Pep Guardiola says festive schedule will 'kill' players
Man City, Tottenham, West Ham and Crystal Palace win
West Ham to investigate fan confrontation with Jake Livermore
Arsene Wenger continues referee complaints
Arsenal v Chelsea (19:45 GMT)
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Tim Smith: Pep's entitled to point out how tough the fixture list is, but I reckon it sets the Prem apart. It adds unpredictability and makes the league much tougher than others. I don't think that's a bad thing.
Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace
Spare a thought for Shane Long this morning. He scores his first Southampton goal in 11 months and they still get beat.
Saints are hovering precariously above the relegation zone after Crystal Palace extended their run without a win to nine games.
Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace: Pellegrino says Saints didn't read game well enough
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Liverpool should add £30 million to the Coutinho price purely because of the Nike announcement. Announcing you signed a player before even making a bid? And Barca had the cheek to moan about the Neymar transfer. Hypocrites.
Gary, Bristol
Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace
What a job Roy Hodgson is doing at Crystal Palace.
It's now one defeat in eleven games and they're up to 14th in the table.
It's fair to say they've had a decent Christmas - they even nearly became the first team to beat Man City in the Premier League this season.
Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace: Hodgson impressed by 'phenomenal' work rate from Eagles
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A couple of contrasting views on Pep's comments here.....
I think Pep needs to sit down and do a bit of research into the history of Xmas fixtures in our top flight; it has always been this way! Yet again another example of managers protecting (large) squads of over-paid prima-donnas!
Dave G, Manchester
People telling Pep to stop moaning are missing the point. Eventually the very best players in the world who crave World Cup and international success will stop coming to the premier league in order to stay a bit fresher for the summer tournaments. As an England fan as well as a City fan, the fact that our starting 11 all play in the premier league means it’s not a surprise that our players look off the pace every tournament. It’s the most competitive league in the world so plan our fixture list to take this into account.
Dan
West Ham 2-1 West Brom
Andy Carroll scored deep into injury time to give West Ham all three points. You can read the match report here.
West Brom were playing their second game in three days, while West Ham had not played since Boxing Day.
David Moyes was delighted with the points but could understand why West Brom may feel aggrieved.
West Ham 2-1 West Brom: 'Persistence rewarded through late Carroll winner' insists Moyes
Is it fair that one club can play twice in three days while their opponent has a longer rest? Let us know via #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only)
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If Coutinho says he is not not prepared to play for Liverpool again then he will be giving up going to the World Cup because Liverpool are going to stand firm we have contacts just like the Spanish press
Ste in Bootle
West Ham 2-1 West Brom
It's not just Pep Guardiola who feels the festive fixtures are a problem.
Alan Pardew believes they played a part in his sides defeat at West Ham. The Baggies even tried to get the match postponed.
West Ham 2-1 West Brom: 'Tired legs cost us a point' admits Pardew
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Andrew Webb: Pep can't moan about the fixtures - same for everyone nearly plus where does he expect another round of PL fixtures to go with CL, EL and FA Cup games spread all over Feb onwards - play them now and out of the way
You'll see on the right hand side of the page that we are having a vote on the festive fixture list.
It comes off the back of Pep Guardiola claiming the pile up could "kill" players.
Do you agree with Pep or do you love the amount of games at this time of year?
Have your say by voting.
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I don’t know what Pep is complaining about. These hugely highly paid players are there to deliver a service to their paying public. That is the industry that they are in and if they are not happy about it then get out. I am damn sure that millions of people would love to be in their football boots. Get on with it Pep and stop whingeing.
Pete
rest some players Pep and give the other teams a chance.. oh, and stop moaning, we pay you all a fortune so we can watch football over Christmas
Andy B
Man City 3-1 Watford
The festive fixture list was a talking point on Match of the Day - Martin Keown and Matthew Upson both feel it's a tough time of year for players and managers.
MotD: The fixtures are relentless - Matthew Upson
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If Coutinho wants to go let him, someone who doesn’t want to play for Liverpool doesn’t deserve the red shirt. BUT only if the money is right, in this market £140m minimum with at least the van dijk money (£75m) upfront. Not being messed around by Barca and a dozen instalments. They announced on social media they had coutinho without making a bid. If that’s not tapping up then what is?
Ryan, St. Helens
Man City 3-1 Watford
Man City beat Watford to make it ten points from twelve over the Christmas period.
Is Pep Guardiola happy then? Well not entirely. He's had some pretty strong things to say about the fixture list.
"I know here in England the show must go on, but that's not normal guys," Guardiola told BBC Sport.
"We're going to kill the players.
"They play 11 months in a row. They have to protect them and play with quality and not quality. We have to think about the artists," he said after the Watford game.
"I know it is not going to change but for what? Life would survive without playing every two days. Nothing would happen."
To be fair to Guardiola, Kyle Walker was holding his groin at the end of the Watford game and he's already lost Gabriel Jesus to injury.
Image source, Getty ImagesDoes Pep have a point? Should there be fewer games over Christmas? Maybe even a winter break? Let us know on #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only)
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail go with transfer news, but their story is about Manchester United.
Apparently the club aren't happy with Jose Mourinho's complaints over spending....
Image source, Daily MailDaily Express
The Daily Express
The Express also claim Coutinho's days at Anfield are numbered......
The Times
The Times
Phillippe Coutinho believes he's played his last game for Liverpool according to The Times.....
Image source, The TimesWhat do you think Liverpool fans - will you see Coutinho in a red shirt again?
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
The Mirror go big on Phillippe Coutinho's future and claim Barcelona are confident they'll sign the Liverpool playmaker this month....
Image source, Daily MirrorGood morning - we'll be reacting to wins for Man City, Tottenham, Crystal Palace and West Ham.
We want your thoughts on the possibility of a winter break following Pep Guardiola's claim the current fixture schedule will "kill" players and we'll take a look at the latest transfer gossip.
As always you can get involved via #bbcfootball or text 81111 (UK only).
So let's start with today's back pages, where one man and his future dominates.....
