Arsenal players celebrate scoring at Wolves
Arsenal are top of the Premier League, winning their last game before the World Cup break, 2-0 at Wolves

The last time we watched the league was on November 13th, when Manchester United snatched an injury-time winner at Cottagers.

During the past six weeks, we've watched Wales fall in the group stage of the World Cup and England fail to win a game in the World Cup.

If you forgot how we left it, you will be brought up to speed on the return of the English top flight.

The view from the top

Premier League's top 10

The first 14 games of the season have been played and the team is in the lead.

They have 37 points and have only lost one game so far, at Manchester United.

This will be the first time in six years that they will be top at Christmas.

The teams that won 12 of their first 14 games won the title.

The team that topped the table on Christmas Day have gone on to win the title in 10 of the last 13 seasons.

They face West Ham at the stadium.

With Manchester City not playing until the end of the year, a victory would take the title away from them.

The surprise challengers at the top end of the table will be looking to pick up where they left off when they travel toLeicester on 26 December. They would move up to second place if they won a sixth consecutive game.

The World Cup gives some teams in the top half of the game a chance to take stock.

The Spurs had lost three of the previous four. We will play our first game of the season on Monday at Brentford.

In the last five games of the season, Graham Potter's team has not won.

Down at the bottom

Premier League's bottom 10

The battle for survival could be wide open on the evidence of the first few games.

The bottom 12 sides in the division are separated by just 9 points.

Only six teams have ever been bottom at Christmas and stayed up, with half of those in the first three seasons of the premier league.

Julen Lopetegui wants six new signings when the transfer window opens in January and is targeting big improvements in his squad.

Nathan Jones was appointed as the new manager at St Mary's after the break. The Saints have lost three of their last four games.

With the World Cup providing a mid-campaign mini pre-season, it's surprising to see no more clubs make changes.

Even though they have lost three on the trot and sit just a point above the bottom three, West Ham still have David Moyes as their manager.

The impact of the World Cup

Gabriel Jesus playing for Brazil
Jesus had an operation on his knee in early December

The mid-season World Cup had the risk of fatigue and injuries.

As a result of a serious knee injury picked up by Brazil's Gabriel Jesus, it's likely that the leaders of the league will be the worst affected.

It could be late February before we see him in action again after he failed to find the net in six league games before the break.

Despite having the most players at the World Cup, Manchester City have no injuries to report.

The majority of their players were knocked out of the tournament by the semi-finals.

Erling Haaland, the premier league's top scorer with 18 goals in 13 games, has been able to rest for five weeks and is ready to return to action. The Norway forward played his first match for City since November's defeat by Brentford in a 2-0 friendly win against Girona on December 17th.

The players who were injured before the World Cup will be paid attention to.

The likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Alexander Isak could all return, although Alexander Isak faces a further three months out due to a knee injury.

Fixtures come thick and fast

The World Cup will be incorporated into the domestic season so matches will be played regularly.

There are five rounds of English top-flight games between now and the end of the month. Some clubs played in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup on December 21-22.

The third round of the FA Cup will be played in January and February.

Everything you need to know about your Premier League team bannerBBC Sport banner footer