Premier League Match Week 19 Results: Arsenal Asserts Its Dominance; Chelsea Sacks Maresca; Sunderland Draws with Manchester City at Stadium of Light Fortress

Aston Villa’s 11 match winning streak hit a wall on Tuesday in the form of the Premier League leaders. Arsenal blew Aston Villa off the pitch with four second half goals in a 4-1 Gunner victory at the Emirates. The return of Arsenal center back Gabriel was punctuated when the center back headed in from a 48th minute corner to open the door to Arsenal’s rout. Gabriel had been out since mid-November. Ironically, the Gunners were able to navigate Gabriel’s absence with just one loss, that being to Aston Villa in early December. Revenge was resounding on Tuesday as the Aston Villa defense was overwhelmed in Arsenal’s second half breakout. Arsenal’s ability to overcome key player absences was again on display Tuesday as Declan Rice was an injury scratch with Jurrien Timber entering the starting lineup. Four different players scored for Arsenal, the final goal coming from substitute Gabriel Jesus who found the net for the first time since last New Year’s Day. Aston Villa fell six points behind Arsenal with the defeat.

The other major news of the week broke on Thursday when Chelsea announced it was parting ways with Manager Enzo Maresca. Despite retuning Chelsea to the Champions League and winning the Club World Cup, Maresca leaves after a year and a half in charge. The Italian Manager was named Premier League Manager of the Month for November, a month which concluded with a 10- man Chelsea side battling Arsenal to a 1-1 draw. Things turn quickly in the Premier League, however,  which saw Chelsea win only one of its next six league matches as fans became increasingly disenchanted with the manager and friction increased between Maresca and Chelsea ownership. A schism widened over transfer strategies, the use of individual players and resentment on the part of Maresca that he was not properly appreciated. That deteriorating relationship, the recent poor results and fan discontent all led to Thursday’s announcement that a new manager will be on the touchline when Chelsea visits Manchester City this weekend. Maresca’s last match in charge saw Chelsea draw 2-2 with Bournemouth at Stamford bridge on Tuesday, the sixth time in 10 Premier League matches that the Blues had failed to win on their home pitch. Chelsea relinquished another lead on Tuesday and have now dropped 15 points from a winning position, the most of any Premier League club. Jordan Kluivert’s equalizer for the Cherries in the 27th minute marked the end of the scoring in a match between two struggling clubs. The result extended Bournemouth’s winless run to 10 matches.

West Ham also dropped points from ahead as it allowed Brighton to twice come back in a 2-2 final at London Stadium. The Hammers failed to win for an eighth consecutive match as West Ham continues to languish in the relegation zone.The Hammers are four points below 17th place Nottingham Forest, 2-0 losers to Everton on Tuesday. A West Ham player did make some history as Lucas Paqueta became only the second player in Premier League history to both concede and score a penalty in the first half of a match.

Points were also shared at Old Trafford on Tuesday as Manchester United suffered a humiliating 1-1 home draw with cellar dwelling Wolverhampton. It marked the first point for Wolverhampton since October, and the first earned by Manager Rob Edwards after starting his tenure at Wolves with seven consecutive losses.

Arsenal’s lead over second place Manchester City is now four points after Manchester City was held Thursday to a goalless draw at Sunderland. The Black Cats remain undefeated at The Stadium of Light and make the turn at the midway point of this Premier League season in seventh place, a lofty perch for any newly promoted team. A more expected place of residence for a newly promoted side is that of relegation bound Burnley, 3-1 losers to Newcastle on Tuesday. The Clarets have not won since an October victory over Wolverhampton, the only club beneath Burnley in the table.

Crystal Palace, meanwhile, is 10th in the table after a 1-1 home draw  with Fulham. The sputtering Eagles’ attack should soon have reinforcement as winger Brennan Johnson has signed a transfer agreement from Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs drew 0-0 at Brentford on Thursday, one of three goalless contests which welcomed the new year on Thursday.Leeds accumulated another valuable point in its survival fight in a goalless match at Liverpool. The Whites are unbeaten in six Premier League matches, though five of those results were draws. Leeds also shared the points with Liverpool in early December at Elland Road.

