Chelsea put a poor pre-World Cup run of results behind them when beating Bournemouth and can build on that win at Nottingham Forest. The Reds have been relying heavily on picking up points at home to boost their Premier League survival hopes, but this is a tough test.
Wolves may be buoyed by the new manager bounce factor but Manchester United are still expected to prove too strong at Molineux. The Red Devils appear to have returned from the World Cup break fully focused and should be high on confidence following two convincing victories.
High-flying Newcastle continue to look the real deal and are backed to make it seven straight Premier League wins when entertaining Leeds. The Magpies have played through over eight hours of action in all competitions since last conceding a goal at St James’ Park.
The pressure is mounting on Everton boss Frank Lampard and Manchester City are not the team to be visiting when that is the case. A fourth straight Premier League defeat is on the cards for the Toffees, who are facing a relegation battle on current form.
Fulham must be delighted to be in the top half of the Premier League table and have another good opportunity to pick up points when entertaining Southampton. Saints are rock bottom following four straight defeats in this competition and look short on confidence.
Bournemouth and Crystal Palace both returned to Premier League action with defeats and may settle for sharing the spoils at Vitality Stadium. It took a penalty shoot-out to split these teams in the EFL Cup at this venue earlier this season and another tight tussle is anticipated.
Arsenal are taken to further enhance their Premier League title aspirations with a hard-fought victory over Brighton at Amex Stadium. Albion will provide the pacesetters with a solid test but do tend to come up just short when taking on the top teams.
Liverpool made it three straight Premier League victories by winning at Aston Villa and are expected to comfortably account for Leicester. The Foxes were off the pace and especially sluggish at the back during a home loss to Newcastle, so the Reds are hard to oppose here.
Brentford returned to action in typically entertaining fashion and can be expected to adopt a positive approach again at West Ham. The Bees did the double over the Hammers last season, netting twice on each occasion, and look capable of hurting United up front again.
Chelsea will be hoping to make a fresh start to their Premier League campaign following the World Cup break when entertaining Bournemouth. The Blues need to get back on track quickly after losing their last three games in this competition and should be fired up for this return.
Burnley are blazing a trail at the top of the Championship table and are unbeaten at home, so they are worthy favourites to see off Birmingham. However, the Clarets have only kept four clean sheets from 12 outings at Turf Moor and City are coming off a 3-2 victory over Reading.
There is plenty of evidence to suggest TV viewers will be treated to an entertaining encounter when Reading host Swansea. The Royals are coming off a 3-2 loss at Birmingham, while the Swans drew 3-3 at Coventry, plus it was 3-2 to City when these teams met in mid-October.
Manchester City sensation Erling Haaland will be even more fired up than usual for Wednesday’s Premier League trip to Leeds. The 22-year-old Norway international returns to the place of his birth, with his dad Alfie having played for the Whites from 1997 to 2000.
It will be back to business for most of Tottenham’s World Cup players when they take on Brentford on Boxing Day. Harry Kane will look to move on from England’s World Cup heartbreak after missing a penalty in the last-eight defeat by France.