The top flight is making its long awaited return

Erling Haaland will continue his sensational goalscoring form for Manchester City

The Premier League has finally made its long-awaited return with all 20 teams in action over the festive period.

Leaders Arsenal continue their campaign at home to West Ham, while Manchester City take on Leeds and Manchester United welcome Nottingham Forest.

Brentford vs Tottenham (Boxing Day, 12:30pm, Amazon Prime)
Tottenham start the second half of their campaign three points clear of fourth-placed United ahead of the trip to Brentford.

Spurs are unbeaten in 13 matches against their London counterparts – the last defeat was in March 1948.

But the Bees have mostly enjoyed their Boxing Day clashes of late, losing just two of their last 13 – although they fell 2-0 at Brighton last season.

Striker Harry Kane is also enjoying his post-Christmas outing, with no Premier League player scoring more than nine goals on the day.

Crystal Palace vs Fulham (Boxing Day, 15:00, Amazon Prime)
The second clash across London of the day saw Crystal Palace host Fulham at Selhurst Park.

Both sides have eyes on the top, with the ninth-placed Cottagers and 11th-placed Eagles separated only by goal difference.

Palace are currently enjoying a five-game unbeaten run against West London since a 4-1 defeat in October 2013.

Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored in each of his last three London derbies, netting just once in his first 17 matches previously.

Aleksandar Mitrovic has impressed for Fulham in the Premier League this season
Everton vs Wolves (Boxing Day, 3pm, Amazon Prime)
The two struggling teams who will be desperate to cheer are 17th-placed Everton and bottom-placed Wolves.

Former Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui took charge of his first league game in the Midlands side with no illusions about the tough task he faces.

They beat the Toffees 1-0 in this fixture last term and will be looking to record back-to-back league wins over them for the first time since February 1960.

Since Frank Lampard took charge in February, Everton have failed to score in a Premier League game 13 times – with only Wolves (14) doing so more.

Leicester vs Newcastle (Boxing Day, 3pm, Amazon Prime)
Newcastle are set for an impressive season if they can emulate the form they showed before the World Cup when the third-placed visitors visited Leicester.

Eddie Howe’s squad have only lost once this season and are currently on a five-match winning streak in the league.

Miguel Almiron’s sensational form was a key figure in their success as he managed to be involved in eight goals in as many matches.

After a rocky start to the campaign, the Foxes have enjoyed a renaissance of their own, moving up to 13th thanks to a four-out-of-five streak.

Miguel Almiron has been one of the Premier League’s surprise stars so far

Southampton vs Brighton (Boxing Day, 3pm, Amazon Prime)

Nathan Jones manages Southampton at home in the Premier League for the first time against fellow South Coast side Brighton.

The Seagulls have been one of the teams to watch so far and the seventh-placed side are still yet to lose at St Mary’s in five Premier League visits (one win, four draws).

Interestingly, the home team is winless in the Premier League meetings between these two, with neither game often being played without a home win.

Che Adams has scored twice as many goals as any other Saints player this season with four goals, while Leandro Trossard could become the first Seagulls player to score more than five away goals in the top flight.

Aston Villa vs Liverpool (Boxing Day, 5:30pm, Amazon Prime)
Liverpool will be desperate to improve on their inconsistent form before the World Cup and it is Aston Villa’s first.

Unai Emery has managed the Villans in the Premier League for the third time after winning both of his first two games – no manager in the club’s history has ever won their first three games in the competition.

Villa have lost eight of their last nine top-flight meetings with Liverpool, with the exception of a sensational 7-2 defeat in October 2020.

Former Reds striker Danny Ings has scored four goals in his last four league games, as much as he had in the previous 26.

Danny Ings hit a purple patch in front of goal before the World Cup break
Arsenal vs West Ham (Boxing Day, 8 p.m., Amazon Prime)
Arsenal are back in action at home to West Ham with a healthy five-point lead at the top of the table.

Mikel Arteta’s men had won their last three previous games by an aggregate score of 8-0 before the World Cup break, with the Hammers losing their third in a row in the league.

To make matters worse for David Moyes and Co, the Gunners have lost just two of the pair’s last 28 meetings, while they have also enjoyed 10 straight Boxing Day wins at home.

Gabriel Jesus’ injury in Qatar is likely to make Eddie Nketiah a starter up front. The 23-year-old has scored 10 goals in his last 10 appearances at the Emirates in all competitions.

Chelsea vs Bournemouth (Tuesday, 5:30pm, Amazon Prime)
Chelsea sit eighth after five games without a win – including defeat in their last three.

That has increased the pressure on manager Graham Potter ahead of the visit of Bournemouth, who are playing their first top-flight game since handing the reigns to Gary O’Neil on a permanent basis.

They are the scourge of the Blues in the Premier League, having lost three of their five home meetings – only suffering more defeats at Stamford Bridge to Liverpool and Manchester City (four each) since the start of 2015-16.

Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have just four league goals between them this term but the former has nine of nine versus the Cherries while the latter has three of four against them.

Raheem Sterling has an excellent record in his previous meetings with Bournemouth
Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest (Tuesday, 20:00, Amazon Prime)
The Erik ten Hag revolution continues at United as they look to reduce the three-point gap between themselves and fourth by beating Forest.

The Red Devils have won four of their last five Premier League matches, keeping a clean sheet in each of their last three.

Previous form has heavily pointed to home success, with the last six meetings between the two going United’s favor.

Forest midfielder Jesse Lingard scored twice in the Carabao Cup in midweek and will be looking to score against his former team for the first time in the competition.

Leeds vs Manchester City (Wednesday, 8pm, Amazon Prime)
Manchester City continue their pursuit of Arsenal at the top as the champions travel to Leeds.

The Citizens suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Brighton in their last outing and are looking to avoid back-to-back defeats in the top flight for the first time since December 2018.

Even so, they face a Leeds side who scored 11 goals against them in their two league meetings last term.

City star Phil Foden claimed a goal and two assists during England’s World Cup campaign and will be looking to build on his record of eight goal involvements in his last five Premier League games.

Read more: The Premier League’s greatest escape
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