It is the festive period which means Premier League games are set to come thick and fast.
After a six-week World Cup break, the Premier League returned on Boxing Day and served up a feast of goals, thrilling comebacks and late drama. The seven Boxing Day fixtures produced a total of 25 goals, while Tuesday’s games saw Chelsea and Manchester United register wins over Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest, respectively, while Manchester City rounded off the matchweek with a routine 3-1 win over Leeds United.
With a quick turnaround in the fixtures, here are the three things to look forward to in matchweek 18 of the Premier League.
#Can West Ham end their four-game losing run?
Christmas offered little cheer for West Ham, who were swatted away 3-1 by league leaders Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The Hammers stunned the Emirates when they took the lead in the 27th minute but three second-half goals from Arsenal condemned them to a fourth straight defeat in the league. West Ham look like a shadow of the side that were impressive last season, striking a good balance between the Premier League and the Europa League.
However, things have drastically changed this season and manager David Moyes is under pressure. Next up is a London derby against Brentford at home, and it will be interesting to watch whether the West Ham players can keep their calm and snap the wretched run of results.
#Julen Lopetegui’s first Premier League home game
After sacking Bruno Lage, Wolves were determined on appointing a high-profile manager as the Portuguese’s replacement and they managed to persuade Julen Lopetegui in taking over the reins in November.
Due to the six-week World Cup break, Lopetegui had to wait until last week to oversee his first game as Wolves boss. He guided the club to a 2-0 EFL Cup fourth-round win over Gillingham before a thrilling late 2-1 comeback win over Everton away in the Premier League gave something to cheer for the Wolves fans.
The Spaniard’s first Premier League assignment at home couldn’t have been stiffer than facing Manchester United, who have lost just once in 14 games across all formats and will head to Molineux on the back off a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest.
As Wolves look to get out of the relegation zone, Lopetegui will be raring to provide the Molineux faithful with a team performance they can be proud of on Saturday.
#Everton’s test of character at Manchester City
Everton are in turmoil and Frank Lampard is under enormous pressure. The Toffees have lost their last three Premier League games as well as being embarrassingly dumped out of the EFL Cup by Bournemouth in the fourth round before the World Cup break.
The Boxing Day league defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Wolves was nothing but a timid, lacklustre and sluggish performance that perfectly typified Everton. The lack of cohesion, game plan and structure is there for everyone to watch, and the players getting booed off the pitch after the defeat to Wolves was not surprising.
Things don’t get easy for Everton as they head to the Etihad Stadium to face champions Manchester City on Saturday. There is an ominous feeling around Everton ahead of the game but it also gives the opportunity to the players to show their character and fight for a positive result against Man City.
