English Premier League New Years Fixtures Preview PT 1

The final round of holiday fixtures is set to unfold in just a couple of days as the English Premier League will see action on New Years Day - the first match-ups of 2015. Now that we are halfway through the decade it’s worth looking back on a whole lot of interesting matches and it will be really fascinating to see where things go from here in the most exciting football league on the planet. 

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The weekend saw all of the top three drop points against inferior opposition and while many are talking about Manchester City’s inability to pick up two extra points against Chelsea, the real thing people should be discussing is Manchester United’s inability to get themselves closer to the actual title race itself. 

Chelsea were unable to get the late leveller against their opponents Southampton - who even went a man down late on in the fixture. Despite bringing on Didier Drogba, Jose Mourinho’s men just couldn’t muster up the required firepower to really get the 2-1 victory that they longed for this time. 

Manchester City were dealt an even larger embarrassment when they could only muster up a tame 2-2 draw against Burnley. Compounding the problem is the fact that they let a 2-0 lead slip away to what many would consider vastly inferior opposition. It will be interesting to see how City kick on from here and how that draw (which they will doubtlessly view as a loss) could affect their outcome this week. 

By all stretches of the imagination United should have beaten Spurs relatively handily after dominating most of the match - Juan Mata in particular was a live wire but scuffed a number of chances. That’s something that Radamel Falcao and Robin Van Persie should also have to atone for. 

With Chelsea and City both drawing, it would have been an optimal opportunity to be able to make a real statement about their intentions of actually challenging for the title in lieu of just pushing for a Champions League place. You have to wonder how that missed chance will affect their ability to put Stoke City to the sword in the New Years Day match-up that is just around the corner.