Leeds United will be hoping to return to competitive action with a bang having had over a month away from the Premier League as a result of the World Cup-enforced break.
Jesse Marsch's men wrapped things up by being on both the right and wrong side of 4-3 score lines in their final two league matches prior to the break, beating Bournemouth at Elland Road before losing at Tottenham the following week. The matches also came either side of a 1-0 defeat at Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
The Whites sit 15th in the table after 14 matches and are just two points off of the relegation zone, meaning a fast return to action will be vital. Unfortunately, that return starts against none other than the reigning champions Manchester City on December 28.
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Following hosting Pep Guardiola's side, Leeds will travel to high-flying Newcastle United before facing West Ham United, Cardiff City (FA Cup), Aston Villa and Brentford before the end of January as well as a potential FA Cup fourth round tie should they get past the Bluebirds.
It's a tricky set of fixtures to return to action with, however, no game in the Premier League is easy, as the old cliche reiterates, and Marsch will need to orchestrate a good run to ease any relegation concerns, despite the season not even being at the halfway stage yet.
Although getting a result from their first game back will be an incredibly tall order, the bigger picture looks set to be more appeasing, according to predictions website FiveThirtyEight.
The outlet have City has incredibly strong favourites to beat Leeds with an away victory standing at a whopping 74% likeliness whilst a win for Leeds stands at just 11% with a draw standing at 15%.
However, the Whites are being backed to survive in the top flight for another season and are currently predicted to end the season in 15th on 42 points and a goal difference of -15, six points clear of the relegation zone with Bournemouth, Wolves and Nottingham Forest backed to be relegated to the Championship.
The chance of relegation this term currently stands at 17% for the Yorkshire outfit with Southampton and Everton, along with the aforementioned trio, the clubs to have a higher chance of being relegated.
At the top of the table, Manchester City are unsurprisingly expected to win their third Premier League title in a row, beating current leaders Arsenal to the summit by three points with the Gunners, Liverpool and Manchester United making up the rest of the top four with Newcastle fifth, Tottenham sixth and Chelsea missing out on a top six place in seventh.
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