Skip to content

Premier League clubs' Christmas omens before Boxing Day

Christmas omens

With the final round of fixtures before Boxing Day this weekend, what Christmas omens face your club?

How many teams who top the Premier League on Christmas Day go on to win the title? How many keep their top-four place. How doomed are the bottom three clubs?

We've looked at every Premier League table on Christmas Day since the 20-team Premier League was introduced in 1995/96 to find out what the future holds for your club…

CHAMPIONS

It's good news for current league leaders Chelsea. In each of their four title-winning Premier League seasons, they have topped the table on December 25.

It's quite a turnaround from this time last year when the Blues were defending champions but found themselves 15th in the league.

Live Premier League

In fact, 10 of the 21 clubs that have led on Christmas Day since 1995 went on to win the league - and six of the last seven.

Five Christmas Day runner-ups went on to become Premier League champions, three from third place and one from fourth, fifth and sixth spots.

Also See:

Arsenal champions
Image: Arsenal were sixth in the league in December 1997 but went on to win the title

Arsenal overcame the greatest margin over the last 21 years from that sixth spot in December 1997 to eventually win the title.

Live Nissan Super Sunday

The Gunners have been second in the league on December 25 eight times and have proceeded to win the league in two of those seasons (2001/02 and 2003/04).

Aston Villa suffered the biggest crash from top spot in 1998/99, finishing in sixth come May. 

Liverpool and Newcastle also tumbled from being league leaders at Christmas to finish fourth in 1996/97 and 2001/02, respectively.

TOP FOUR

Should Chelsea slip from first place, the Blues still have a 94 per cent chance of qualifying for Europe.

In total, 20 out of 21 Christmas Day leaders have finished in the top four - only Aston Villa failed in 1998/99.

Pablo Zabaleta celebrates after putting Manchester City ahead
Image: Manchester City are currently fourth in the league but only one team has gone on from fourth on Christmas Day to win the title

Likewise, the same percentage of runner-ups have also finished in the top four and 80 per cent from third. But those odds crash to 43 per cent for fourth and fifth-place teams.

Amazingly, no team has sat in seventh on December 25 and finished in the top four. 

Live Nissan Super Sunday

Leeds United completed the greatest post-Christmas climb, rising from 12th to finish fourth in 2000/01, while Liverpool rose from ninth to fourth in 2003/04.

Leicester completed the greatest plummet, falling from third to 13th in 2000/01, while Southampton and West Ham both dropped from fourth to 12th in 2003/04 and 2014/15, respectively.

RELEGATION

Sunderland, Hull or Swansea could occupy bottom place on Christmas Day this year and the signs look bleak for whichever team lands the unwanted spot.

Out of the 21 teams that have sat bottom since 1995/96, only three have survived: Leicester in 2014/15, Sunderland in 2013/14 and West Brom in 2004/05.

Teams that sit 19th in the league on Christmas Day have a much better chance with 11 out of 21 escaping the drop, while 13 have survived from 18th.

Overall, 27 of the 63 teams that have been in the relegation zone at Christmas have avoided relegation, meaning bottom-three teams have a 43 per cent chance of survival.

Blackpool players celebrate Gary Taylor-Fletcher's goal during the English Premier League football match
Image: Blackpool suffered the most dramatic post-festive demise in 2010/11, crashing from 10th to 19th

Blackpool suffered the most dramatic demise in 2010/11 after crashing from 10th at Christmas to be relegated in 19th place.

The most remarkable turnarounds include Swansea last season (18th to 12th), Crystal Palace in 2013/14 (18th to 11th) and Manchester City (18th to 10th in 2008/09).

Around Sky