Five talking points as Premier League returns

The Premier League returns this play - for its archetypal decently undisrupted tally of the season.

Top-level nine shot has had to halt for planetary breaks successful September, October and November, but the adjacent 1 is not until March now.

It coincides with the engaged festive play adjacent month.

BBC Sport looks astatine 5 talking points arsenic the Premier League gets backmost nether way.

Liverpool are flying nether Arne Slot and beryllium apical of the Premier League and the Champions League table, having dropped points successful conscionable 2 games this season.

They are 5 points wide of Manchester City, who person mislaid 4 games successful a enactment successful each competitions - thing Pep Guardiola had ne'er experienced earlier successful his managerial vocation (excluding punishment shootouts).

Despite their caller tally and speculation astir the Spaniard's future, however, Guardiola this week agreed a caller one-year deal to widen his enactment astatine Etihad Stadium to 10 years.

It is simply a timely boost for City, who person different perchance pugnacious crippled astatine location to Tottenham connected Saturday (17:30 GMT) arsenic they bid to debar 5 defeats successful a row.

This is the sixth juncture a squad has been 5 points wide aft 11 games - the archetypal 5 each ended up arsenic champions.

But City person won the past 4 Premier League titles and trailed the leaders by much than 5 points astatine 1 signifier successful each of those seasons.

Liverpool and City person 1 Premier League crippled each earlier they conscionable successful a imaginable blockbuster astatine Anfield connected Sunday, 1 December.

Arsenal, who person been runners-up for the past 2 seasons, are 4 points backmost - level with Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Brighton.

The Gunners and Forest conscionable connected Saturday astatine 15:00 GMT astatine the Emirates.

There volition beryllium a caller look successful the Premier League this play - caller Manchester United brag Ruben Amorim.

The woody was done for the Sporting manager connected 1 November but his Portuguese nine wanted him to hold until the planetary interruption earlier moving.

Ruud van Nistelrooy had been successful interim complaint aft the sacking of Erik 10 Hag - but the club's erstwhile striker departed excessively arsenic Amorim did not privation him portion of his backroom staff.

Amorim takes his caller squad to Ipswich connected Sunday (16:30 GMT) successful the Premier League.

He is expected to play the 3-4-3 enactment helium preferred successful Portugal - a large alteration from the modular four-man defence they had nether Ten Hag.

However, helium mightiness lone get his afloat squad unneurotic 2 days earlier his archetypal crippled due to the fact that of players being astir the satellite for planetary games.

United volition anticipation Amorim's archetypal Premier League crippled goes similar his archetypal Portuguese top-flight lucifer arsenic a manager - erstwhile his Braga broadside won 7-1 astatine Belenenses successful January 2020.

After 8 games determination were 4 teams without immoderate wins but, 3 games later, Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Southampton person 1 triumph each.

Everton and Leicester, who person 2 wins this term, stay lone 3 points wide of the bottommost three.

The Saints are lone fixed a 5.2% of endurance by Opta, contempt being lone 4 points disconnected information astatine this stage.

"Hopefully I'll beryllium talking to you successful 2 weeks," Saints brag Russell Martin told journalists earlier the planetary break. "If not, we'll see."

But helium remains successful complaint for Saturday's location crippled against leaders Liverpool.

One Southampton subordinate successful buoyant temper volition beryllium defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who scored connected his England debut against the Republic of Ireland connected Sunday.

We are approaching the archetypal clip of the play erstwhile managers person to juggle their first-team squads arsenic the fixtures commencement to heap up.

Four teams person 9 games successful December. The Carabao Cup quarter-finals are besides being played the week earlier Christmas - and European games proceed done December arsenic a effect of the caller formats.

Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United each person 9 games successful December, an mean of 1 each 3.4 days.

Some clubs, including Nottingham Forest and Brighton - who are 5th and sixth successful the array respectively - lone person six matches successful the last period of 2024.

However, remainder periods from rounds 17 and 20 this twelvemonth person been accrued to guarantee nary nine plays wrong 60 hours of different match.

Last play Chelsea played 3 games successful the abstraction of 142 hours.

There volition beryllium nary wintertime interruption successful this run either - meaning clubs volition beryllium playing beauteous overmuch solidly until the archetypal World Cup qualifiers - and adjacent Nations League games - instrumentality spot successful March.

That brings america to injuries.

Nine players pulled retired of the England squad for the caller Nations League double-header, an magnitude that raised eyebrows from fans - and adjacent Three Lions skipper Harry Kane.

We volition find retired erstwhile managers bash their quality conferences connected Thursday and Friday however galore retired of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice, Aaron Ramsdale, Levi Colwill and Jarrad Branthwaite volition beryllium acceptable for this weekend's games.

Liverpool person not yet said whether keeper Alisson Becker could beryllium backmost aft six weeks retired injured - but if helium does instrumentality that could beryllium the end of Caoimhin Kelleher's spell successful the team.

One subordinate who volition beryllium retired for a portion is Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, who was handed a seven-match home ban by the Football Association for utilizing a radical slur astir team-mate Son Heung-min.

He tin inactive play Europa League matches but volition not beryllium disposable successful the Premier League until 26 December.