LONDON, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Premier League will be different this year with no traditional Boxing Day fixtures on December 26 but the calendar falls in such a way that the competition can fall weekend to weekend without any change in rhythm over the holiday season.
The round of matches before Christmas looks as if it has several surprises in store which could liven up an already exciting title race.
Manchester City could go top on Saturday afternoon with a home win against West Ham, who kicks off the weekend in the bottom three and lost Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf to the Africa Cup of Nations.
West Ham coach Nuno Espirito Santo may hope Manchester City's midweek Carabao Cup tie has taken something out of their legs, but City's squad depth allowed Pep Guardiola to make changes to his side and also not miss Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri, who are also on Africa Cup duty.
Arsenal doesn't lose anyone to the Africa Cup of Nations, but has a difficult visit to play an Everton side that is likely to defend deep and try to limit chances. It looks like the kind of game that might be decided by a moment of magic by Bukayo Saka or a header from Mikel Merino.
Aston Villa's six-game winning run has turned Unai Emery's side into a title contender ahead of what looks to be a mouth-watering clash with Manchester United on Sunday.
A win for Villa will confirm its candidacy, while this is the sort of game that Manchester United needs to win to confirm its upward trend.
Manchester United and Bournemouth shared eight goals in arguably the most entertaining game of the season on Monday, but the defending did nothing to convince doubters and Aston Villa is unlikely to be so generous at the back as Bournemouth was.
The weekend gets under way with Chelsea visiting a Newcastle United still hurting from last weekend's defeat to Sunderland in the Wear-Tyne derby and the fans in St James' Park will be demanding a reaction from the home side.
Sunderland was delighted by last weekend's derby success, but now has to cope with absentees to the African Cup of Nations, just how the side will cope will become clear in an already complicated visit to Brighton.
Mohamed Salah has joined Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations which will remove one issue for Liverpool coach Arne Slot as his side visits Tottenham. Liverpool has recovered slightly in recent weeks and is unbeaten in its last four league matches, while last weekend's defeat keeps the pressure on Tottenham coach Thomas Frank ahead of another home game.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth has a good chance to return to winning ways against a Burnley side after seven consecutive defeats and with Scott Parker is danger of losing his job, Leeds United plays at home to fifth place Crystal Palace, who can be expected to make plenty of changes from the 2-2 Conference League draw on Thursday.
Wolverhampton Wanderers has possibly its best chance to claim its first win of the season when it is at home to a Brentford side that struggles on the road, while Nottingham Forest and Fulham both look to put space between themselves and the relegation zone when they play on Monday. ■
