With international football on hold for four months, all eyes are turning back to domestic football as the Premier League's beloved Christmas calendar approaches.
As the temperature drops, the regularity of the fixtures increases. The winter period has the ability to make or break campaigns for those competing at the top of the table or for those competing for points at the bottom.
Not many people expected Arne Slot's Liverpool to be quite at the top at this stage of the season. However, that is exactly what they are doing as they sit five points ahead of champions Manchester City with eleven games in hand.
The Reds have dropped just four points all season, with Slot making a record-breaking start to his Anfield reign, while City's near-perfect start to the season hit a stumbling block in early November when they lost two Premier League matches on the spin.
Meanwhile, London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal are four points behind Pep Guardiola and nine points behind Liverpool. The Gunners are in danger of being knocked out of the title race before the Christmas presents are even opened.
All this said, however, there is still some way to go before the positions in the table provide a real indication of what things will look like in May. That said, Mail Sport looks at the top four's fixtures over the next nine gameweeks and what the title race could look like after the New Year.
Game Week 12 (23-25 November)
Chelsea start the weekend with a comfortable away win against struggling Leicester City, with Cole Palmer returning to the scoresheet to put themselves within a point of City before they play on Sunday.
After four Premier League games without a win, we expect fourth-placed Arsenal to match the Londoners and take three points against Nottingham Forest, but that won't be a cakewalk.
The Gunners will have to fight for victory through Nuno Espirito Santo's Forest, who are only one position behind Arsenal on the same points. However, two late goals from Kai Havertz and captain Martin Odegaard will get them back on track.
Meanwhile, Liverpool will look to inflict more misery on Southampton at St Mary's and go eight points clear at the top before City take the field behind them.
And that's exactly what they'll do if Mohamed Salah scores another goal and assist on the south coast. The champions will then follow suit in the weekend's match against Tottenham.
Erling Haaland will find his consistency again with a goal in a narrow win over Spurs, increasing the pressure on Ange Postecoglou.
Leicester City 1-3 Chelsea
Arsenal 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Southampton 0-2 Liverpool
Manchester City 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Game week 13 (November 29 – December 1)
Perhaps the most important match in this season's title race comes when Manchester City travel to Anfield looking for a rare win to close the gap on their rivals.
However, despite taking the lead, City will have to settle for a point after a chaotic four-goal thriller against Liverpool, leaving the Reds five points clear.
A day earlier, Arsenal took advantage of the draw between their rivals with a comfortable victory over London rivals West Ham, which in turn increased the pressure on Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui.
Chealsea won't be able to match the Gunners, however, with Aston Villa turning up at Stamford Bridge to take points from them for a third successive season.
Nicolas Jackson will put the Blues in the box for three points before Jhon Duran comes off the bench to save the day for Unai Emery's side. You heard it here first.
West Ham United 0-3 Arsenal
Chelsea-1-1 Aston Villa
Liverpool 2-2 Manchester City
Game week 14 (December 3-5)
After dropping points for only the third time this season, Liverpool return to victory in a tough match against Newcastle.
With the crowd against them early on, Alexander Isak will have St James' Park in turmoil within the first 30 minutes. However, history will repeat itself as Luis Diaz scores a brace in the second half to bring all three points back to Merseyside.
Manchester City will look to follow suit and record an impressive victory over Nottingham Forest, while Espirito Santo's side begin to slip into mid-table after a brilliant start to the season.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will have little trouble with Southampton on the south coast, with the Blues putting in a five-star performance. Cole Palmer and Noni Madueke will both turn on the style and pick up a brace.
Arsenal face their toughest test of the matchweek as Ruben Amorim's rejuvenated Manchester United arrive in the Emirates. They will show the Portuguese boss how tough the Premier League can be with a dominant performance under the lights.
Newcastle United 1-2 Liverpool
Manchester City 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Southampton 0-5 Chelsea
Arsenal 3-1 Manchester United
Game week 15 (December 7-9)
Liverpool's five-point lead at the top will finally be cut short and it will be Everton who wield the axe.
The Reds' bitter rivals will cause them trouble again at Goodison Park, but Arne Slot's strong defense will prevail and earn the leaders a point in an action-packed stalemate.
Manchester City will look to capitalize with a second win on the spin, putting their losing streak firmly in the past, with a narrow victory over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Phil Foden will find his scoresheet again and score the only goal of the match.
Arsenal will not follow in the champions' footsteps as Fulham hold them to a draw at Craven Cottage as Bukayo Saka's first-half opener is canceled out by Raul Jimenez.
The Gunners' result in west London means Chelsea have moved ahead of them in the table, as Enzo Maresca's side put Tottenham to the sword again with a dramatic win on enemy territory thanks to a last-gasp Nicolas Jackson winner , which completed an incredible turnaround.
Everton 0-0 Liverpool
Crystal Palace 0-1 Manchester City
Fulham 1-1 Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Chelsea
Game week 16 (December 14-16)
Arsenal managed to do what Liverpool failed to do by beating Everton, and they will easily do so at the Emirates if Kai Havertz scores a brace.
