With Christmas fast approaching, we're here with some festive cheer, and a few things to look out for as we head towards matchweek 16 in the Premier League
Rangnick looks to build on debut success.
If the sincere and genuine hopes of Manchester United fans could be bottled and commodified there would likely be a never ending supply available, all stemming from the various eras that have followed the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson.
After David Moyes failed to step up to the plate, outspoken Dutchman Louis Van Gaal couldn't steer the ship. So what about perpetual winner Jose Mourinho? No? Well, maybe a legend like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who understood the foundations that made the club so dominant for so long could be the man to bring glory back to Old Trafford.
And yet, just weeks after Solskjaer's sacking we find ourselves returned to the Groundhog Day-Esque optimism as United fans look to former RB Leipzig boss Ralf Rangnick to succeed in the unenviable task of standing in the Scotsman's seemingly ever present shadow at the club.
A win over Crystal Palace last week offered fans a first glimpse of what they can expect to see under the stewardship of Rangick but it's going to take a lot more than a couple of weeks to fundamentally reshape the club's football philosophy as the German clearly intends to.
On Saturday, United will look to continue their evolution against Norwich, a club currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table.
Manchester United are favourites for the away win at odds of 3/4 with
Betfred.
Gerrard returns to Anfield
Though he may have never brought the Premier League trophy back to Anfield, you would be hard-pressed to find any football fan who would deny just how influential Steven Gerrard was during his nearly three-decade stint with the club.
Since hanging up his boots and moving into the dugout Gerrard made his name in management at Rangers, leading the Scottish powerhouse to its first league title in a decade and denying bitter rivals Celtic a tenth consecutive league win.
After taking the reins at Aston Villa last month Gerrard has lost just once, to league leaders Man City, and will be looking to continue his impressive form when he makes his long-anticipated return to the Kop.
Standing in Gerrard's way, however, are a Liverpool team that have lost just once all season, and are coming off an impressive Champions League win against AC Milan in midweek.
As a player, Gerrard was celebrated for his determination. His team are going to need to inherit that trait if they are to come away from Anfield with a result this Saturday.
If you're feeling brave, you can back Gerrard's Villa side to upset his old club at 11/1 with
Betfred.
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Can Newcastle climb out of the bottom three?
It has been a funny old season for Newcastle United fans. After what must have felt like an eternity under the ownership of Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley, repeated takeover talks to finally return the club to its former glories were always seemingly just out of reach.
Then, everything changed. News earlier this season that the club had finally changed hands provided cause for celebration for members of the Toon Army anyway, but when it emerged that the new consortium was capable of financially competing with just about anyone in world football, the excitement went into overdrive.
However, even with the sacking of polarising boss Steve Bruce in favour of former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe, Newcastle's successes off the pitch have not yet translated to results in the Premier League.
After finally picking up three points for the first time this season with a 1-0 win at home to Burnley last week, Howe will look to continue the team's momentum as they travel to face a Leciester side that have lost just one of their last five Premier League fixtures.
Unsurprisingly, Newcastle are 18/5 underdogs to snatch the win at the King Power, despite the Foxes' poor form.
Will Tottenham have a team to face Brighton?
With stadiums up and down the country back at capacity, and fans enjoying the beautiful game relatively free of restrictions, it can sometimes be easy to forget the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the sport.
But rest assured, the virus that has disrupted every aspect of life can still rear its ugly head at times.
I mean, look no further than Spurs' current situation. The club were forced to request that their midweek Europa Conference League clash with French club Rennes be cancelled after an outbreak of the virus within the club that left eight players and 5 members of staff unable to travel.
UEFA ultimately ruled that the game will be rescheduled, though official guidance indicates that the match must be played by the end of this month possibly leaving Spurs with a backlog of games to play before the end of the year should the issues persist.
With Spurs set to face Brighton in the Premier League on Sunday, it remains to be seen whether Antonio Conte will even have enough players to be able to make the journey to the south-coast club.
Most
UK bookmakers
are still taking bets for this game at the time of writing, but the chances of it being called off look increasingly likely.
Can All-conquering City continue their dominant streak?
In their previous five Premier League fixtures, Manchester City have won all five, scoring 12 times and conceding just three. Just to further illustrate the dominance of this team, this success comes amidst an injury crisis at the club.
Unfortunately for this weekend's visitors Wolves, City appear to almost be back to full strength in terms of squad depth, with the likes of Phil Foden, Aymeric Laporte, Nathan Ake, and Gabriel Jesus all likely to be available for selection.
Wolves will not just be at the City of Manchester Stadium to make up the numbers, however. A strong October saw the club make its way into the Europa League spots, and while their recent form hasn't been quite as consistent, the team still possess the necessary quality to get results out of a big fixture such as this one.
Under the stewardship of new manager Bruno Lage, Wolves will be looking to build on the pair of 7th place finishes achieved by Nuno Espirito Santo in 2019-20 and 2020-21, and a win against the league leaders would be a perfect place to start.
You can check out our official
Man City vs Wolves betting tip
right here at Betting.co.uk!
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