:00

Everton v Birmingham, 15:00

Man Utd v Sunderland, 15:00

Newcastle v Man City, 15:00

Wolverhampton v Wigan, 15:00

Aston Villa v Tottenham, 17:30

Monday, 27 December 2010

Arsenal v Chelsea, 20:00

Tuesday, 28 December 2010

Man City v Aston Villa, 15:00

Stoke v Fulham, 15:00

Sunderland v Blackpool, 15:00

Tottenham v Newcastle, 15:00

West Brom v Blackburn, 15:00

West Ham v Everton, 17:30

Birmingham v Man Utd, 20:00

Wednesday, 29 December 2010

Chelsea v Bolton, 19:45

Wigan v Arsenal, 19:45

Liverpool v Wolverhampton, 20:00