Leicester City and Arsenal – the top two of the English Premier League – suffered defeats on Boxing Day, and the two teams, along with Manchester United, will now look to invoke those powers of bouncebackability as the Premier League roars back on Monday.
After a Boxing Day to remember, when there were upsets, goals, penalty misses and more, there is hardly any time to pause for breath with eight matches on display on Monday, followed by one each on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Arsenal play on Monday, which means Arsene Wenger's men hardly have any time to recover from their heavy 4-0 loss to Southampton late on Saturday. That could be a good thing, because it does not afford the squad anytime to sulk over what was a performance nobody will look back fondly on.
Wenger said all his team can do is put up a performance that everyone expects of Arsenal on Monday, even if Bournemouth will provide a pretty stiff test as well.
Manchester United will be the other team in the spotlight, with Louis Van Gaal's job very much on the line -- that is assuming, of course, the Dutchman is still at the helm in a day's time.
How now-that-is-unbelievable would it be if Jose Mourinho were to be appointed manager on Sunday, with the Portuguese's first match in charge as Manchester United manager being against Chelsea, the club who sacked him a few days back.
Neither team are in a position to lose, with Chelsea also failing to pick up all three points on Boxing Day. Guus Hiddink's team did show more signs of improvement in the 2-2 draw against Watford, though, and Manchester United will know this match will be a far difficult one than it might have been had it been played three weeks ago.
The league leaders Leicester City play on Tuesday, with Manchester City their opponents. After thumping Sunderland and seeing Leicester lose to Liverpool, Manchester City can go level on points with a win at the King Power Stadium. That cranks up the pressure on both sides heading into this match, and Leicester, after suffering only their second defeat of the season, will be keen to bounce back with another big scalp in the shape of Manchester City.
Sunderland vs Liverpool is the final game of this round of fixtures, with Jurgen Klopp's men the overwhelming favourites after their 1-0 win over Leicester. Sam Allardyce's side have lost their momentum completely after a decent runs of results, and if Sunderland are to get anything out of this Premier League match, that leaky defence of theirs will need to improve considerably.
EPL schedule: Monday, 28 December:
Crystal Palace vs Swansea City (8.30 pm IST, 3 pm GMT, 10 am ET) at Selhurst Park.
Everton vs Stoke City (8.30 pm IST, 3 pm GMT, 10 am ET) at Goodison Park.
Norwich vs Aston Villa (8.30 pm IST, 3 pm GMT, 10 am ET) at Carrow Road.
Watford vs Tottenham (8.30 pm IST, 3 pm GMT, 10 am ET) at Vicarage Road.
West Brom vs Newcastle (8.30 pm IST, 3 pm GMT, 10 am ET) at the Hawthorns.
Arsenal vs Bournemouth (11 pm IST, 5.30 pm GMT, 12.30 pm ET) at the Emirates.
Manchester United vs Chelsea (11 pm IST, 5.30 pm GMT, 12.30 pm ET) at Old Trafford.
West Ham vs Southampton (11 pm IST, 5.30 pm GMT, 12.30 pm ET) at Boleyn Ground.
Tuesday, 29 December: Leicester City vs Manchester City (1.15 am IST, 7.45 pm GMT, 2.45 pm ET) at King Power Stadium.
Wednesday, 30 December: Sunderland vs Liverpool (1.15 am IST, 7.45 pm GMT, 2.45 pm ET) at Stadium of Light.
