A Huge Month of Football to come in January

If your new year’s resolution is to watch more football, you’re in for a treat. There’s no slowing down in January, with games coming thick and fast in the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and European competitions.

As the biggest teams in the country prepare for the second half of the season, they may be thinking about whether to prioritise certain competitions. Liverpool are in pole position in the title race, although there’s still time for Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City to make up some ground.

Meanwhile, for Manchester United and Tottenham, they may be looking at the cup competitions in order to salvage some pride following poor starts to the campaign.

Are Liverpool running away from Arsenal in the title race?

Following a blistering first half of the season under Arne Slot, Liverpool are now six points clear of Arsenal with a game in hand. With their opponents dropping so many points and Mohamed Salah in the form of his life, it’s their title to lose.

They’ve lost just once so far in the Premier League and with the likes of Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota now back to full fitness, they’re only getting stronger. With games coming thick and fast, the only question mark against them is how they’ll tackle fixture congestion.

But with a six point cushion on ninth place in the Champions League and an easy tie in the FA Cup, they can afford to rest players in their upcoming fixtures. And while there’s a lot of noise off the pitch surrounding the future of both Salah and Alexander-Arnold, all that matters is that they keep performing.

For Arsenal though, it’s a different story. They dropped points against Brighton on Saturday and while they were on a run of four wins in all competitions, they’ve also failed to beat Fulham and Everton in the last month.

With their title hopes slowly starting to dwindle, they’ll still be confident of mounting a challenge. But Mikel Arteta may look at other competitions in order to get his hands on some much-needed silverware.

After edging past Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, they face a tricky two-legged semi-final against an in-form Newcastle. It could set up a potentially mouthwatering final against rivals Tottenham, who meet Liverpool in the other final four clash.

Elsewhere, the Gunners are currently third in the Champions League but will need results in their final two group games to guarantee a top eight finish. While both squads are packed with talent, Liverpool and Arsenal may look to strengthen in the transfer window this month.

The Reds have been linked with a move for Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez, who is seen as a long-term replacement for Andy Robertson. Meanwhile, Arsenal may look to strengthen in attack after Bukayo Saka was ruled out for two months with a hamstring injury.

Key fixtures this month

Arsenal v Newcastle – Tuesday 7th January, Carabao Cup
Tottenham v Liverpool – Wednesday 8th January, Carabao Cup
Arsenal v Manchester United – Sunday 12th January, FA Cup
Nottingham Forest v Liverpool – Tuesday 14th January, Premier League
Arsenal v Tottenham – Wednesday 15th January, Premier League
Arsenal v Aston Villa – Saturday 18th January, Premier League
Liverpool v Ipswich – Saturday 25th January, Premier League

The Manchester clubs look to turn things around

It’s been a season to forget so far for both Manchester City and Manchester United. Pep Guardiola’s City side are currently sixth in the Premier League, 12 points behind leaders Liverpool.

They recently went on a five-game winless run that included draws against Crystal Palace and Everton as well as a defeat to rivals United. But they’ve won two on the spin and Erling Haaland is back among the goals after a brace against West Ham at the weekend.

City traditionally go on winning runs in the second half of seasons so it would be unwise to count them out of the title race despite Liverpool’s head start. But if a fifth consecutive title begins to slip away, you can bet your bottom dollar they’ll go hell for leather to get their hands on the FA Cup and Champions League.

From a United perspective, City’s struggles are enviable. Despite sacking Erik ten Hag at the end of October, new boss Ruben Amorim is yet to have the impact that the United hierarchy would have hoped for, although Sunday’s battling draw at Anfield will have raised spirits.

His two-month reign has been littered with bad results and poor individual performances, with defeats to Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Wolves and Newcastle overshadowing United’s win at the Etihad. They remain 13th in the table, just seven points clear of the bottom three – a poor result against Southampton in their next league outing would be catastrophic.

For City, their struggles are in part down to a lack of options. They’ve been without key players Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne for much of the season and they may look to strengthen this month. Eintracht Frankfurt star Omar Marmoush and Atalanta midfielder Ederson have been linked with moves.

However, there’s seemingly no money for incomings available for Amorim at Old Trafford, meaning he may be forced to work with the hand he’s been dealt. Marcus Rashford has been ostracised and his departure is inevitable – an exit this month could provide United with a much-needed transfer kitty.

Key fixtures in January

Arsenal v Manchester United – Sunday 12th January, FA Cup
Manchester United v Southampton – Thursday 16th January, Premier League
Manchester United v Brighton – Sunday 19th January, Premier League
Manchester City v Chelsea – Saturday 25th January, Premier League

London rivals worlds apart

At the halfway point of the season, things couldn’t be more different between rivals Chelsea and Tottenham. Over in west London, the Blues are quietly enjoying a steady campaign in the upper echelons of the tables.

Chelsea finally seem to have settled following a whirlwind couple of years under their new ownership. They looked to be dark horses for the title under Enzo Maresca, although a recent dip in form has put that talk on ice.

They’ve got incredible squad depth, with a different starting eleven both domestically and in Europe, while talisman Cole Palmer has continued where he left off from last year. On the contrary, Spurs are having a difficult campaign.

Ange Postecoglou has been criticised for his gung ho approach and following a string of poor results that has seen them pick up one point in their last four games, plus an injury and illness crisis, the north London side are 12th and only one point better off than United.

They desperately need reinforcements this month – Heung Min Son looks a shadow of his former self, meaning Spurs lack a talisman. Meanwhile, summer midfield signing Archie Gray has been forced to deputise at centre-back due to a lack of options.

Tottenham have already snapped up goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky and they’re likely to dip into the market again. However, it may be quiet on the transfer front at Stamford Bridge for once, with plenty of options available for Maresca to choose from, although injuries to Wesley Fofana and Benoît Badiashile could see them move for cover in defence.

Key fixtures in January

Tottenham v Liverpool – Wednesday 8th January, Carabao Cup
Chelsea v Bournemouth – Tuesday 14th January, Premier League
Arsenal v Tottenham – Wednesday 15th January, Premier League
Chelsea v Wolves – Monday 20th January, Premier League
Manchester City v Chelsea – Saturday 25th January, Premier League
Tottenham v Leicester – Sunday 26th January, Premier League

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