Manchester City are at the summit of the English elite and hope to stay there until May 22nd 2022 when the current campaign ends. As it stands, the Citizens lead the standings on 44 points, the first time they’ve done so since 2018 after three years of Liverpool topping the charts half-way through.The table on Christmas day (25th of December) has always attracted a lot of attention and is always a part of the season’s overall analysis. English outlet DailyMail summed up how the situation looked like on every Christmas day since the inception of Premier League. And it looks quite interesting.Grealish admits life in the City is much more difficult than expectedManchester United have topped the Premier League table on December 25 more than any other side – 7 times – and managed to win the league on five of those occasions (93/94, 00/01, 06/07, 10/11, 12/13). Their biggest rivals, Liverpool (if you look at England overall), were the ones with which this omen had least worked with. The Reds have only won the title once (19/20) despite leading six times at the half way stage (96/97, 08/09, 13/14, 18/19, 19/20, 20/21).Since the new version of the top flight kicked off in 1992, in 15 of the last 30 seasons it happened for the holiday table toppers to endure at the summit until the end.Chelsea are the most successful when it comes to the Christmas superstition – of course, after Roman Abramovich and Jose Mourinho came to London. The Blues held the summit five times (04/05, 05/06, 09/10, 14/15, 16/17) and managed to fight off the competition until the very end of those campaigns.Are you joking? Four Four Two published their Top 50 coaches list and it’s hilariousAnother member of the big six had the chance to defend the top spot they held during the festive period – Arsenal were at the top two times but could not hold on to it – they ended the season second in 02/03 and third in 07/08.On the other hand, current toppers Manchester City also had two opportunities to ride the Christmas wave – and they took both of those (11/12, 17/18).HONORABLE MENTIONS:Today, bottom seeded – back in the day, when the competition saw the light of day, Norwich City had something to cheer about. True, the Canaries were leading contenders for relegation then also but they sprang a shock by going eight points clear at the top of the table on Christmas. In the 92/93 season, when the competition started, and two years later, the Canaries were having a Merry Christmas indeed with sitting at the top. Unfortunately, they ended those two seasons at 3rd place.Gerrard says players deserve credit for Villa’s riseAston Villa were summit holders in the 98/99 season but finished at the disappointing 6th place while Leeds United ended 3rd after being Christmas league leaders of the 99/00 season.Freshly rich Newcastle United were quite a squad back in the day, led by the incredible Alan Shearer. However, they failed to keep the lead they had on Christmas in 01/02 season and eventually came fourth.Surely, the biggest surprise of the Premier League so far is the amazing Leicester City 15/16 title winning team. The Foxes were first on the 25th of December 2015 and kept their advantage until that historical May 2nd of 2016.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – ROUND 19Liverpool – Leeds United POSTPONEDWolverhampton – Watford POSTPONEDBurnley – Everton POSTPONEDSunday18.00: (1.80) Tottenham (3.70) Crystal Palace (5.00)18.00: (1.23) Man.City (7.25) Leicester (13.0)18.00: (1.90) West Ham (3.60) Southampton (4.40)18.00: (8.50) Norwich (4.50) Arsenal (1.45)20.30: (5.10) Aston Villa (3.60) Chelsea (1.80)23.00: (2.05) Brighton (3.50) Brentford (3.90)**odds are subject to change
