Liverpool and Manchester United have contrasting fixtures
Wednesday 13 May 2020 16:12, UK
Liverpool sit top of the Premier League but they face the toughest festive fixture schedule, based on the average positions of their opponents.
Premier League sides are gearing up for the hectic Christmas period, with four rounds of fixtures taking place between now and January 3, but it could be most difficult of all for Jurgen Klopp's men.
They kick things off with their Friday Night Football clash against seventh-placed Wolves, live on Sky Sports, and face Arsenal (5th) and Manchester City (2nd) following their clash with Newcastle (14th) on Boxing Day.
Liverpool's fixtures look far tougher than any of the other top-six sides, with Manchester United preparing for a particularly kind run of games.
Under newly-appointed caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United face Cardiff (16th), Huddersfield (19th), Bournemouth (11th) and Newcastle (14th) over Christmas. Even Bournemouth, the highest-ranked of those teams, go into the fixture in dismal form.
Crystal Palace and Leicester face the second and third-highest ranked opponents after Liverpool, while Huddersfield are the only side with what looks like an easier Christmas run than Manchester United's.
David Wagner's side will go up against Southampton (17th), Fulham (20th) and Burnley (18th) either side of that Boxing Day meeting with United at Old Trafford.
See the table below to see the average position of your team's opponents over the festive period - ranked in order of difficulty.
