Gameweek 18 sees 10 Premier League games spread across three days as the footballing festivities continue.
Newcastle’s Boxing Day trip to Manchester United is the pick of the bunch, but there are also intriguing clashes between Chelsea and Aston Villa, and Sunderland and Leeds to look forward to. And that’s not to mention Manchester City travelling to Nottingham Forest and Arsenal hosting Brighton as the title race continues.
With that in mind, let’s dig into some of the stats and records we might see in Gameweek 18.
Two for Toon
- Newcastle are looking to win consecutive league matches at Old Trafford for the first time since 1935.
Newcastle will be gutted to have surrendered a 2-0 half-time lead against Chelsea last week, ending up with just a point when a win seemed certain. However, it was a much-improved performance from their Wear-Tyne derby defeat.
Next up is an away clash against a Manchester United side who lost at Aston Villa last week, and have just two wins in their last eight matches.
Old Trafford has been an unhappy hunting ground for the Toon Army over the years, but Newcastle may feel more confident this time, considering they won 2-0 at the Theatre of Dreams last season, thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton.
That helped Newcastle do the double over the Red Devils last season, and if they can perform similar heroics on Friday, it’ll be the first time they’ve won consecutive top-flight away games at Old Trafford since March 1935.
Foden bidding to join 100 club
- Phil Foden needs two more direct goal involvements to become the fifth player to join the 100 club in the Premier League under Pep Guardiola.
Phil Foden is enjoying a resurgent 2025/26 campaign, registering seven goals and two assists in 15 Premier League appearances alone — not to mention another three goals and two assists in EFL Cup and Champions League play.
That’s taken Foden to 98 direct goal involvements for Man City in the Premier League, with 68 goals and 30 assists.
Should Foden come up with another two direct goal involvements in Saturday’s early kick-off against Nottingham Forest, he’ll join Kevin De Bruyne (174), Raheem Sterling (125), Erling Haaland (123) and Sergio Aguero (103) as one of just five Man City players to hit 100+ direct goal involvements under Pep Guardiola.
Bowen closes in on West Ham record
- Jarrod Bowen needs just two more direct goal involvements to tie Michail Antonio’s club record in the Premier League.
Foden’s England teammate, Jarrod Bowen, is also looking to join the 100 club for West Ham United. He’s certainly in the form to do so, having scored two goals in his last three and five overall in the Premier League this season, despite the Hammers’ struggles.
And if Bowen can notch another two involvements at home to Fulham on Saturday, he’ll go level with Michail Antonio on a club record 101 direct goal involvements in the Premier League.
Bournemouth slide to continue?
- Bournemouth could go nine without a win in the Premier League if they fail to beat Brentford — their longest such run in the competition since September 2023.
After such a strong start, Bournemouth are falling away, and fast.
The Cherries surrendered the lead late on to draw against struggling Burnley last weekend, extending their winless streak in the Premier League to eight games.
That could become nine this weekend if they fail to win at Brentford, and the last time they endured a worse run in the Premier League was back in September 2023, when they went 10 without a win in a sequence that ran across two seasons.
Chelsea’s star in the making
- Estevao has six direct goal involvements for Chelsea this season and is looking to extend his lead as the most productive teenager at a Premier League club.
While his best form has come in the Champions League, there’s no doubting that Estevao has looked every inch a Premier League star in the making since joining Chelsea in the summer.
The Brazilian talent already has six direct goal involvements for the Blues, scoring five goals and assisting another.
Should Estevao grab another goal or assist this weekend against Aston Villa, he’ll move to seven direct goal involvements — which is the most among any teenager currently playing for a Premier League club this season.
A real star in the making.
David Moyes looking to pile more misery on Burnley
- David Moyes is looking to go unbeaten in seven against Burnley for the first time in his managerial career.
Everton are looking to bounce back after consecutive Premier League defeats to Chelsea and Arsenal without scoring a goal.
A trip to Burnley might just be the antidote the Toffees need, given the Clarets’ draw against Bournemouth last week only served to stop a seven-game losing streak, and still leaves them with just one point from their last eight games.
What’s more, David Moyes is unbeaten in his last six meetings with Burnley. Should he extend that run, it’ll be the first time the Scotsman has ever gone seven without defeat against the Clarets, despite this being the 24th time he’s faced them as a manager.
Arsenal’s hunt for double figures goes on
- No Arsenal player has hit double-figure goals in the Premier League in 2025, with Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard closest on nine.
Arsenal should have won at least one league title in the last few years, but this season, they seem hellbent on finally making that happen.
The Gunners have been excellent this season so far, and in 2025 as a whole. And yet, this calendar year, they still don’t have a single player in double figures for Premier League goals.
Mikel Merino and Leandro Trossard are closest on nine each, and they only have this weekend’s clash with Brighton and Tuesday’s fixture against Aston Villa — both at home — for one of the duo to hit the net and reach 10 before the year is out.
Viktor Gyokeres, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Declan Rice are the next-closest on five, so maybe one of them can go on a tear and hit five goals in the last two games of the year.
Calvert-Lewin to make Leeds history
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin is looking to become the first Leeds United player to score in six straight Premier League matches.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is absolutely on fire right now, and he’s almost singlehandedly dragging Leeds United away from the relegation zone.
DCL bagged a brace to help the Whites to a 4-1 thrashing of Crystal Palace last week, and in doing so, became the first Leeds player to score in five straight Premier League games since Mark Viduka in 2003.
So, it’ll go without saying that should he find the net again this week away at Sunderland, he’ll become the first-ever Leeds player to score in six straight Premier League matches.
Could he unexpectedly gate-crash next summer’s England World Cup squad?
Read more: Leeds United analysis: How Dominic Calvert-Lewin is firing himself into World Cup contention
Wolves’ second-half misery
- Wolves have been drawing at half-time and losing at full-time in their last seven Premier League matches.
Any notion of Wolves surviving in the Premier League this season is long gone. However, they’re at least likely to go down knowing what the source of their problems is: the second half.
It’s crazy to consider that Wolves have actually been level at half-time in each of their last seven matches, which is incredible to think considering they’ve faced the likes of Arsenal, Man Utd, Aston Villa and Chelsea during that time. Sure, they’ve only scored one first-half goal during that time, but they’ve still shown the sort of defensive solidity that would have seen them safe if replicated over 90 minutes.
But that’s the problem. In all seven of those matches, Wolves have fallen foul of errors and lapses in concentration in the second half to take a grand total of zero points. That’s zero half-time deficits, yet seven defeats.
Wolves travel to Liverpool next, and it’s worth noting that four of the five goals Hugo Ekitike has scored in his last three matches have come in the second half.
No festive cheer for Thomas Frank
- Thomas Frank has never won the first post-Christmas match as a Premier League manager.
Thomas Frank needs a break right now, but unfortunately, Christmas hasn’t really been his favourite time of year as a top-flight manager.
In the four previous games immediately after Christmas since he got Brentford promoted, the Dane has never won, and taken just two points — one of which, ironically, came in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham in 2022.
A 2-0 defeat and 0-0 draw against Brighton, and a 4-1 thrashing at home against Wolves make up the rest of Frank’s festive fare in the Premier League. If he repeats that sort of form when Tottenham travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday, the heat could make him feel like the proverbial Christmas turkey in the oven.