LONDON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- While most leagues enjoy a short winter break, the Premier League continues with a round of weekend fixtures to start an intense week with three rounds of matches, which could have a massive effect on the title race.
With the traditional Boxing Day fixtures nearly all moved back to December 27th, the only game played on the 26th is at Old Trafford, where Manchester United is at home to Newcastle United.
Manchester United coach Ruben Amorim has lost key midfielder Bruno Fernandes to injury and with Kobbie Mainoo also out and Casemiro suspended, Amorim has a problem in filling the gap, especially as forward Bryan Mbeumo is at the African Cup of Nations.
Newcastle travels after a 2-2 draw at home to Chelsea, but needs to cut out the habit of dropping points from winning positions.
Second-place Manchester City is first in action on Saturday with a visit to Nottingham Forest that gives Pep Guardiola's side the chance to leapfrog Arsenal to the top of the table, if only for a few hours.
Arsenal is at home to Brighton and coach Mike Arteta will be without defenders Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White and Gabriel Magalhaes for the holiday season, limiting his options to rotate his back four during an intense period of games.
10 consecutive wins in all competitions, including Sunday's success at home to Manchester United, means Aston Villa is very much in the title race ahead of Saturday's visit to play Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca confirmed that Liam Delap and Estevao Wilian are both available for what looks like a must-win match for his side that goes into the holiday period 10 points behind Arsenal and seven behind Aston Villa.
Liverpool has lost Alexander Isak with a broken leg that he suffered away to Tottenham, while Mohamed Salah is at the African Cup of Nations, so Hugo Ekitike will lead the attack at home to bottom-of-the-table and winless Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Crystal Palace is at home to a Tottenham side that tends to play better away from home, while Sunderland has five players on African Cup duty for the home match against a rugged Leeds United that has two wins and two draws from its last four matches.
West Ham needs to win at home to Fulham to avoid being cut adrift in the bottom three, while Brentford is at home to a Bournemouth side denied its first win in two months by Burnley's late equalizer at the weekend.
That goal ended Burnley's run of seven consecutive defeats, but with just 11 points, Scott Parker's side desperately needs a win at home to Everton, who travels north of Liverpool after consecutive losses. ■
