Football in December: Who are the Santas and the Scrooges of the Premier League?

As the Christmas month rolls around, gifts are purchased and carols fill the air; but who in the Premier League is singing, and who’s sulking in the corner?

Bookmaker bwin has the answers. The betting company has looked at which teams, coaches and players thrive and fail in the 12th month, and after thorough analysis of December’s football history, they’ve worked out who you don’t want to meet when the jingle bells start ringing.

Perhaps most intriguingly, it’s great news for Manchester United – not only do they have the best win percentage in December of any club (63.4%), but Jose Mourinho has the greatest managerial win percentage of the current crop of PL bosses.

Furthermore, it’s an 81.8% winning record for the Old Trafford club on Boxing Day, and Mourinho has four out of five Boxing Day wins to his name. Is there a Christmas title top-four charge on the horizon for United?

Meanwhile football’s most generous giver in December is Tony Pulis, with a dreadful record of 10 wins in 37 December games. Furthermore, West Brom are the second worst club in December, with a 20.8% win percentage – ouch.

It’s not great news for Crystal Palace or Stoke either, with Alan Pardew and Mark Hughes coming second and third in that particular category.

And if it’s fantasy football tips you’re after, look no further. Riyad Mahrez might be a man for you to consider, with seven goals, 11 assists and a 0.64 goals per game average.

Meanwhile, December clearly puts a spring in the step of Jay Rodriguez, who surprisingly outdoes Sergio Aguero in the 12th month of the year, scoring at 0.55 goals per game. He’s a bit cheaper, too.

Jamie Vardy might be worth a miss, however. He’s only managed one December goal in 10 games.