Premier League fixtures today – your guide to Saturday’s games

Premier League football returns to our television screens this weekend, but only half of the division’s teams are in action.

The English top flight now employs a winter break that consists of one matchday being played across two weekends, allowing players to enjoy a small period of recovery following the gruelling winter fixture list.

The first fixtures of Gameweek 21 come this weekend, although the action actually kicked off with the relegation six-pointer between Burnley and Luton Town on Friday night.

As a result of the Premier League’s plans, we only have two matches to feast our eyes on this Saturday, although they are tantalising match-ups.

Here is your guide to Saturday’s Premier League fixtures.

It was a Tuesday evening to forget for Chelsea this week, the Blues falling to an underwhelming 1-0 defeat to Championship Middlesbrough in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. While they still have a second leg at Stamford Bridge to turn things around, it brought a three-game winning run to an end, denting the confidence of the Chelsea players even further.

Things have been better for Chelsea in the Premier League recently, albeit still not great. They have won three of their last four but still find themselves tenth in the table despite victories against Crystal Palace, Luton Town and Sheffield United.

Fulham’s form has been similarly unpredictable of late. After winning successive league matches 5-0 in early December, the Cottagers have gone on to lose to Burnley and Bournemouth, while also beating Arsenal 2-1 in their most recent Premier League outing. Marco Silva’s side fell to a 2-1 first leg semi-final defeat in the Carabao Cup midweek, although it did come against Liverpool at Anfield.

One of the tamer derbies in the Premier League, these two sides are west London rivals. With both teams having shown plenty of inconsistency in recent weeks, Saturday’s affair could be an intriguing one.

Newcastle brought a truly torrid run of form to an end in style in last weekend’s FA Cup third round, the Magpies beating local rivals Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby. Eddie Howe’s side romped to a comfortable 3-0 victory against the Championship side, a much-needed morale boost for a squad that continues to be ravaged by injuries.

However, they are in for a much sterner test this weekend, welcoming the world champions to St James’ Park. These two sides have met twice already this season, winning one encounter apiece, but Man City will still be considerable favourites on Tyneside this Saturday.

Pep Guardiola welcomed Kevin De Bruyne back to the field in Man City’s 5-0 demolition of Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup, though Erling Haaland is still unavailable and won’t feature in the upcoming trip to Newcastle.

Last season’s Premier League champions have found some form at the right time and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them go on one of their trademark unbeaten runs at the beginning of the new year.

READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, RUMOURS & GOSSIP