English top-tier has five fixtures prepared on the day after Christmas and the last one on the schedule holds the most weight. Condemned to their worst set of pre-Christmas results for 93 years, an off-colour Manchester United return to Old Trafford for a Premier League Boxing Day battle with title-challenging Aston Villa.The Red Devils’ plight continued in a 2-0 defeat to West Ham United over the weekend, while the Lions’ magnificent winning home run came to an unexpected end in a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United.Man United’s loss to the Hammers was their eighth loss of the top-flight term, and a 13th in all tournaments before December 25 for the first time since 1930-31.That year, the 20-time English champions were relegated from the top flight, and while their situation is not quite so dire 93 years later – Ten Hag’s outfit sit eighth at the time of writing – a four-game scoreless streak for the first time since 1992 is truly alarming.Since deservedly putting Chelsea to the sword on December 6, Man United have come up short against Bayern Munich, West Ham and Bournemouth while holding Liverpool to a praiseworthy goalless stalemate, not that such brief defensive fortitude counted for much on Saturday lunchtime.The $310 million-change United fans have been crying out for! It’s the first step in removing the Glazers from Old TraffordOn the other end, in the previous round, Unai Emery’s men were firm favourites to record a 16th Premier League home victory in a row when Sheffield United came to town. However, former Villa attacker Cameron Archer did what Arsenal and Manchester City could not as he made the net ripple with 87 minutes on the clock, and only a last-gasp header from Nicolo Zaniolo seven minutes into added time prevented the Blades from leaving with a precious three points.With fellow title hopefuls Arsenal and Liverpool also sharing the spoils on Saturday evening, victory for Villa would have allowed them to spend Christmas Day atop the Premier League rankings, but Emery’s side remain in the bronze medal position with a one-point disadvantage to make up to the Gunners.Zaniolo’s late intervention at least allowed Villa to stretch their unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 matches, a streak which has seen Emery’s men score twice in each of their last three Premier League away games.The position of every Premier League champion on Christmas Day 🏆 pic.twitter.com/5j5W9iUOBm— Premier League (@premierleague) December 25, 2023 When it comes to the squads for tonight’s clash, there were reports that Man United’s squad has been ravaged by a virus even before the defeat to the Irons – from which Rasmus Hojlund, Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial had been suffering. Hojlund was only able to complete 57 minutes of Saturday’s game, where neither Varane nor Martial were present – the former’s place was filled by 19-year-old debutant Willy Kambwala – but Christian Eriksen was able to come on for the second half after battling back from a knee issue.The United infirmary is overfilling, still holding Amad Diallo (knee), Lisandro Martinez (foot), Mason Mount (calf), Harry Maguire (groin), Victor Lindelof (unspecified), Casemiro (thigh) and Tyrell Malacia (knee). Jadon Sancho is still not being considered for selection, but some good news comes in the form of Diogo Dalot returning from suspension.Premier League so far: Everbody against everybody else – and against themselvesIn the opposite dug-out, Aston Villa’s Matty Cash is now banned on account of picking up his fifth yellow card of the new term against Sheffield United, and he joins the already-suspended Boubacar Kamara on the absentee list.With Pau Torres’ availability also up in the air due to a knock, Emery will likely shift Ezri Konsa to right-back and partner Diego Carlos with Clement Lenglet, unless former Arsenal man Calum Chambers is offered an increasingly rare Premier League start.As far as injuries go – Emiliano Buendia (knee), Tyrone Mings (knee), Bertrand Traore (muscle), Youri Tielemans (calf) and Robin Olsen (knock) make up Villa’s confirmed withdrawals, and none of them should return before the New Year.In the Boxing Day opener, St James’ Park is the venue for the early kickoff as Newcastle United host Nottingham Forest.Both teams have weekend mistakes to rectify on Tuesday, as Eddie Howe’s men lost 1-0 to Luton Town on Saturday, while Nuno Espirito Santo’s first game in charge of the Garibaldi ended in a gut-wrenching 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth.While others will be busy tucking into leftover turkey at lunchtime on Boxing Day, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe will endeavour to conjure up the recipe for just a second win in seven games for the Magpies, who are not ending the calendar year as they mean to go on.🔴💥 RECORD: Sam Allison will make history today by becoming the first Black referee to take charge of a Premier League game in 15 years.