Premier League: Does the top team at Christmas usually win the title?

Ipswich, Wolves and Southampton occupy the relegation places, with the latter two having recently changed managers.

It is quite rare that the relegation zone contains the same three teams at Christmas and on the day of the final – but it happened last season.

Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United were 18th, 19th and 20th respectively on 25 December and 19 May.

The other seasons the bottom three remained the same (although not necessarily in the same order) were 2001-02 (Derby, Leicester, Ipswich), 2012-13 (Wigan, QPR, Reading) and 2020-21 (Fulham, West Brom, Sheffield United).

The odds are the same for the bottom team to be up on Christmas Day – four out of 32.

West Bromwich Albion (2004-05), Sunderland (2013-14), Leicester (2014-15) and Wolves (2022-23) were the four teams to manage it.

Southampton are currently in a bad situation, eight points adrift, but who else could be in danger?

Well, two teams have been in the top 10 at Christmas and gone down – Norwich, who finished seventh in 1994-95, and Blackpool, who were 10th in 2010-11.

Which team occupies seventh place now? Manchester City.