18/12/2024【Feature】Ashley Cole: Christmas Fast Track preview

Ashley Cole – EPL
Ashley Cole played for Arsenal and Chelsea which he lifted EPL, EFA, ELC, ESH, UCL and UEC. He is currently a football pundit for a UK TV station.

Ashley Cole: Christmas Fast Track preview
On if Liverpool can win all games during Christmas period and extend lead…
It will be tough,  it if anyone can do it Liverpool look like the team to do so. They have only lost one game in the league this year but the Christmas period is relentless. Games come thick and fast starting with a carabao cup QF and ending with a tough fixture against rivals United. We have seen them draw two games in a row so it has shown just a slight chunk in the armour of this side. I don’t think they will win all their games but they can certainly go unbeaten in that period. 

On if Arsenal, Chelsea or Man City can closer the gap with Liverpool with a good run in Christmas…
Arsenal don’t have the easiest run of games. An away trip to a revived palace with tough away fixtures to Brentford who are unbeaten at home and Brighton who were until recently too. Like Liverpool, Arsenal have dipped in form with two draws in a row in the league and their injury list could be a concern over the busy festive period. 

Man City will only close the gap if Liverpool drop points, but I can also see City losing one or two of their Christmas games based on current form. They won’t win all of their games over Christmas so for me it is unlikely they are going significantly close any gap. 

Chelsea are in great form and their squad is big enough to deal with the busy run of games upcoming. They have favourable fixtures and if Liverpool were to drop points I think Chelsea will be the most likely side to take advantage of that situation and close the gap.

On if Amorim can turnaround for Man Utd and move higher up on the table…
The derby result should help spark United, which whilst a great result, they haven’t been amazing under the new manager. They have a tough few Christmas fixtures with 3 of the 4 teams they are playing above them in the league. Despite being 13th they are only 6 points off of the top 4 so a strong Christmas could see them pull themselves back into contention and also they have the best Boxing Day record with 22 out of 28 wins on that day. They will just need to hope other teams drop points. I believe by the end of the Christmas run United will have moved into the top half of the table. 

On whether if Salah or Haaland will be leading the top scorer after Christmas fast track…
Out of the two, Mo Salah for me. Liverpool are in the better form as a team which means he is likely to come by more chances at this moment in time. Despite both teams having a reasonable run of games over the period we have seen in recent weeks city just aren’t clicking and I don’t see that just changing overnight. A tough away trip to Villa next could really make the Christmas period a lot harder. Also don’t be surprised if Cole palmer has something to say about this. Chelsea have a good run of games over Christmas and with him only two goals behind the other two he could also muscle his way to the top of the standings. 

Information is provided by the third-party provider and it is intended to be used for reference only.  The content and information have not been verified or confirmed by The Hong Kong Jockey Club and/or its affiliates (together, the “HKJC”), and will not be used for dividend payout purposes. HKJC also do not make any representation or warranty about the timeliness, reliability or accuracy of any such information.