December 25, 2024, 1:05 PM
December 25, 2024, 1:05 PM
Far from the competitive break of most European events on these dates, English football accelerates and intensifies its calendar and football monopolizes the days moved by tradition, especially with what is known as ‘boxing day’, converted into a festive event and solidarity in the fields of the United Kingdom.
In less than a week and a half, three days are completed in England, in full ferment due to the great moment of its leader, Liverpool, in the post-Klopp era, with Arne Slot on the bench, and, above all, due to the unexpected decline and striking of the current champion, Spanish Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, in the midst of a crisis.
It is a new situation for the former Bayern Munich and Barcelona coach, accustomed to winning year after year and imposing his authority in each competition. The citizen team opens the eighteenth day of the English league outside the European zone, weighed down by nine defeats, two draws and only one victory in twelve games that have cost them falling from the top of the Premier table, being eliminated, by Tottenham, from the League Cup and also outside the top eight of the Champions League, with qualification still pending.
The duel at the Etihad makes way for boxing day and the eighteenth matchday in England.
“When you have problems in defense and in the middle, it’s about the whole team. Not just one player. If it were just one player, we would see it quickly,” Guardiola insisted. “Erling is very important for us, he will be and We need to use it better,” added the coach, who defended his striker, Erling Haaland, who has only scored two goals in his last games in the Premier.
Everton takes the visit to the Etihad as a new opportunity. Despite not having been able to beat the citizens in fifteen games in a row, the ‘toffees’ show some improvement. Uninjured after the duel with Chelsea last night, he is slowly escaping the relegation zone.
While City is twelve points off the lead, Everton has six points behind Wolverhampton, second from bottom.
And the whole network moves through the competition with great authority. With one game less, their advantage is four over Chelsea, which did not go beyond a draw on the last date with Everton. The performance has been unthinkable for Arne Slot’s team in both the Champions League and the Premier League. There has been no transition after the goodbye of Jurgen Klopp and it points to a successful season.
In his farewell to Anfield in 2024, he awaits Leicester, who have no margin for error. A draw and two defeats summarize their slump and only two points keep them safe from relegation.
Chelsea, for their part, missed a good opportunity to threaten the leader but were not able to score a goal against Everton at Goodison Park on the last date. Enzo Maresca’s team ended a streak of nine straight victories, five in the premier.
Now, four points behind Liverpool, they receive Fulham at Stamford Bridge, having scored a draw. He has scored four in the last five games, three in a row. “We are second and we are not second only after four or five games, when probably the table is still not the real one. We are almost halfway through the season, with 17 games, so probably the table reflects, a little, the teams and where they are,” highlights the Chelsea coach who is counting on an improvement from Manchester City.
“At the end of Manchester City it will be there…They are in a moment that has never happened before. Every time they play a game they have some injuries, they don’t have enough players at the moment, the ones they have are probably still not 100% after coming back from injury, so it’s a very bad situation.’
The arrival of the Portuguese Rubén Amorim has not had the expected effect on Manchester United, fallen in the standings and lacking the ability to react. Three defeats and only one victory in the last four games keep the Old Trafford club stagnant, visiting Wolverhampton at the Molineux Stadium, the club that marks the relegation.
“I just want to win. I don’t care about Christmas, nothing. I’m just focused on the fact that we have to win the next game and that’s the only thing. It’s very good for the fans and we adapt. We are privileged, so we can also play on Boxing Day to give some happiness to the fans, and we really want to win another game,” said Ruben Amorim, who also has the matter with Marcus Rashford on his hands, to whom he has limited the prominence and has been left out of the team.
“If you have great talent, great performance, great responsibility. We have to make everyone improve. Some players have a great responsibility because they have been there for a long time,” said Amorim, who will coincide with a compatriot on the rival bench, Vitor Pereira.
The Wolves are two points away from safety after burying a four-game losing streak.
ANDONI IRAOLA AND UNAI EMERY
Andoni Iraola enjoys a radically different situation. The sensation of the Premier is the team of the Spanish coach, Bournemouth, located in the European zone, with the Champions places within reach. Three points separate them from Nottingham Forest, fourth in the table.
They host Crystal Palace at the Vitality, which is four away from relegation. Expert in beating the big teams -Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham and United-
“We have to know that we can win at Old Trafford but also that we can lose later against any Premier team. We must try to maximize our possibilities every week. That’s all. I am happy with the situation. But we see every day that everything is very tight,” Iraola assumes.
Emery is also enjoying a good moment, consolidated in the English competition. After the defeat against Nottingham Forest, which cut the good line of the villains, they achieved a victory of merit and impact against City on the last date that has put them in the European zone of the Premier.
Now they visit St. James Park to face Newcastle, on the rise after beating Leicester and Ipswich and threatening Birmingham’s place in the team. “They beat us twice last year and I respect them a lot. They are very strong in their stadium,” says the Spanish coach about the ‘magpies’.
The first part of the boxing day is completed with the duel between one of the surprises of the course, Nottingham Foerest, fourth in the table, which awaits Tottenham at the City Ground, and the clash between Southampton and West Ham.
.Thursday, December 26:
- Manchester City – Everton (Etihad Stadium, Manchester; 08:30)
- Bournemouth – Crystal Palace (Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth; 11:00)
- Chelsea – Fulham (Stamford Bridge, London; 11:00)
- Newcastle – Aston Villa (St. James’ Park, Newcastle; 11:00)
- Nottingham Forest – Tottenham (The City Ground, Nottingham; 11:00)
- Southampton – West Ham (St. Mary’s Stadium, Southampton; 11:00)
- Wolverhampton – Manchester United (Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton; 13:30)
- Liverpool – Leicester (Anfield, Liverpool; 16:00)
Friday, December 27:
- Brighton–Brentford (Amex Stadium, Brighton; 15:30)
- Arsenal – Ipswich (Emirates Stadium, London; 16:15)
