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The Christmas and New Year period is no holiday for football fans with four weeks fixtures forced into a fortnight. Frightening!

English Premiership Football Preview Weeks 18 through 21

The Christmas and New Year period is always the start of the most insane period of footballing intensity as every Premiership team and supporter in the Premiership has to endure four vital matches in eight days through the holiday period. Apologies for limited coverage at this crucial turning point halfway through the season.

Things get started with the Boxing Day games making up Week 18 which look like this

Fixtures and Predictions for Monday 26th December 2005
Aston Villa v Everton Everton just
Charlton Athletic v Arsenal Arsenal easily, alas
Chelsea v Fulham Chelsea unfortunately
Liverpool v Newcastle United Liverpool win
Manchester United v West Bromwich Albion Routine home win
Middlesbrough v Blackburn Rovers Looks like a draw
Portsmouth v West Ham United Looks like a draw
Sunderland v Bolton Wanderers Bolton easily
Tottenham Hotspur v Birmingham City Another win for Spurs
Wigan Athletic v Manchester City Wigan to win

Scarcely are those games over then begins the Week 19 round of games just forty-eight hours later

Fixtures and Predictions for Wednesday 28th December 2005
Arsenal v Portsmouth Arsenal to win
Birmingham City v Manchester United Another Red victory
Blackburn Rovers v Sunderland Blackburn to edge it
Bolton Wanderers v Middlesbrough Tight home win
Everton v Liverpool Looks like Liverpool
Fulham v Aston Villa I expect a draw
Manchester City v Chelsea Hopefully a tie
Newcastle United v Charlton Athletic Much-needed home win
West Bromwich Albion v Tottenham Hotspur Routine away win
West Ham United v Wigan Athletic Wigan to win
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As if that wasn’t enough, the football monster just won’t stop and only three days later the “Week” 20 round of fixtures bring 2005 to a close with the New Year’s Eve fixtures

Fixtures and Predictions for Saturday 31st December 2005
Aston Villa v Arsenal Arsenal win
Charlton Athletic v West Ham United A draw
Chelsea v Birmingham City Can’t see Chelsea losing
Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion Another hard day for WBA
Manchester United v Bolton Wanderers Narrow home win
Middlesbrough v Manchester City Score draw
Portsmouth v Fulham A rare Pompey win
Sunderland v Everton Sadness for Sunderland
Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United Spurs to win a thriller
Wigan Athletic v Blackburn Rovers Wigan to win, just

If that wasn’t enough to make any athlete’s foot fall off, scarcely is the New Year started before there’s the week 21 fixtures:

Fixtures and Predictions for Monday 2nd January 2006
Birmingham City v Wigan Athletic Points shared
Blackburn Rovers v Portsmouth Home win
Bolton Wanderers v Liverpool Probably the Pool
Everton v Charlton Athletic Much-needed home win
Fulham v Sunderland Fulham to win
Newcastle United v Middlesbrough Home derby win
West Bromwich Albion v Aston Villa Home derby win
West Ham United v Chelsea Hopefully home win

The madness is rounded off with the last but not least stragglers as on Tuesday 3rd January Arsenal host Manchester United in a match both teams will feel they can win but the Red Devils need is greater and I believe they will prevail.

The final game before a welcome ten day break is on Wednesday 4th when Manchester City entertain visitors Tottenham Hotspur but I expect the Londoners to just edge a tight thriller of a match.

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