Premier League festive form table 2024: Newcastle shine, Man Utd & Chelsea awful | OneFootball

"December in English football is the toughest month ever," former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said on more than once occasion.

"Get through it and get results," was the Premier League winner's sage advice for the festive period, "then put your head up and go from there."

The burst of fixtures on either side of Christmas Day has claimed countless early pace-setters over the years, points are dropped and players lost to injury. This year's leading pack has been impacted once again, with all three of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea failing to record perfect records in this period.

As ever, some got through the festive fixture list more smoothly than others.

Nottingham Forest boast a perfect record / David Rogers/GettyImages

Only two clubs won all four of their Premier League games between mid-December and the first week of January; Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.

Forest not only boast a faultless record, but they haven't conceded a goal since 14 December. Nuno Espirito Santo's imperious outfit concluded a perfect Christmas spell with a thumping 3-0 win over his former employers Wolves on Monday night. That sweet triumph was also the 50th anniversary of Brian Clough's appointment at the City Ground - yet Forest's current run of six consecutive top-flight wins in a single season was a feat even Nuno's legendary predecessor never achieved.

Newcastle have only shipped one goal, romping past Ipswich Town, Aston Villa and Manchester United before coming from behind against Tottenham Hotspur over the weekend.

Liverpool's lead at the Premier League summit remains as healthy as before the wintry spell despite drawing 2-2 with United on Sunday. Arsenal couldn't take advantage of a rare slip from Arne Slot's side as the injury-hit Gunners were held to a stalemate with Brighton.

Tottenham and Manchester United find themselves at the opposite end of the form table. Two members of the traditional elite managed to collect as many points as rock-bottom Southampton - one. Chelsea didn't fare much better, mustering a pair of draws and defeats during a theoretically straightforward schedule against Everton (16th in the table), Fulham (ninth), Ipswich (18th), Crystal Palace (15th).

The only club that failed to collect a single point during this period was Leicester City. With Ruud van Nistelrooy's new manager bounce a distant memory, the Foxes shipped ten goals and 54 shots in four games. The Dutch manager's mid-run decision to change goalkeeper, dropping veteran Danny Ward for debutant Jakub Stolarczyk, did not pay off.

Leicester's results may have been as bleak as the weather, but they did test Liverpool and gave Manchester City an almighty scare. Pep Guardiola's side have belatedly slowed their perilous slide, collecting consecutive victories against the Foxes and West Ham which were cathartic but not entirely convincing.

Yet, as Klopp was all too keen to point out, festive football in England is about points rather than performances.