When the 2021/22 Premier League fixture list was released, Leeds United supporters were quick to point out that December presented a challenging run of fixtures.
There are no games in the division deemed easy but the December schedule looks difficult enough to cause a few festive celebrations to be dialled down.
Even though clashes with Chelsea and Manchester City fall outside of what will be defined in the rankings as the Christmas period, Leeds will have to be on form to collect a respectable amount of points in what is still a challenging run.
Fortunately for the Whites, they are not alone in preparing for a gruelling run of fixtures over the festive period.
LeedsLive have ranked the difficulty of each club's festive schedule, tallying together the place in the table of each opponent between 18 December and 3 January to assess who will be facing the toughest Christmas.
According to our calculations, it is Watford who have been handed the most challenging run of festive fixtures.
The lowest-placed team they will face is 11th-placed Crystal Palace and they will also take on Wolves, West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Leeds will take on Arsenal on 18 December before travelling to Liverpool on Boxing Day, although will be slightly more fancied when they host Aston Villa on 28 December and Burnley on 2 January.
The rankings suggest high-flying West Ham United will have the easiest ride, as they will not take on a single side that sit in the top half of the table.
Rankings in full:
1. Watford | 29
2. Norwich City | 30, Wolverhampton Wanderers | 30
4. Liverpool | 32
5. Chelsea | 33
6. Brighton & Hove Albion | 34
7. Tottenham Hotspur | 36
8. Leicester City | 38
9. Leeds United | 39, Newcastle United | 39
11. Brentford | 40
12. Southampton | 42
13. Arsenal | 44
14. Aston Villa | 46, Crystal Palace | 46
16. Manchester City | 47
17. Burnley | 49
18. Manchester United | 55
19. Everton | 57
20. West Ham United | 63
