Ahead of a visit from Newcastle United on Saturday, Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna channelled his inner Clement Clarke Moore when he said: "The game before Christmas always feels extra special."
It turned out to be extra painful for Ipswich, who were thrashed 4-0 in front of their own fans in a festive romp. Arsenal also ran out as heavy winners on Saturday, consigning Crystal Palace to a 5-1 defeat which did not reflect the balance of play.
Manchester City, by contrast, will spend Christmas day outside the top five, trailing the division's title challengers as well as Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa after Unai Emery's side eased to a 2-1 victory to kickstart the weekend's action.
Liverpool and Chelsea are both in action on a Sunday jam-packed with action at both ends of the table. Here's 90min's best guess for the outcome of these extra special fixtures.
Tottenham's players celebrate scoring against Manchester Unite
Tottenham should be buoyant after their Carabao Cup success over Manchester United / BEN STANSALL/GettyImages
There are four 2pm kick-offs on Sunday - rather tricky to handle when broadcasting deals only mandate one of them being shown on British television.
Nevertheless, Chelsea were in Conference League action on Thursday as they thrashed Shamrock Rovers to round off their league phase, but Enzo Maresca was able to rest and rotate his Premier League XI for a tricky trip to Goodison Park.
Everton frustrated Arsenal last time out and were victorious at Goodison against Wolves before the Merseyside derby's postponement. It's these sorts of games that will define Chelsea's title tilt.
Southampton gave a decent account of themselves in the cup on Wednesday and can at least take some hope into their trip to Fulham. The Cottagers have excelled themselves so far this term, and this is a great chance for them to put some pressure on the sides immediately above them in the table.
Ruud van Nistelrooy has enjoyed a decent enough start to his Leicester City tutelage, but the Foxes are surrendering shots at will. Vitor Pereira has been confirmed as Wolves' new manager, and he couldn't have asked for a much kinder fixture to kick-start his reign.
Bournemouth battered Manchester United at Old Trafford last season, and they may well be the favourites here. Remarkable, eh? The Cherries are sixth and unbeaten in four league outings, while United are 13th but just three points adrift of their upcoming opponents.
And finally, Tottenham vs Liverpool. Get use to it. We're going to see a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final between the two clubs in the new year, but before that, the pair duel in the Premier League. Spurs are still ravaged by injuries but have shown an ability to adapt and adjust, while the visitors have manifested some vulnerabilities in recent weeks but remain in an imperious position.
Kick-off Time (GMT) Fixture Prediction
14:00 Everton vs Chelsea 1-1
14:00 Fulham vs Southampton 3-1
14:00 Leicester vs Wolves 1-2
14:00 Man Utd vs Bournemouth 1-1
16:30 Tottenham vs Liverpool 2-3
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