Impossible to catch a breath in the English league: just two days after the last match of the 17th day, the Premier League chains with the 18th, which will bring leaders Arsenal to Brighton while his pursuer, Manchester City, will receive Everton.
The holiday season is traditionally a busy one for Premier League players and this year three league games and the third round of the FA Cup will be played in just thirteen days.
Of the top half contenders, Liverpool (6th) will be first into the fray, hosting Leicester (13th) on Friday, just four days after winning 3-1 at home to Aston Villa (12th ).
The following day, Manchester United’s (5th) visit to Julen Lopetegui’s (18th) Wolverhampton on Saturday (12:30 GMT) will serve as a prelude to key matches in the title fight.
And it is that, hours later, Arsenal and Manchester City, separated by five points, will continue their long-distance duel.
The Citizens will be able to increase the pressure on the leaders, as they host Everton (17th) at 15:00 GMT, while the Gunners’ visit to Brighton (7th) will take place in the afternoon (17:30 GMT).
Manchester City flexed their muscles on Wednesday by winning 3-1 at Leeds (15th), with a brace from the unstoppable Erling Haaland, who returned to his hometown and against the team where his father played.
The Norwegian striker has 20 goals in 14 games, but according to his manager Pep Guardiola, “he’s still not at his best level” following a foot injury sustained at the end of October.
For his part, Haaland acknowledged that watching the World Cup in Qatar on television, for which Norway failed to qualify, was an ordeal: “Seeing other players score goals motivated me and made me angry, I’m hungry “, he confessed. to the Prime chain.
Statements that don’t seem to disturb the serenity of compatriot Martin Odegaard, Arsenal’s essential playmaker, who still can’t count on his striker Gabriel Jesús, injured during the World Cup.
“We focus on ourselves and nobody else. You have to keep working well and focus on the next match, that’s all that matters,” insisted Odegaard.
Third, seven points adrift of Arsenal, Newcastle, who achieved a tenth consecutive win against Leicester (3-0) in all competitions, travel to Leeds (15th) on Saturday (15:00 GMT).
And on Sunday, two other contenders for the top tier will close the appointment: Tottenham (4th) will host Aston Villa (14:00 GMT) and Chelsea (8th) will travel to Nottingham (16:30 GMT) to challenge the Forest ( 19).
— Schedule for matchday 18 of the Premier League, which will be played between Friday 30 December and Sunday 1 January:
– Friday:
(19:45 GMT) West Ham – Brentford
(20:00 GMT) Liverpool-Leicester
– Saturday:
(12:30 GMT) Wolverhampton – Manchester United
(15:00 GMT) Manchester City – Everton
Newcastle-Leeds
AFC Bournemouth – Crystal Palace
Fulham-Southampton
(17:30 GMT) Brighton – Arsenal
– Sunday:
(14:00 GMT) Tottenham – Aston Villa
(16:30 GMT) Nottingham Forest – Chelsea
Classification: Pti JGEP GF GC Diff
1. Arsenale 40 15 13 1 1 36 12 24
2. Manchester City 35 15 11 2 2 43 15 28
3.Newcastle 33 16 9 6 1 32 11 21
4. Tottenham 30 16 9 3 4 33 23 10
5. Manchester United 29 15 9 2 4 23 20 3
6. Liverpool 25 15 7 4 4 31 18 13
7. Brighton 24 15 7 3 5 26 20 6
8.Chelsea 24 15 7 3 5 19 17 2
9. Fulham 22 16 6 4 6 27 26 1
10. Brentford 20 16 4 8 4 25 27 -2
11. Crystal Palace 19 15 5 4 6 15 21 -6
12. Aston Villa 18 16 5 3 8 17 25 -8
13. Leicester 17 16 5 2 9 25 28 -3
14. AFC Bournemouth 16 16 4 4 8 18 34 -16
15. Leeds 15 15 4 3 8 23 29 -6
16. West Ham 14 16 4 2 10 13 20 -7
17. Everton 14 16 3 5 8 12 19 -7
18. Wolverhampton 13 16 3 4 9 10 25 -15
19. Nottingham Forest 13 16 3 4 9 11 33 -22
20. Southampton 12 16 3 3 10 14 30 -16
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