The Premier League is famously busy as Christmas arrives.
With the season approaching its halfway point, here’s what each manager will be hoping for:
Arsene Wenger
After beating Manchester City in the last game before Christmas, Arsene Wenger will already be feeling full of festive joy. Although his side have coped very well with a number of injuries in recent weeks, a full bill of health for his first team squad would be a welcome boost as they look to close the gap on Leicester. Even just a healthy Alexis Sanchez will do.
Remi Garde
Being rooted to the bottom, ten points from safety seems ominous enough for Aston Villa’s manager. If they can secure a win in the St Stephen’s Day clash at home with West Ham, Garde could have the perfect springboard into fixtures against fellow strugglers Norwich and Sunderland.
Eddie Howe
Having weathered an injury storm, things are looking far rosier for Bournemouth and their boss than they were a few weeks ago. Five games unbeaten and three wins on the trot, Howe will simply hope to keep things going.
Guus Hiddink
Newly appointed Hiddink will be confident he can steer them back towards something resembling expected form. With plenty of negativity surrounding Jose Mourinho’s departure, Hiddink will simply be hoping he can win the fans over again as he begins his second spell at Stamford Bridge.
Alan Pardew
With Palace level on points with Spurs and Manchester United just outside of the Champions League spots, Pardew will surely hope for more of the same in the Christmas spell. With an away trip to Bournemouth on St Stephen’s Day, Pardew will be hoping his side can kick on and claim a European place as the season progresses.
Roberto Martinez
Despite Romelu Lukaku’s free-scoring form, Roberto Martinez finds his Everton side in tenth at the turn of the year. He’ll hope to sure up his defence ahead of the second half of the season and that his team turn some of their recent draws into wins.
Claudio Ranieri
Leicester City’s boss must feel like it’s been Christmas for the last couple of months. Doubts remain that they can go the distance and win the league, but keeping Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez fit and firing will give them every chance.
Jurgen Klopp
Nobody doubts that the German’s style of play is more exciting than that of his predecessor, but results need to change quickly if his side are to make a serious push for the top four. A fully fit Daniel Sturridge would also help them out considerably.
Manuel Pellegrini
When fully fit, Sergio Aguero has made a good City side look unstoppable. Pellegrini will be hoping that Aguero’s injury woes are behind him as the season approaches the turn. And that people will stop linking bloody Pep Guardiola with his job.
Louis van Gaal
Despite a relatively promising start, things have quickly nosedived for Van Gaal and his United side. The Dutchman will simply wish for a couple of wins in games against Stoke and Chelsea to help him avoid getting a P45 from Ed Woodward for Christmas. If he survives December, surely he’ll look to add a striker to his United squad.
Steve McClaren
Wins against Liverpool and Spurs appeared to indicate that McClaren’s Newcastle side had turned a corner, but a draw at home against bottom club Aston Villa was a little disappointment. Another couple of victories will see them take further steps away from the drop zone.
Alex Neil
A shock victory at Old Trafford propelled Alex Neil’s Norwich out of the relegation zone. Although the current United side have been criticised for their lack of goals, there was no denying that Norwich looked solid at the back. Neil will hope for more of the same in the games to come.
Ronald Koeman
Having seen many of their key players leave the club in recent seasons, it seems like Ronald Koeman will face a similar battle to keep the likes of Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama at St. Mary’s in January. Koeman has already made it clear that he has no intentions of selling and clearly knows the importance of keeping his squad together.
Mark Hughes
Hughes has been praised for some of the football that Stoke have played this season, yet after recently losing to Palace, they find themselves in the bottom half of the table at Christmas. He’ll hope that the football produced in games such as the victory over Manchester City will become a more regular occurrence.
Sam Allardyce
After Big Sam’s arrival appeared to steady Sunderland’s sinking ship, they suddenly find themselves on a run of three consecutive defeats. With Younes Kaboul picking up a hamstring injury, a trip to Manchester City isn’t the ideal outing for a team with a patched-up back line. Allardyce will hope that he can bring in some January reinforcements to help his side avoid the drop.
Alan Curtis
Since Garry Monk was given the boot, Alan Curtis has temporarily taken charge of Swansea City. He’s not been able to turn around their wretched form and almost certainly won’t be getting the job on a permanent basis. A win against West Brom on St Stephen’s Day will help whoever is appointed as full time manager.
Mauricio Pochettino
Forgetting that they became the first side to win at Old Trafford this season, Norwich at home should be a winnable fixture for Spurs on Boxing Day. If they can follow a win there with three points at Watford two days later, Spurs will enter the New Year in great shape for a top four finish.
Quique Sánchez Flores
Flores is in absolute dreamland at the minute as Watford find themselves seventh, but a point off the Champions League berths. First thing’s first though, Flores will hope to secure safety in a very tight Premier League. He doesn’t have the deepest of first team squads, so a few new faces in January will help him no end.
Tony Pulis
With no wins in four, Pulis will hope to get some points on the board to halt West Brom’s slide. He’ll also hope that James McClean sorts himself out. One of the team’s key players, McClean has been criticised for his latest red card which will see him out of the Christmas fixtures for the Baggies.
Slaven Bilić
Having made a promising start to their league campaign injuries haven’t helped West Ham. That said, they’re still eighth and will fancy their chances on St Stephen’s Day against struggling Aston Villa. Better luck with injuries and who knows what Bilić’s side can achieve.
