Photo: Clive Brunskill / AFP / Getty Images
This Sunday 26 December is Boxing Day of the Premier League, a date iconic in England’s culture and sport and that this year, despite the COVID pandemic – 19, fans will be able to enjoy soccer matches in a day that will have up to six matches.
Three Boxing Day games were suspended after teams requested suspension due to lack of players testing positive for COVID – 19. Liverpool-Leeds, Wolverhampton-Watford and Burnley-Everton were the matches of the date suspended.
But despite the matches that will not be played, there are several important matches and between rivals that fight for the leadership and also to rise to the Champions League positions. Four games will start at the same time, at 7: 00 am Los Angeles time, with the games between Manchester City-Leicester, Norwich City-Arsenal, Tottenham-Crystal Palace and West Ham-Southampton.
The day closes with the match between Steve Gerrard’s Aston Villa and Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea, and the game between Brighton and Brentford.
Josep Guardiola’s Manchester City is at the top of the table with 44 points, three above Liverpool, and will seek to secure their lead. Al City have only scored nine goals in 18 dates . On the other hand, Leicester tries to enter the big six to fight to enter positions of European competence.
Arsenal is in fourth place in the table that would ensure to enter the Champions League again, after a terrible year in which it does not play no European competition and will have as a rival to the last place in the table.
One of the teams that has surprised this year is West Ham. He has won important games and is in fifth position battling with the greats of the league. If he wins, he gets closer to the Champions Cup places where Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City are.