The ball almost never stops spinning during the end-of-year celebrations in England, and especially not during the traditional “Boxing Day”, this Tuesday, an unmissable event and symbol of the calendar. Liverpool, runner-up to Arsenal by one point, goes to Burnley, poorly ranked (19th). “We will be playing our third match in nine days, it requires a lot, both mentally and physically,” said Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, captain of the Reds.
For its part, Manchester United, suffering in 8th, faces Aston Villa, the real bogeyman of this championship (9 p.m.). This match could weigh on the future of Mancunian technician Erik ten Hag. “Everyone must take responsibility. We have to be calm, stick together, stick to the plan, we have to do it together. In 2023 we won a Cup. Today we are underperforming. We have a lot of injured people, so the team will be better if the injured come back,” explained the Dutchman on Saturday, just after his team’s defeat at West Ham, the 13th in all competitions.
Third with a very small point behind the Gunners, Aston Villa dreams of striking a blow against the Red Devils facing their worst first part of a season since 1930. After 15 consecutive victories at home in the Premier League, which constituted a record in the history of the club, the Villans were held in check this Friday by Sheffield United (1-1), red lantern before the meeting. The team led by Unai Emery thus missed the opportunity to sit in the leadership chair.
The former PSG coach wanted to put into perspective the significance of this draw snatched in added time. “It was ultimately a very good point. We are disappointed with the result but we have to accept it. »
The other three meetings concern the fight for the bottom of the table. With in particular the clash of the poorly ranked on Tuesday (4 p.m.) between Sheffield United, the red lantern and Luton, 18th with three more points. A crucial meeting for the team from the north of England. At the same time, Bournemouth (12th) and Fulham (13th) will try to take points to move away from the red zone. At the start of the day (1:30 p.m.), Nottingham Forest (17th) hopes to raise its head against Newcastle.
The last day of the first legs will continue on Wednesday with three other matches (Chelsea – Crystal Palace, Brentford – Wolverhampton and Everton – Manchester City) to end on Thursday with Brighton – Tottenham and especially Arsenal – West Ham.