Meanwhile, the Reds face Fulham, to whom Arsenal dropped points the week before. However, they won't make the same mistake.
After a goal down, two goals in quick succession from Cody Gakpo's boot will send the Kop into hysterics and keep Arne Slot's side at the top of the table.
Manchester City remain on their feet, and even a thrilling Manchester Derby at the Etihad Stadium won't stop them. Pep Guardiola's side continue their winning streak after goals from Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Mateo Kovacic.
Later that evening, Chelsea suffer only their third Premier League defeat of the season, while Brentford win for the fourth year in a row at Stamford Bridge. It brings back a familiar feeling for the fans in the stands.
Arsenal 3-0 Everton
Liverpool 2-1 Fulham
Manchester City 3-1 Manchester United
Chelsea 0-1 Brentford
Game week 17 (December 21-22)
In the last week before Christmas, both Liverpool and Manchester City give their opponents victories.
For the second year in a row, Aston Villa stuns Pep Guardiola's side at Villa Park as Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey end the champions' winning run.
Tottenham's Jekyll and Hyde character will then be on full display against Liverpool, as Dominic Solanke puts in a great performance to really heat up the title race.
Arsenal prove the doubters wrong by putting themselves back in the title race with a narrow victory over Crystal Palace. After City's earlier misstep, Odegaard leads the celebrations in front of their supporters as the feel-good factor returns to the Gunners faithful.
And their weekend ends with Chelsea losing for the second weekend in a row. The Blues' Goodison Park woes will be on full display when Sean Dyche's Everton make it a miserable Christmas for Maresca.
Despite their defeat, Liverpool are sitting on top of the tree on Christmas Day. However, their former supremacy will seemingly have waned.
Aston Villa 2-0 Manchester City
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Liverpool
Crystal Palace 0-1 Arsenal
Everton 2-0 Chelsea
Game week 18 (December 26-27)
City's pre-Christmas disappointment will be a distant memory on Boxing Day when they take their anger out on Everton at the Etihad.
Erling Haaland scores a hat-trick, while Savinho and Matheus Nunes are in action to ensure they stay second.
Liverpool will also rebel and respond to defeat in the capital with a resounding victory over Leicester City at Anfield. It will ease some of the fans' Christmas worries.
Arsenal and Chelsea will both follow with wins over Fulham and Ipswich respectively. No amount of Christmas hangover will affect this couple.
Manchester City 5-0 Everton
Liverpool 3-0 Leicester City
Chelsea 2-1 Fulham
Arsenal 2-0 Ipswich Town
Game week 19 (December 29 – January 1)
A trip to Leicester is on the agenda for Guardiola's team and, just like Liverpool a few days earlier, they dismantle Steve Cooper's team with ease.
There won't be a goal for Erling Haaland, but Phil Foden, Josko Gvardiol and Bernardo Silva will get the job done to keep the pressure on Liverpool in the title race.
However, the Reds are not succumbing to it. This time a trip back to the capital proves to be a fruitful one as Slot's side wreak further misery on a struggling West Ham side at the London Stadium.
Salah does what he does best: score a brace. On the other hand, Liverpool's excellent defense is strong to keep back-to-back clean sheets for the Redmen.
Once again it will be a run of wins for the current top four, with Chelsea heading to Portman Road and getting the job done. Cole Palmer pulls the strings and even scores a goal for himself.
Meanwhile, Arsenal face a tough test in Brentford but pass with flying colors with four wins and nine games unbeaten.
Leicester City 0-3 Manchester City
West Ham United 0-2 Liverpool
Ipswich Town 1-3 Chelsea
Brentford 0-1 Arsenal
Game week 20 (January 4-6)
New year, same old Manchester City. In the final matchweek of this prediction, the champions make light work of West Ham United, just a matter of days after Liverpool did the same.
However, they remain three points behind the leaders after twenty games. Slot's Reds take on their biggest rivals United, with the visitors seeking revenge after the embarrassment at Old Trafford.
Diaz does more damage at Amorim's early doors, but Bruno Fernandes quickly responds with a goal on the Kop. The match looked to be heading for a 1-1 draw until Salah emerged with a big goal to send Anfield bananas.
Chelsea's winning streak comes to an end at Crystal Palace, where they play out an uneventful goalless draw, cutting off the momentum they had built up after Christmas.
However, their result seems good compared to Arsenal's. The Gunners finally suffer their first defeat since early November as Fabian Hurzeler's Brighton regain the upper hand against a title challenger.
If it all goes like this, Liverpool will be top with eighteen games to play, while City lurk in second place. Arteta's side will be seven points behind and certainly out of the race, while Chelsea will focus solely on reaching the top four.
Manchester City 4-0 West Ham United
Crystal Palace 0-0 Chelsea
Brighton and Hove Albion 2-1 Arsenal
Liverpool 2-1 Manchester United
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