:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58099635/897415960.jpg.0.jpg)
It’s Christmastime and that means that the Premier League cranks up the fixture volume. While players from other leagues enjoy a mid-season break, the PL starlets are hard at work and will have played up to four league matches in the space of 12 days.
The Premier League table comes under scrutiny over this period and that’s because the spot your favourite team holds on the 25th of December usually indicates what position they will finish in come the end of the EPL season.
If you take a closer look at the Premier League seasons from 2000-01 until 2015-16, you will find that in 11 of those 17 seasons, the team who topped the table on Christmas Day went on to win the Premier League in that season. The teams who accomplished that are:
Manchester United – four times (2000-01; 2006-07; 2010-11; 2012-13)
Manchester City – one time (2011-12)
Leceister City – one time (2015-16)
Chelsea – five times (2004-05; 2005-06; 2009-10; 2014-15; 2016-17)
Arsenal, Newcastle and our mighty Liverpool Reds have unfortunately never managed to maintain their first placed spot held at Xmas and Manchester United annoyingly have only felt that sting once.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR…
Nevertheless, hindsight can be a wonderful thing and with that in mind, last season after having played 19 matches we found ourselves in second place (Wins: 13 Draws: 4 Losses: 2 Goal Difference: +25) and 43 points, followed by Arsenal in third place with 40 points and the Spurs in fourth spot on 39 points. As we all can remember, we made a mess of things and in true LFC style took it down to a wire of sorts and managed to squeak our butts into fourth place.
The current PL table is below
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/9924595/Capture.PNG)
Our upcoming Premier League matches are at home against 20th placed Swansea on Tuesday, 26th December, followed by another home match against Leceister City on Saturday, 30th December and then we go to Burnley a mere two days later on New Years Day, Monday 1 January 2018. (Check your local listings for time and availability and back here closer to match day for all the team news)
Make of all this what you will, but in the spirit of Christmas, let’s try to be less bleak (read: negative) about our team and just get behind them 100%. It is going to be tough.
Up the Mighty Reds!