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Now the hectic festive fixture list is over, the Premier League schedule will return to something approaching normality. Games have come thick and fast over the Christmas period, matches shoe-horned into any and every available slot. Since the beginning of December, the majority of teams have played seven matches as squads are stretched thin. You would expect those with the biggest and most talented rosters to have thrived during the intense festive schedule, but that hasn't necessarily been the case. In fact, some of the traditional giants of English football have struggled immensely in recent weeks. Here is the Premier League form table since the beginning of December 2023. Premier League form table (since beginning of December 2023) Pos Team Played Won Drawn Lost Points 1. Liverpool 7 5 2 0 17 2. Aston Villa 7 4 2 1 14 3. West Ham 7 4 2 1 14 4. Bournemouth 6 4 1 1 13 5. Tottenham 7 4 1 2 13 6. Wolves 7 4 1 2 13 7. Everton 7 4 0 3 12 8. Chelsea 7 4 0 3 12 9. Man City 6 3 2 1 11

"You can't win anything with kids" is one of football's most famous phrases. Coined by Alan Hansen back in the 1990s, it has firmly established itself in the sport's vernacular over the years. While Hansen would come to regret those words as a youthful Manchester United team proved their doubters wrong and conquered English Football , there is an element of truth in what the former Liverpool defender said. Experience is needed to be successful at the highest level, along with a variety of age ranges capable of providing different skills. However, in the FIFA and Football Manager generation, teams are getting increasingly youthful. Just look at Chelsea's transfer strategy of only signing players under the age of 23 on massive seven-year contracts - perhaps one of the reasons they are finding life hard in 2023/24 so far. The Premier League table based on youngest average lineup age Champions of the Premier League youth table are Burnley , with Vincent Kompany

Joao Pinto, the captain of Porto's European Cup-winning side in 1987, infamously said: "I only make predictions after the game." The powers of computational analysis have been significantly developed in the subsequent decades - although, a prediction in May would still be slightly more accurate. While Pinto has ten months to mull over his best guess, less patient spectators can turn to Opta 's fearsome supercomputer. The sports statistics giant has run 10,000 simulations of the entire fixture list for the coming campaign, where each team's strength is calculated as a mix of betting market odds and a hierarchical Elo-based rating system. Here's how the 2023/24 Premier League season is expected to shake out. Supercomputer predicts 2023/24 Premier League table Arsenal's victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield is not reflected in their predicted Premier League finish / Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/GettyImages Predicted position Team Predicted poin

Monday was filled with carnage and chaos throughout the football pyramid, but three Premier League games provided 21 goals between them. Just the average of seven goals per match, then! Leicester find themselves in big trouble down at the bottom after their 5-3 defeat at Fulham, while Everton boosted their hopes of survival by winning 5-1 at Brighton. Nottingham Forest then won a seven-goal thriller with Southampton, all but relegating Southampton who are now eight points off Sean Dyche's Toffees with three Game s to go. Here's how sides up and down the Premier League table have fared form-wise over their last six games. Read player ratings from Monday's Premier League action manual Premier League form table (last six games) Position Team Won Drawn Lost Goal difference Points 1. Manchester City 6 0 0 13 18 2. Liverpool 6 0 0 10 18 3. Newcastle 4 0 2 6 12 4. Bournemouth 4 0 2 0 12 5. Wolves 4 0 2 -1 12 6. Crystal Palace 3 1 2 4 10 7. Aston Villa 3 1 2 4 10 8. Manchester Unit