Kevin Phillips: Christmas crunch can dictate whole season

Rarely, though, does it get quite as hectic as this, writes Kevin Phillips.

Next Saturday will see most clubs in the top four divisions play the first of four games in a ten or 11-day period, the repercussions of which could well reverberate for the rest of the campaign.

Albion, Wolves and Villa are no different in that respect.

For the Baggies, this is the time when their season has to turn. Now 16 Premier League games without a win after yesterday’s 2-1 defeat to Manchester United, they simply have to start putting some wins on the board.

In less than three weeks from now, they could be sitting in the relative comfort of mid-table. Alternatively, they could find themselves cut adrift at the bottom.

Saturday’s trip to Stoke, another team in horrible form, looms large in that respect.

Albion should at least take some encouragement from the way they finished yesterday’s game against United.

Their approach in the opening hour of the game was, for me, far too passive. They allowed United to dictate the tempo and didn’t get close enough to them.

In the final half-an-hour, Albion upped their game and on another day might well have snatched a point.

At least Alan Pardew was able to celebrate the first goal of his reign. Ultimately, though, the boss was left to reflect on another defeat.

When assessing Albion’s festive fixtures, the eye is instantly drawn to the away games at Stoke and West Ham, particularly the former.

Potters boss Mark Hughes is himself under huge pressure and you sense the Baggies really do need to grasp their chance to get back on track – and pile on the misery for a rival – this coming weekend.

You can be sure the improved form of Crystal Palace and West Ham, who have both climbed out of the bottom three at Albion’s expense, will have been noted at The Hawthorns.

It makes players nervous and it is a while since Albion’s have found themselves in this position heading toward Christmas.

Having so many games, so close together, is a far from ideal scenario when you are on such a rotten run. On normal weeks, at least in the Premier League, you get a week to forget the previous game and start concentrating on the next.

Over Christmas, however, one bad performance can easily lead to another.

The flip side, of course, is that the schedule offers an opportunity to turn around your season quickly.

Win at Stoke on Saturday and you can guarantee Albion will host Everton on Boxing Day brimming with confidence.

Though their form is nowhere near as concerning as the Baggies, I expect Villa will also be targeting the festive period as an opportunity to get their season firmly back on track.

In reality, the mini-blip for Steve Bruce’s team has only included a 0-0 draw with Millwall and Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Derby.

That is all it takes, however, to see the pressure ramp up at a club like Villa, particularly when the gap to second-placed Cardiff now stands at ten points.

Just a few weeks ago, Villa were looking in great shape but in the Championship your fortunes can quickly change.

I’m sure Steve will take plenty of comfort in the knowledge things can easily turn round again in the blink of an eye.

Neither will he have lost sight of the fact their opponents next weekend, Sheffield United, are in much poorer form having lost four of their last five. Without doubt the game represents for Villa a chance to get back to winning ways but, much like Albion, it is one they need to take.

At Wolves, the festive period would at first glance appear rather less pivotal. To put it bluntly, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are in a position where they can probably afford the odd slip-up.

Yet nothing about the way the Portuguese coach or his team have conducted themselves this season suggests they are about to take their eye off the ball any time soon.

It is not too much of a stretch to claim that, should Wolves continue their current form through the next fortnight they would enter 2018 with one foot already planted in the Premier League, such is their points total.

This could still, however, be a tricky period for Wolves. Strong as their form has remained, their performances in December to date have perhaps not quite hit the heights they managed earlier in the campaign, particularly during October and November when at times they were imperious.

On the one hand, there are undoubted positives to be found in a team which grinds out results when not at their best.

Yet it is difficult to keep winning for sustained periods if your performances slip. You can bet Nuno will be eager for an emphatic performance against Ipswich this Saturday, to further demoralise those teams trying to catch his men.