Over to you, Arsenal. To be top of the Premier League table at Christmas, the Gunners will almost certainly need to beat both Chelsea and Wolves.
Admittedly, that sounds like a bizarre statement to make as it's only November. But it's worth remembering that this season is very unique in that because the World Cup gets underway in Qatar on November 20, action from the Premier League will stop after next weekend and resume on Boxing Day.
This means whichever team is top of the Premier League table going into the break will have the honour of being there on Christmas Day too. As things currently stand, Manchester City lead the way following their 2-1 win over Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
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Although, the result only explains half of the story as 10-man City needed a somewhat fortuitous injury-time penalty from Erling Haaland to get over the line and it's safe to say that some Arsenal supporters aren't best pleased with the roles Bernd Leno and Kevin De Bruyne played in the goal.
Nevertheless, what the Norwegian's late goal has done is set the Gunners a clear target when they face Chelsea on Sunday as Mikel Arteta will be well aware that only a victory at Stamford Bridge will be enough for his side to reclaim top spot by virtue of having an inferior goal difference to City.
Had Fulham held on for a point at the Etihad Stadium then a draw for Arsenal against the Blues wouldn't have been the worst result in the world as it would have put them two clear of Pep Guardiola's side and still in a great position to be top of the Premier League table on Christmas day.
Now, with Man City facing Brentford at home before the break, they will be heavy favourites to win that game too and if this scenario plays out, they'll head into the World Cup with 35 points on the board.
As a result, the Gunners must reach 36 points to complete the aforementioned mission. Yet, as they require another five points but only have two games remaining, they must beat Chelsea and Wolves away from home - otherwise, they will need a favour from the Bees next weekend.
The incentive for Arsenal to be top of the Premier League table at Christmas is simple. In 10 of the last 13 seasons, the team that is top in England on December 25 has gone on to lift the Premier League trophy. In fact, Man City have experience doing this, having done so in 2011/12, 2017/18 and last season.
With that said, in 14 of the Premier League's 30 previous campaigns, the Christmas leaders have been overtaken come the season's end, and most recently, in the 2022/21 season, City became the first team in Premier League history to win the title after being as low as eighth on Christmas Day.
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