Portsmouth have a W3-D5-L11 record in January, by far and away the worst in the division. Their away record in the first month is W1-D1-L8. Typically Pompey’s December win percentage of 31% falls to 16% in January, but this season they are yet to win in December. Their opponents in January include Manchester City and Aston Villa at home and Tottenham and Fulham away.

Portsmouth add an average of 21 points to their total from the start of January till the end of the season. Yet from February to May they add an average of 18 points.

Liverpool are another team that begin the year with a hangover. Their January record is similar to the majority of teams in the top flight (W8-D6-L6) but inferior to their Big Four rivals: Arsenal W11-D4-L2, Chelsea W13-D3-L2 and Manchester United W12-D4-L3. Liverpool’s win percentage falls from 60% in December to 40% in January while the other Big Four sides remain consistent.

Promoted teams generally do well in the New Year, possibly off the back of transfer window signings. Their win percentage increases from 19% (W17-D22-L50) to 26% (W16-D16-L29) in the first month of the year, with the improvement coming from their home form. Splitting this into position, we see that new clubs in the top ten sway the figures as they produce a win ratio of 55% (W6-D2-L3), compared to those in the bottom half who have a W10-D14-L26 record in January. However, this 20% win record is still stronger than the 15% one of December.

The teams who enjoy the best start to the year are Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and the promoted teams. Other than that there will be very little substantial change in the league and even a poor New Year team like Portsmouth will only move a few places down the league, maybe more this year with the league being so tight.