Title race begins in earnest

In Football Christmas used to be full of surprises, a time when form went crackers. Fulham could beat Ipswich 10-1 on St Stephen's Day then lose 4-2 at Portman Road two days later.

A 100 years ago Arsenal lost 50 at Lincoln City on Christmas Day and Manchester United won 7-0 at Grimsby on St Stephen's Day. Somehow it is difficult to imagine the visits of Barnsley and Hartlepool to Blundell Park and Sincil Bank over the present holiday period causing a similar stir.

A revival of Christmas tradition would do the Premiership no harm just now. The millennium season does not need another championship climax restricted to just Arsenal and Manchester United.

Yet, if a challenge is to emerge which will add a more compelling dimension to the contest it is important that the teams best equipped to lead it, namely Leeds United, Sunderland and Liverpool, do not slip up during the festivities.

The Premiership reaches its halfway point on Sunday and at this stage the chase for the title begins in earnest. The Champions League does not resume until March (academic information in Arsenal's case) which means that for two months the interested parties can concentrate their efforts fully on the Premiership.

Yet Manchester United, after they have played at Sunderland on December 28th, will not play another domestic fixture until they host Arsenal on January 24th, by which time the wisdom or otherwise of competing in FIFA's World Club Championship in Brazil will have become clearer.

In the meantime, Manchester United's closest rivals in the Premiership, while they will be involved in the fourth round of the FA Cup during the champions' absence, will want to put themselves in the best position to exploit any travel-weary lapses by Alex Ferguson's team on their return.

From this point of view two of Tuesday's matches will be especially significant. Arsenal, lying fourth, play Leeds, the present leaders, at Highbury in the afternoon and then Sunderland and Manchester United, third and second respectively at the moment, meet at the Stadium of Light in the evening.

David O'Leary's youthful Leeds team are about to face a demanding 72 hours which will truly test the validity of their challenge.

After last Sunday's gutsy 2-0 win at Chelsea the character of the side is not in doubt but after four games in 11 days following two long trips to eastern Europe in the UEFA Cup the players will have welcomed a week's rest.

Leeds meet Leicester City at Elland Road on St Stephen's Day - no straightforward home win this against a Leicester team who have just knocked them out of the League Cup quarter-finals on penalties and will be anxious for points after a couple of league defeats.

At teatime on Sunday Arsenal face a Coventry City side who have taken one point from three games following a seven-match unbeaten run. Arsene Wenger, in need of a victory after Saturday's 1-1 lapse against Wimbledon at Highbury, will expect to win this one but Robbie Keane could change all that.

Manchester United should limber up for their trip to Wearside with a victory over Bradford City on Sunday Day although Paul Jewell's side, fresh from the weekend's win against Newcastle, will go into the holiday programme a little more confident of staying up.

Sunderland face a more demanding preamble to Tuesday's confrontation. No longer do teams visit Everton expecting an away-day treat. Walter Smith's side are unbeaten at Goodison in the Premiership and, although last Saturday's 3-1 win at Watford was their first in nearly two months, they remain a hard side to break down at home.

What price Liverpool breaking into the top four over the next few days? Six victories in seven league matches have taken Gerard Houllier's team from 12th to fifth and they are now three points behind Arsenal. Liverpool's St Stephen's Day visit to Newcastle could provide one of the best encounters of the festive period and they are at home to Wimbledon two days later.

With a paltry six points from 17 matches Danny Wilson's Sheffield Wednesday are surely doomed while Watford, who have taken two from 11 games, are also in freefall. Derby County, desperate to climb out of the bottom three, will be even more anxious if their holiday games at home to Aston Villa and away to West Ham fail to yield them at least four points.