The Christmas fixtures begin today with several games coming in short succession between now and the turn of the year. Needless to say, it’s a big day in the Premier League today. At St. James’s Park, Newcastle United will give a special tribute to former United footballer Gary Speed. The pre-match tribute will include Gary Speed’s wife as well as a Welsh tenor. Then, of course, there is the match itself featuring the battle of the two Dutch keepers (and the best two in the league, right now) between Tim Krul (Newcastle) and Michel Vorm (Swansea).

In the other matches, there are plenty of high-pressure games featuring must-win games. Fulham plays at home against Bolton. Whoever loses this one will find a whole lot of pressure on their football manager. Then there’s Blackburn Rovers against West Bromwich Albion. It’s a must-win game for Steve Kean, while Roy Hodgson will want to win it after the embarrassment of losing against Wigan Athletic last week.

In the other two 10am ET/3pm GMT kick-offs, Everton is at home against Norwich City, while Wolves battle Stoke City at Molineux. Last, but not least, the late kick-off today is Wigan Athletic versus Chelsea.

Before, during or after any of the games today, post your comments, observations, questions, rants and raves in the comments section below.