Nigerians To Watch As Premier League Returns Today

As Premier League returns, THEEAGLE profile the nation’s stars expected to feature for their respective clubs on Boxing Day and December 27.

When Bournemouth travel to an ineffective Chelsea hoping to shock Graham Potter’s team at Stamford Bridge, Dominic Solanke returns to his old haunts.

Taiwo Awoniyi and his Nottingham Forest teammates are in Manchester at Manchester United, where they are underdogs over Erik ten Hag’s club.

Alex Iwobi’s last taste of Premier League action occurred at Bournemouth, where he had his shirt thrown back at him by the visiting crowd. The Everton player hopes to put that incident behind him when the Toffees host Wolverhampton Wanderers under Julen Lopetegui.

Iheanacho And Ndidi

Before the World Cup break, the Nigerians played in a relatively small number of games.

In Leicester City’s matches against Wolves, Manchester City, Everton, and West Ham United, Wilfred Ndidi was given 55 minutes out of a potential 270 minutes, and Kelechi Iheanacho was on the field for a total of 19 minutes.

The club led by Brandan Rodgers will host Newcastle United, who are in excellent form and hoping to keep it up after winning four of their previous five games.

Although the Magpies have won five straight league games and are unbeaten in all competitions since August, the Boxing Day matchup with the Foxes may turn out to be a classic on December 26.

Frank Onyeka

Brentford’s break from the Premier League came to a successful conclusion when they defeated Manchester City 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium.

Prior to his 87th-minute retirement, Onyeka played a crucial role in that victory and was unfortunate not to score at the home of the league’s reigning winners.

When Tottenham Hotspur pays a visit to the Bees, Antonio Conte’s team will be looking for another victory. Thomas Frank’s guys must be fully focused the entire game because the Lilywhites have a history of flipping games before the interval.

Joe Aribo

The Southampton player hasn’t played much since Nathan Jones took over for Ralph Hasenhuttl; he played for eight minutes in the Saints’ 3-1 loss at Liverpool and didn’t come on as a substitute in Tuesday’s 2-1 League Cup victory over Lincoln City.

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When Jones attempts to earn his first Premier League victory against Brighton & Hove Albion, the offensive midfielder will aim to participate in some capacity.

Despite having the poorest home record in the league, Southampton can find solace in their most recent performance at St. Mary’s Stadium, even if they lost 4-1 to Newcastle.

Will Aribo provide the struggling South Coast team the boost they need to beat the Seagulls?

Taiwo Awoniyi

The striker scored in the 4-1 EFL Cup victory for Nottingham Forest over Blackburn Rovers, capping off what was turning into a miserable night in front of goal.

In the round’s second-to-last game, Awoniyi and his colleagues travel to Old Trafford in an effort to surprise Manchester United at the Theatre of Dreams.

Steve Cooper’s team has struggled on the road this season, earning just two of the 21 possible points. They will have a difficult time overcoming a team that earned 13 points out of 15 games prior to the league’s break.

Crystal Palace vs Fulham

The performances of Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise weren’t the finest in Palace’s 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, which halted the Eagles’ string of two victories in a row.

The team led by Patrick Vieira has had more than a month to refocus, and they are looking forward to a London derby against Fulham to get things going.

It is unknown if Tosin Adarabioyo will be included in Marco Silva’s starting lineup at Selhurst Park after spending the Cottagers’ final three matches before Qatar 2022 confined to the bench.

Dominic Solanke

Bournemouth must think positively about their chances at Stamford Bridge on December 27 given Chelsea’s poor performance prior to the World Cup break.

With his return to the club where he first played, Solanke hopes to ruin the Blues’ chances of turning things around after a run of three straight losses prior to the break in November.

No player has more goals or assists than the attacker, so the Blues must be cautious when the Cherries come to town.