Premier League: 10 things to look out for this Boxing Day - two

6) Can Ayew inspire Villa again?

There was widespread agreement that Aston Villa signed the lesser talented Ayew brother in the summer and that felt justified when André Ayew excelled for Swansea at the start of the season. However Jordan Ayew has been a rare bright spot for Aston Villa in recent weeks and his stunning strike against Newcastle United, his fourth goal of the season, earned Rémi Garde’s side a point at St James’ Park last weekend. If Villa are going to get their first win since their opening match, then their Ghanaian forward will need to be on form against West Ham United, who have drawn 0-0 in their past three matches.

7) Can Murray make Palace pay?

When Connor Wickham found the net with his penalty against Stoke City last Saturday, he became the first Crystal Palace striker to score in the league this season. It was becoming a concern, even though Wickham’s performances have largely been good, and there must have been a few times when Alan Pardew has wondered if he made a mistake by selling Glenn Murray to Bournemouth. Pardew needed to trim his squad and bringing in £4m for a 32-year-old striker who suffered a bad knee injury two years ago was hardly a bad deal for Palace, whose victory over Stoke kept them in the hunt for European football. However Murray is a supreme poacher, a forward whose love of a scruffy goal was demonstrated in Bournemouth’s win over Chelsea. Palace will be wary of him.

8) Everton in danger of slipping away

Everton are a team with outstanding potential and they should be strong enough to challenge for the top four this season. Few combinations are as deadly as Gerard Deulofeu’s with Romelu Lukaku, while Ross Barkley is looking more mature. However Roberto Martínez’s side are 10th, six points off fourth place, and they have not won since thumping Aston Villa on 21 November. They threw away the points at Bournemouth and Norwich, were frustrated by Palace andLeicester at Goodison Park, and travel to Newcastle in search of greater consistency. There is an opportunity for them to progress this season, if only they could be more ruthless, and it would be careless of them to let it slip away. 

9) Eriksen to be back on song against the Canaries?

Alex Neil said that last weekend’s victory at Old Trafford ranks as the finest of his reign as Norwich City manager, but the Scot must expect that his team will have to perform even better to win at White Hart Lane. Spurs are unlikely to defend as badly as United did last weekend, nor, indeed, as badly as they themselves did in their last home game, which they surprisingly lost to Newcastle. Spurs were unusually sloppy and lethargic at times in that match but they shook themselves back to life to triumph at Southampton last weekend – everyone, that is, except Christian Eriksen, who has fallen below his high standards in recent weeks. A return to form for the Dane would certainly help Spurs to prise Norwich apart but Mauricio Pochettino must be tempted to start with Son Heung-min instead.

10) A chance for Berahino to serve a reminder of his quality

Striker

Saido Berahino

Appearances

12

Goals

3

Shots

10

Shots on target

50%

Offsides

4

What a rum thing that another striker’s attitude problems have presented Saido Berahino with a shot at redemption. Salomón Rondón’s red card for wanton rutting last weekend means Berahino could be given his first start for West Bromwich Albion since Halloween. What is more, Berahino may actually be deployed in his best position rather than assigned to a janitorial role wide on the right. Berahino has at times looked sulky when he has played this season but the bad news for Swansea City is that the 22-year-old is likely to be particularly highly motivated at the Liberty Stadium, possibly to remind other clubs, such as Tottenham Hotspur, that he is still a talented striker.