After six weeks off for the World Cup, Premier League football is set to return next week on Boxing Day.
Here is the lay of the land ahead of the big restart...
Arsenal
The biggest issue for Arsenal when they resume their title push is how they will deal without Gabriel Jesus.
The Brazilian is expected to be out for three months with a knee injury and, while his goals dried up before the World Cup, he had a key role in keeping the Gunners top of the Premier League going into the mid-season break.
Festive fixtures
Dec 26: West Ham (H, 8pm, Amazon)
Dec 31: Brighton (A, 5.30pm, Sky)
Jan 3: Newcastle (H, 7.45pm, Sky)
Eddie Nketiah will need to step up in his absence, but Arsenal are looking to add firepower to their forward line with a new signing in January and are in talks over a deal for Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk.
Arsenal, led on-field by the inspirational Martin Odegaard (right, in action against Juventus at Emirates Stadium on Saturday), had 10 players at the World Cup but, other than centre-back William Saliba (who did not play a minute for France), none of them got past the quarter-finals.
That should mean that, barring Jesus, manager Mikel Arteta should have them all back to face West Ham at Emirates Stadium on Boxing Day night.
Brentford
The Bees signed off for the break with a brilliant 2-1 win over Manchester City at the Etihad, as striker Ivan Toney scored twice after being left out of the England squad. The severity of Toney’s charge over alleged betting breaches has since emerged, and the outcome of an ongoing FA investigation could have major ramifications for Brentford’s season should the forward, who scored from near halfway in a friendly against Wolfsburg on Saturday, be found guilty.
Festive fixtures
Dec 26: Tottenham (H, 12.30pm, Amazon)
Dec 30: West Ham (A, 7.45pm)
Jan 2: Liverpool (H, 5.30pm, Sky)
Thomas Frank should have all of his World Cup participants back for the Boxing Day meeting with Tottenham, but Aaron Hickey, Thomas Strakosha, Pontus Jansson and Kristoffer Ajer — all injured before the tournament — have not featured for the Bees during their mini pre-season as they rebuild fitness.
One change has come in the dugout, with Frank’s assistant Brian Riemer leaving to take over at Anderlecht and Claus Norgaard arriving in his place.
Chelsea
Chelsea badly needed the mid-season break and will hope it changes their fortunes. They lost four of their last five games before the World Cup and were without key injured players, including Reece James and Wesley Fofana.
Both are now back in training and, with Ben Chilwell hopefully not too far away, Graham Potter needs to oversee an quick upturn, with Chelsea eighth in the table and in danger of missing out on Champions League qualification.
Festive fixtures
Dec 27: Bournemouth (H, 5.30pm)
Jan 1: Nottingham Forest (A, 4.30pm, Sky)
Jan 5: Manchester City (H, 8pm, Sky)
They have lost Armando Broja to a serious knee injury and N’Golo Kante remains sidelined, while Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech are unlikely to feature against Bournemouth on December 27 after playing in the third/fourth-place World Cup play-off.
With two matches against Manchester City and a trip to Liverpool coming up in January, Chelsea will be under pressure straight away.
Crystal Palace
Palace went into the mid-season break with a disappointing 1-0 defeat at struggling Nottingham Forest that has niggled away at manager Patrick Vieira over the last five weeks. But the Eagles will return to action satisfied with their position in the table.
Festive fixtures
Dec 26: Fulham (H, 3pm, Amazon)
Dec 31: Bournemouth (A, 3pm)
Jan 4: Tottenham (H, 8pm, Sky)
They will consider 11th place a very reasonable return in the first half of the season as they target a top-half finish. Beat Fulham on Boxing Day and they can leapfrog the west London side and give themselves a quickfire lift going into the second half of the campaign. Wilfried Zaha will again take talisman status, but his contract expires at the end of the season and his future is uncertain, with Borussia Dortmund keen to sign the 30-year-old on a free transfer next summer.
But Zaha will not let that uncertainty impact his focus in what could be his final six months at his boyhood club. Having only had two players away at the World Cup, the Palace squad should be fresh and they have two winnable games to finish the year.
Fulham
Marco Silva’s men will get back into the swing hoping to resume prior performance levels but shake off some frustrating results. To sit ninth with an air of disappointment can only be to Fulham and Silva’s credit, but consecutive last-gasp defeats against both Manchester clubs were tough to take; two fine performances both deserving of at least a point, and yet Fulham wound up empty-handed.
Festive fixtures
Dec 26: Crystal Palace (A, 3pm, Amazon)
Dec 31: Southampton (H, 3pm)
Jan 3: Leicester (A, 7.45pm)
In truth, little has to change going into the second half of the season. Manor Solomon remains out after knee surgery, while Neeskens Kebano has a long rehab road ahead after a torn Achilles. But top scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic should be back back for their trip to Crystal Palace on Boxing Day. He was injured before the World Cup but scored two goals for Serbia.
Tottenham
Tottenham resume in fourth, just three points shy of Manchester City, and with a Champions League last-16 tie against AC Milan to come. Arsenal’s position makes for uncomfortable viewing, but any fan, as well as manager Antonio Conte, would have taken this position. The biggest questions are not over results but Conte’s style, and Spurs will be expected to be more convincing.
Festive fixtures
Dec 26: Brentford (A, 12.30pm, Amazon)
Jan 1: Aston Villa (H, 2pm, Sky)
Jan 4: Crystal Palace (A, 8pm, Sky)
The World Cup has taken a toll on the squad, with most of Conte’s internationals either injured or in varying states of distress — Cristian Romero aside.
Richarlison, Ben Davies and Rodrigo Bentancur are unlikely to feature at Brentford on Boxing Day through injury (the Uruguayan is suspended anyway), while Harry Kane’s mental and physical wellbeing will be a talking point following his penalty heartache with England. France captain Hugo Lloris will need picking up after losing Sunday’s final to Romero’s Argentina.
West Ham
The break came at a good time for West Ham, who were in need of a reset after losing three on the spin in the Premier League. They restart the campaign just a point outside the relegation zone and, while the Boxing Day trip to Arsenal is a bit of a free hit, the Hammers then face crucial games against Brentford, Leeds, Wolves and Everton before the end of January.
Festive fixtures
Dec 26: Arsenal (A, 8pm, Amazon)
Dec 30: Brentford (H, 7.45pm)
Jan 4: Leeds (A, 7.45pm)
In Lucas Paqueta, Declan Rice and Nayef Aguerd, the Hammers had three players who excelled at the World Cup, but even that has brought complications: Paqueta was superb in a deeper role David Moyes has not yet tried him in; Rice cast more doubt over his future with talk of his Champions League ambitions; and Aguerd’s injury troubles continued during Morocco’s dream run to the semi-finals.
With Kurt Zouma out after knee surgery, Moyes may face a headache at centre-back yet again, while the Hammers are also waiting for news on Gianluca Scamacca, who rolled his ankle in the weekend’s draw with Fulham.
Leading rivals
Manchester City have a well-rested Erling Haaland and now we have all seen that his understudy, Julian Alvarez, isn’t bad either. Newcastle were the form team going into the break on the back of six straight wins and will surely be looking forward to flexing some more financial muscle in January to cement their top-four push.
Manchester United have washed their hands of Cristiano Ronaldo during the World Cup break, but may be worst-affected by late returnees. News of an injury setback for Luis Diaz is a major blow for Liverpool.
