The English Premier League brings down the curtain on 2024 with a final set of fixtures on Sunday and Monday, as a fascinating season reaches the half-way mark.
Liverpool’s only outstanding new year’s resolution seems to be to tie down club legend Mohamed Salah to a new contract, with foreign clubs able to tempt the Egyptian star with bids from next month.
But everything else is going swimmingly for coach Arne Slot, who is passing with flying colours on Merseyside since taking over from Jurgen Klopp last summer.
He takes his charges to West Ham for their final EPL fixture of the year, starting Sunday six points clear at the top of the table and with a game in hand to boot ahead of the evening kick off.
Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui has seen the heat reduce on him over the festive period thanks to a couple of wins in an encouraging spell of four unbeaten games.
Monday night sees a trio of matches to see out the year, with all eyes on an increasingly fraught Old Trafford as Manchester United go up against Newcastle.
Ruben Amorim is under the cosh as Red Devils coach already as the defeats mount up to leave them an eye-watering 14th in the Premier League standings.
The Toon Army might just have turned the corner over Christmas, winning three on the bounce and lashing in 11 goals without conceding once to storm back up to fifth in the pile following their spell in the doldrums.
Another club needing to end the year on a high note are Chelsea, who require three points at ailing Ipswich to keep up their title aspirations.
The Blues have picked up just one point from their last six to slip off Liverpool’s searing pace, while their Portman Road hosts are mired in relegation trouble having predictably struggled since their long-awaited EPL comeback.
Monday also sees a duo out to reignite their respective European qualification dreams in Aston Villa and Brighton.
Both remain in the thick of a congested top half despite iffy runs of form, with Villa in particular set for a handy nudge up the Premier League table if they can deliver the goods for boss Unai Emery on home turf.
Elsewhere on Sunday there’s a bundle of top flight drama to soothe any football fan’s post-Christmas blues.
The day kicks off with a clash between Leicester and Manchester City that few would have batted an eyelid at a couple of months ago.
But Pep Guardiola’s inability to halt an eye-popping collapse from his reigning champions means another negative result at the King Power Stadium will leave them reeling – and likely heading towards the bottom half of the table.
The Foxes remain in a whole heap of trouble despite recruiting Ruud van Nistelrooy to the hotseat.
They’ve conceded ten goals in losing their last three to drop back into the relegation zone, despite initial signs of optimism under the Dutchman.
Back-to-back wins for Wolves under another new boss in Vitor Pereira have seen them leapfrog their fellow Midlands club to the right side of the dreaded dotted line.
And they will be licking their lips at the prospect of taking on Tottenham, who are enduring a slump every bit as alarming as that of Manchester United under bewildered Australian coach Ange Postecoglou.
Spurs have home advantage at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, although that may not count for much in the plus column given the increasingly toxic atmosphere in recent weeks.
There’s much more optimism to be found in the blue half of Merseyside, however, when Everton meet Nottingham Forest for a top flight tussle with a classic feel, as Goodison Park heads into its final stretch as the Toffees’ historic home.
Forest are an incredible fourth and could go as high as second in the Premier League if they can snaffle a fifth victory in a row for coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
While modest in achievement compared to that, home boss Sean Dyche has engineered a point apiece from a run of games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, with his side now four unbeaten and three points clear of trouble.
There’s another pair of top half underdogs lurking, too, when Fulham welcome Bournemouth to Craven Cottage.
Both have defied the bookies so far this season and harbour genuine continental qualification hopes, separated by a single point and both within striking distance of the top five if either can seal all three points in west London.
It’s not so sunny south of the River Thames, though, as drop candidates Crystal Palace and Southampton face up to a Selhurst Park showdown.
The Saints look doomed with just six points to their name with half the campaign almost behind them, while Oliver Glasner’s Eagles have one win in their last four to leave them perilously close to a relegation scrap in the new year.
All latest EPL Predictions
Leicester City v Manchester City
| Result prediction | Manchester City to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Manchester City / Manchester City to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | n/a |
Crystal Palace v Southampton
| Result prediction | Crystal Palace to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Crystal Palace / Crystal Palace to win |
| Team to Score prediction | Crystal Palace |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | I. Sarr(Crystal Palace) |
Everton v Nottingham Forest
| Result prediction | Nottingham Forest to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | draw / Nottingham Forest to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | A. Elanga(Nottingham Forest) |
Fulham v AFC Bournemouth
| Result prediction | Fulham to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | draw / Fulham to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | n/a |
Tottenham Hotspur v Wolverhampton Wanderers
| Result prediction | Tottenham Hotspur to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Tottenham Hotspur / Tottenham Hotspur to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | J. Maddison(Tottenham Hotspur) D. Kulusevski(Tottenham Hotspur) Matheus Cunha(Wolverhampton Wanderers) |
West Ham United v Liverpool
| Result prediction | Liverpool to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Liverpool / Liverpool to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Mohamed Salah(Liverpool) C. Gakpo(Liverpool) |
Aston Villa v Brighton & Hove Albion
| Result prediction | Aston Villa to win |
| Over/Under prediction | under 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Aston Villa / Aston Villa to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | J. Durán(Aston Villa) |
Ipswich Town v Chelsea
| Result prediction | Chelsea to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Chelsea / Chelsea to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | C. Palmer(Chelsea) |
Manchester United v Newcastle United
| Result prediction | Newcastle United to win |
| Over/Under prediction | over 2.5 goals |
| HT / FT prediction | Newcastle United / Newcastle United to win |
| Team to Score prediction | both teams |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | J. Murphy(Newcastle United) A. Isak(Newcastle United) |