The festive football feast continues this weekend with another full compliment of mouth-watering fixtures lined-up to wet fans’ appetites.
Premier League weekend fixtures:
Saturday, December 16th
Leicester vs Crystal Palace
Arsenal vs Newcastle
Watford vs Huddersfield
Brighton vs Burnley
Stoke vs West Ham
Chelsea vs Southampton
Man City vs Tottenham
Sunday, December 17th
West Brom vs Man United
Bournemouth vs Liverpool
Everton vs Swansea
Arsenal vs Newcastle United
Jonjo Shelvey will miss Newcastle’s visit to the Emirates to face Arsenal on Saturday after the midfielder was sent off in the 1-0 midweek defeat to Everton which now leaves the Toon Army without a win in their last eight attempts in the league and leaves them languishing just one point and two places above the dreaded relegation zone. Arsenal are now winless in three following their goalless stalemate against West Ham which has seen Arsense Wenger’s side slip down to seventh on the table. The Gunners have won their last nine consecutive league meetings with Newcastle and will be looking to make it a perfect ten on Saturday.
Chelsea vs Southampton
The Blues bounced back to winning ways with a 3-1 win against Huddersfield on Tuesday after they stumbled to a shock 1-0 defeat to West Ham at the London Stadium the previous weekend. Saturday’s opponents Southampton were outclassed by former manager Claude Puel and his Leicester City side which leaves them winless in their last four ahead of their trip to Stamford Bridge. Diego Costa scored twice in a 4-2 win in the corresponding fixture last season, but Saints fans will fondly remember the 3-1 win in October 2015 when they marched out of the capital with all three points.
Manchester City vs Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester City extended the new English top-flight record of 15 consecutive wins in the Premier League with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Swansea City, a result which keeps Pep Guardiola’s side unbeaten and 11 points clear at the summit of the table. Tottenham made it two wins in a row when they comfortably beat Brighton at Wembley on Wednesday evening as they prepare to take on the unstoppable leaders. Spurs will be confident of causing a major upset at the Etihad on Saturday. Mauricio Pochettino’s men have won three of their last four meetings against City including a 2-2 draw in the corresponding fixture last season as well as a 2-1 win away from home in February 2016.
West Bromwich Albion vs Manchester United
Romelu Lukaku ended a four-game scoring drought in the league when he netted the winner and only goal of the game in the midweek win over Bournemouth for his ninth of the Premier League campaign so far. He returns to one of his former clubs, West Brom, where he spent the 2012-13 season on loan, scoring 17 times for them in 35 appearances in the league including a memorable hat-trick against the Red Devils in the thrilling 5-5 draw at The Hawthorns in Sir Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge of the club. The Baggies are now without a win in their last 15 league matches after their 0-0 draw with Liverpool on Wednesday and have won just one of their previous 13 home matches against Manchester United, losing on ten occasions.