#PL pic.twitter.com/rp0uxbdS6d— Richmond Boateng (@Richboat_02) December 26, 2023 The squads will see many changes from their last endeavor. A product of the Nottingham Forest academy, Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles is at risk of missing out on a reunion with his former club this week, as he was taken off with an apparent thigh injury in the first half of Saturday’s loss to Luton; Howe is still in the dark over the severity of his concern though.Lewis Miley was also an early withdrawal at Kenilworth Road, although Howe insisted that the 17-year-old’s exit was for tactical and precautionary reasons, and he may now be afforded a complete rest if Joelinton’s thigh issue clears up in time for Tuesday.Sandro Tonali (suspended), Joe Willock (calf), Harvey Barnes (foot), Nick Pope (shoulder), Elliot Anderson (back), Jacob Murphy (shoulder), Javi Manquillo (groin) and Matt Targett (thigh) remain on the Newcastle absentee list, and Lascelles’ possible absence will benefit Sven Botman’s chances of a recall to the starting eleven.Howe and Santo can empathise over defensive concerns this week, as Boly has incurred a one-game ban owing to his contentious sending-off against Bournemouth, which opens the door for Moussa Niakhate to partner Murillo in the Reds’ starting lineup.Felipe could also return from a muscular problem to reinforce the visitors’ defence further, while Ibrahim Sangare (groin) and Serge Aurier (calf) are also touch-and-go for the contest, but Taiwo Awoniyi will be missing for months with his serious groin issue.A rare Premier League start for Divock Origi was cut short after Boly’s dismissal, but the former Liverpool man looked a threat in the early stages of Saturday’s game and could be given another go on the right-hand side.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Elsewhere, title contenders Liverpool have a chance of overtaking Arsenal at the top as seecond best meets second worst in a Boxing Day clash at Turf Moor – Burnley welcome the Reds to their Lancashire home.Vincent Kompany’s side strengthened their survival bid by unexpectedly beating Fulham 2-0 at the weekend, while the Reds’ pulsating top-of-the-table battle with Arsenal ended in a 1-1 draw.The highly-anticipated Anfield encounter between Liverpool and Manchester United did not live up to the billing, but spectators were treated to an absorbing battle between the Reds and Arsenal on Saturday evening.Quick glance at the match stats suggests that a point apiece was a fair result, as Liverpool leapfrogged Aston Villa back into second place in the table and ensured that Arsenal would not increase their slender advantage at the top.With the Gunners not in action again until Thursday evening, Liverpool will rise to the summit with a three-point haul at Turf Moor – unless Aston Villa also beat Manchester United and enjoy a mammoth goal difference swing in their favour – and Saturday’s draw did at least see the Reds extend their unbeaten top-flight sequence to 11 games.The Boxing Day matches on December 26, 1963, in the English First Division (now known as the Premier League) were indeed remarkable for their incredibly high scoring. A total of 66 goals were scored across 10 matches, an average of 6.6 goals per game, which is extraordinarily… pic.twitter.com/eB3x3OMbGs— Today In History (@TodayIHistory) December 26, 2023 Klopp confirmed after the game against Arsenal that Tsimikas sustained a broken collarbone and would be out for a lengthy period of time, leaving the Reds without a recognised senior left-back as Andrew Robertson also recovers from a shoulder operation.With Tsimikas and Robertson unavailable, Joe Gomez ought to hold the fort at left-back for the time being, while Luis Diaz also took a blow to the knee in the draw with Arsenal but should be passed fit to make the squad on Boxing Day.However, all of Joel Matip (knee), Ben Doak (knee), Alexis Mac Allister (knee), Diogo Jota (muscle), Stefan Bajcetic (calf) and Thiago Alcantara (hip) are out of contention and will not return until various points in 2024.And last but not least, for today, the relegation battle between Sheffield United and Luton Town will be marked by none other than the referee. Sam Allison is set to be the first black referee in Premier League for 15 years – and only the second ever. The 42-year-old former firefighter will take charge of the Blades vs Hatters Boxing Day fixture – marking the first time a black man will officiate a Premier League match since Uriah Rennie in 2008.Sit back and enjoy some of the best goals scored on Boxing Day 😍 pic.twitter.com/cDt8MjlRxn— Premier League (@premierleague) December 26, 2023 ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 19Tuesday15:30: (1.40) Newcastle (4.60) Nott.Forest (8.00)18:00: (2.15) Bournemouth (3.50) Fulham (3.60)18:00: (2.50) Sheffield Utd (3.25) Luton (3.15)20:30: (8.00) Burnley (5.00) Liverpool (1.42)23:00: (2.50) Man.Utd. (3.60) Aston Villa (2.90)Wednesday22:30: (2.05) Brentford (3.50) Wolverhampton (3.90)22:30: (1.80) Chelsea (3.70) Crystal Palace (5.00)23:15: (6.25) Everton (4.10) Man.City (1.62)Thursday22:30: (2.75) Brighton (3.60) Tottenham (2.60)23:15: (1.37) Arsenal (5.20) West Ham (10.0)***odds are subject to change***
