Premier League announced nominees for November/December Player of the Month
By Tom Gott
The Premier League have confirmed the eight players nominated for the Player of the Month award for November and December.
There were two rounds of fixtures in November before the Premier League was put on hold for the World Cup break, with a further two taking place upon the league's return last month, and so the monthly prize has been combined for this period.
Manchester United duo Casemiro and Marcus Rashford have both made the shortlist for their impressive showings across the Red Devils' four games. After starting the period off with a defeat against Aston Villa, Erik ten Hag's side won three straight against Fulham, Nottingham Forest and Wolves.
Casemiro chimed in with the assist for the third goal of the 3-0 win over Forest, while Rashford both scored and assisted in that game and popped up with the winner against Wolves on the final day of the calendar year.
League leaders Arsenal also have two nominees in the form of midfielder Martin Odegaard and forward Bukayo Saka.
The Gunners won all four of their games, with Odegaard scoring three and assisting three across that period, with Saka not far behind with two goals and one assist.
The four-goal haul of Erling Haaland is enough to earn the Manchester City striker another nomination. No player scored more across the two months that Haaland, who netted against Fulham, Leeds and Everton.
Kieran Trippier of Newcastle United also makes the cut after popping up with two assists and inspiring three clean sheets in four games as the Magpies continue to make noise at the top of the table.
The dominant Joao Palhinha of Fulham and Brentford centre-back Ben Mee are both up for the award as well, with the two players helping their respective sides climb up towards the European spots as well.
Fans can vote for their winner on the EA Sports website, and those votes will be combined with the opinion of a panel to decide the eventual winner.