Top Flight Buildup and Fresh Football Updates

That remark strikes a familiar chord personally. The holiday season is always prioritizing the beautiful game, fir trees second.

This can be a difficult time for soccer fans. Can we manage to maintain the required focus on our team while displaying suitable excitement for gift choices, wrapping, food shopping and preparation, table decorations, joining in family get-togethers....? We'll certainly do our best! Apologies, could you repeat that...?

Man Utd Target Rúben Neves and Conor Gallagher

Erik ten Hag's side is looking for midfield reinforcements. This likely isn't positive for the young talent… as a pair of former Premier League stars are targeted by Ruben Amorim’s side.

Chelsea's Trip to Newcastle Fixture Analysis

Newcastle v Chelsea at 12.30pm provides a fantastic start to kick off the football. The Magpies occupy 12th place and Enzo Maresca’s men sit fourth. A mere six-point gap separate them, given Newcastle's strong home form likely to make it tough for Chelsea.

The home side could be hindered, though, by their sheer number of unavailable defenders. Tino Livramento has joined Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Emil Krafth, Jamaal Lascelles, Kieran Trippier and goalkeeper Nick Pope on the treatment table, with Lewis Hall also a doubt.

Despite this, and even with the manager stating he was “falling more in love with [his players” recently, you wouldn’t bank on Chelsea strolling to victory on Tyneside. Can Maresca settle on a consistent attacking trio? Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench during the midweek cup tie to score and look like contenders for a starting spot.

Forecasting results like Newcastle v Chelsea this season 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, naturally. An indisputable fact is Ousmane Dembélé’s place at the very summit.

Key Weekend Storylines

Major plotlines this weekend include: From pressure on Scott Parker at Burnley, Wolverhampton's hunt for three points, appeals for the striker's inclusion 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. Wrexham goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo presented Swansea with the win with a last-minute error when he dropped Ben Cabango’s header straight to the substitute. The Swans substitute was left with a tap-in to score for the decisive goal.

A gift from Okonkwo – who is one of Bukayo Saka’s best friends in football, incidentally, and local supremacy go to the Swans.

Steve Evans steered his team to a draw ending a poor run, but stated the 1-1 draw at Crewe was “frustrating” given the home side had 10 men for the majority. Elsewhere in League Two, Cambridge moved into the top seven with a 2-0 win over Accrington while Cheltenham won away at Barrow.

Northampton cruised beyond AFC Wimbledon 3-1 in League One.

Over in Germany, the battle of the Borussias went Dortmund's way, with a late Beier goal to see off Mönchengladbach following an early Brandt strike.

Preamble

Good morning all to our latest live football coverage. It’s Saturday morning meaning pre-match excitement! And we can safely call it a bumper day of action with no less than eight Premier League games, kicking off with Newcastle v Chelsea at 12.30pm, heading into the four 3pm kick-offs, Tottenham v Liverpool at 5.30pm, and then two 8pm games: Everton v Arsenal and Leeds v Crystal Palace (UK time).

There is also a complete card across the UK leagues, and further down the divisions and in Spain, Germany and beyond too. It's a feast.

Following our usual format, we encourage your comments and emails, so share your forecasts, reflections on the year as it concludes, or just how you’ll be spending a day of festive footy-ball. Enjoy!