Premier League Pre-Match Buzz and Fresh Soccer Updates

This observation strikes a familiar chord personally. The festive period is consistently about football first, decorations later.

This can be a difficult time for football supporters. Can we manage to maintain the required focus on our club while displaying suitable excitement for gift choices, wrapping, food shopping and preparation, table decorations, joining in family get-togethers....? We'll give it a damned good try! Sorry, what was that you were saying...?

Man Utd Pursue Neves and Gallagher

Erik ten Hag's side is looking for midfield reinforcements. This likely isn't positive for Kobbie Mainoo… with two former Premier League stars are targeted by Ruben Amorim’s side.

Newcastle v Chelsea Fixture Analysis

Newcastle v Chelsea at 12.30pm provides a fantastic start to kick off the football. Eddie Howe’s side occupy 12th place while Chelsea are in fourth. Only six points lies between them, with the Magpies’ formidable home record likely to make it tough for the Blues.

Newcastle may be hamstrung, though, due to a lengthy list of current defensive absentees. The full-back has added to a host of sidelined players in the medical room, with Lewis Hall also a doubt.

Despite this, and despite Maresca claiming his growing admiration for the squad recently, it's unwise to predict an easy Chelsea win on Tyneside. Will the coach decide on a consistent attacking trio? The wingers were substitutes during the midweek cup tie to score and look like contenders to start this one.

Predicting games in such fixtures in the current campaign has been very, very difficult.

Debate Over Elite Footballers

Observations show considerable debate among fans about the Guardian’s Top 100 players… these things are always subjective, of course. An indisputable fact is Ousmane Dembélé’s place at the very summit.

10 Things to Look Out For

10 things to look out for: The scrutiny on Burnley's manager, Wolverhampton's hunt for three points, to calls for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to feature in Thomas Tuchel’s World Cup plans, everything is covered.

Friday Night Round-Up

In case you missed it late drama unfolded during the Welsh derby. The shot-stopper handed victory to Swansea with a last-minute error when he dropped Ben Cabango’s header right into the path of Adam Idah. The Swans substitute had the simplest of task to tap home to make it 2-1.

An early Christmas present from the Arsenal academy graduate, incidentally, and Welsh bragging rights go to the Swans.

The manager guided Bristol Rovers to their first point in 10 league matches, although he said the result was “frustrating” as they faced ten men for most of the game. In the fourth tier, Cambridge moved into the top seven thanks to a victory against Accrington Stanley while Cheltenham won at struggling Barrow.

Northampton strolled to a comfortable victory in League One.

And in the Bundesliga, the battle of the Borussias went Dortmund's way, Max Beier scoring in the 97th minute to see off Mönchengladbach after Julian Brandt struck early on.

Introduction

Good morning all and welcome to another matchday live blog. It’s Saturday morning meaning pre-match excitement! And we can safely call it a bumper day of action with no less than eight top-flight matches, starting with Newcastle v Chelsea at 12.30pm, heading into the four 3pm kick-offs, the evening fixture, and then two 8pm games: the Merseyside and London clashes (all times GMT).

Additionally, there's a complete card across the UK leagues, and further down the divisions along with European action. See – bumper.

As always with matchday lives, we welcome your interaction, so share your predictions for the day ahead, reflections on the year as it concludes, or your plans for a football-filled day. Should be fun!