It’s out with the old and in with the new in the English Premier League this week, as the latest matchweek crests the hill into 2026.
Ten EPL fixtures are split between Tuesday and Thursday, with a break for the new year’s festivities in between.
And it’s a belated Christmas cracker to kick things off at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal and Aston Villa could well go off with a bang.
The pair are first and third in the Premier League table coming into their final match of the calendar year, with the Gunners just three points better off than their opponents despite winning three on the spin.
Villans boss Unai Emery has emphatically refuted suggestions his side are genuine title contenders, but he’ll have a job continuing to do so if he can mastermind yet another three points against his former club.
Four Thursday fixtures include the Anfield clash between Liverpool and Leeds.
The red half of Merseyside is a much calmer place thanks to three successive wins and the distraction of Mohamed Salah safely packed off at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
It’s taken Arne Slot’s side back up to fourth in the standings, but their visitors from across the Pennines are five unbeaten and improving week on week as they steadily reduce the pressure on boss Daniel Farke.
Manchester City start their new year with a trip to the Stadium of Light to play surprise package Sunderland.
Regis Le Bris has engineered a magnificent first half to the Wearside club’s top flight return and he’ll need to keep that going and then some, with the arrival of Pep Guardiola and his City machine.
If West Ham were a machine you’d be looking for the receipt among the discarded Christmas wrapping paper.
Nuno Espirito Santo is yet to click the Hammers into gear, coming into their London Stadium date with Brighton on Tuesday off the back of three consecutive losses that have left them five points adrift in the relegation zone.
The Seagulls are vulnerable, though, thanks to a dodgy run that has seen them drop out of European contention and tumble into the bottom half at the back end of 2025.
Elsewhere in the capital, Thursday brings a brace of London derbies.
Thomas Frank makes his first return to Brentford as head coach of Tottenham, with his Spurs side a point and three places beneath the Bees in the EPL standings.
His rookie replacement Keith Andrews is catching the eye, not least with their last two back-to-back victories that have lifted them into the continental qualification conversation ahead of a crunch clash.
Between the pair sit Crystal Palace and Fulham, in ninth and tenth, separated by goal difference alone.
They meet at Selhurst Park heading in vastly different directions, though, with the Eagles having lost their last three while Marco Silva’s Cottagers have done the exact opposite to rocket back up the table.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Manchester United could go as high as fourth if they can do what’s expected of them against rock bottom Wolves.
Ruben Amorim looks to finally be getting somewhere with his Old Trafford charges, which certainly can’t be said of opposite number Rob Edwards, who is yet to register a single point since being tempted by the poisoned Molineux chalice.
Fifth-placed Chelsea are level on points with United below them but on a ropey run of form that has left their Premier League title charge on the brink.
Enzo Maresca’s Blues have the chance to take a step in the right direction when Bournemouth travel to Stamford Bridge, with the Cherries in a rotten run of form themselves and tumbling down the table at an alarming rate.
Newcastle are also loitering firmly below expectations in the lower reaches, with a game at relegation-haunted Burnley next on their agenda.
It’s a return to his former club for Toon Army chief Eddie Howe, where three points for either side would make a huge difference, with the Clarets hoping to build off successive draws to notch a fourth win of the campaign.
Nottingham Forest remain the nearest target for the bottom three, despite green shoots of improvement since the appointment of wily old Sean Dyche.
In another managerial reunion, Dyche pits his new side against Everton, with whom he had plenty of experience in battling against the drop to the Championship.
David Moyes looked to have steered the Toffees to the brink of a push for Europe next season, but one point from their last possible nine has tempered expectations for the blue half of Merseyside.
Burnley vs Newcastle Utd
| Category | Prediction |
|---|---|
| First to score | Burnley |
| Over/Under Prediction | Under 2.5 goals |
| HT/FT Prediction | Draw / Burnley |
| Team to score prediction | Both teams |
| Result prediction | Burnley to win |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Yes |
Chelsea vs Bournemouth
| Category | Prediction |
|---|---|
| First to score | Chelsea |
| Over/Under Prediction | Over 2.5 goals |
| HT/FT Prediction | Chelsea / Chelsea |
| Team to score prediction | Both teams |
| Result prediction | Chelsea to win |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Yes |
Nottm Forest vs Everton
| Category | Prediction |
|---|---|
| First to score | Nottm Forest |
| Over/Under Prediction | Under 2.5 goals |
| HT/FT Prediction | Draw / Nottm Forest |
| Team to score prediction | Both teams |
| Result prediction | Nottm Forest to win |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Yes |
West Ham Utd vs Brighton
| Category | Prediction |
|---|---|
| First to score | Brighton |
| Over/Under Prediction | Over 2.5 goals |
| HT/FT Prediction | Brighton / Draw |
| Team to score prediction | Both teams |
| Result prediction | Draw |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Yes |
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
| Category | Prediction |
|---|---|
| First to score | Arsenal |
| Over/Under Prediction | Over 2.5 goals |
| HT/FT Prediction | Arsenal / Arsenal |
| Team to score prediction | Both teams |
| Result prediction | Arsenal to win |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Yes |
Manchester Utd vs Wolverhampton
| Category | Prediction |
|---|---|
| First to score | Manchester Utd |
| Over/Under Prediction | Over 2.5 goals |
| HT/FT Prediction | Manchester Utd / Manchester Utd |
| Team to score prediction | Manchester Utd |
| Result prediction | Manchester Utd to win |
| Anytime Goalscorer prediction | Yes |