All the Premier League clubs are back in action this weekend for Match week 20. Aston Villa begins the weekend with the early match on Saturday as the Villans try to start on a new winning run when they face Nottingham Forest at Villa Park. The final match of the weekend takes place on Sunday at the Etihad where Chelsea’s U-21 coach, Calum McFarlane, will lead the Blues against Manchester City.  

Premier League Match Week 18 Results: Aston Villa Tops Chelsea To Set Up Mid-week Showdown With Arsenal

Aston Villa continued its dominant form with a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Ollie Watkins had a second half brace to overcome an early Chelsea lead as Villa kept pace with Arsenal and Manchester City. Manager Unai Emery’s side has now won 11 consecutive matches in juggernaut fashion across all competitions and remains just three points off the top of the Premier League table. Aston Villa will now visit the Emirates to face Arsenal on Tuesday in perhaps the biggest match to date of this Premier League season.

Martin Odegaard scored his first goal of the season and Arsenal benefitted from an opponents’ own goal for a fourth consecutive game as the Gunners defeated Brighton 2-1 and kept their advantage at three points over Villa and two points over Manchester City.

Manchester City got an 83rd minute winner from Rayan Cherki to defeat Nottingham Forest 2-1 at the City Ground. Manchester City has now won eight consecutive matches across all competitions while Nottingham Forest lost a second consecutive match for the first time under Manager Sean Dyche.

Liverpool, meanwhile, defeated Wolverhampton 2-1 to leap over Chelsea into the Premier League top four. The third consecutive victory for the Reds was keyed by first half goals by Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz. Woeful Wolves lost for the sixteenth time this season with the club’s two-point haul from its first 18 matches representing the worst start to a season in Premier League history.

Manchester United is now level on points with fifth place Chelsea after the Red Devils downed Newcastle 1-0 at Old Trafford. Wingback Patrick Dorgu’s first ever goal for the club was the difference as Manchester United’s defense was bolstered by the return of Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez from suspension and injury, respectively. Manchester United Manager Ruben Amroim also played Manuel Ugarte alongside Casemiro to shield his back line and deliver the club’s second clean sheet of the season. Manchester United notably won its first match without the injured Bruno Fernandes since March of 2022.

Incredible feeling to score my first goal at Old Trafford. God is good. Merry Christmas ⚽️🎁 pic.twitter.com/BzN27w0iqr

— Patrick Chinaza Dorgu (@PatrickDorgu13) December 26, 2025

Like Dorgu, Tottenham Hotspur’s Archie Gray also secured victory with his first goal for his club as Spurs handed Crystal Palace a third consecutive Premier League loss by a 1-0 score at Selhurst Park.

Sunderland remains undefeated at the Stadium of Light after the Black Cats drew with fellow promoted side Leeds 1-1 on Sunday. That unbeaten run will be tested this Thursday when Manchester City visits Sunderland. All three points seemed in reach for Sunderland on Sunday before Leeds’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored for the sixth time in his last six Premier League matches to give Leeds a valuable point in their battle to return to the Premier League next season.

Leeds is seven points clear of currently relegation bound West Ham after the Hammers’ 1-0 loss to Fulham. Raul Jimenez struck the 85th minute winner as the Cottagers extended West Ham’s winless run in the league to seven matches. Angry West Ham supporters chanted “sack the board” at London Stadium as the Hammers are in serious peril of going down for the first time in 14 years. The managerial appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo has been a failure to date as only Burnley and Wolverhampton have collected fewer points in the 13 matches since Santo took charge at West Ham.

Burnley did pick up a point for a second consecutive match in a goalless draw with Everton at Turf Moor. While the point could prove useful to the relegation fight, the Clarets have still not tasted victory for nine consecutive Premier League matches.

Bournemouth is also winless in nine Premier League matches after the Cherries were thrashed 4-1 at Brentford. Kevin Schade went for a hat trick in the Bees’ victory which pushed Manager Keith Andrews’ side up to eighth in the Premier League table.

Holiday congestion is now here with a full slate of mid-week games arriving fast on the weekend results. All eyes, of course will be on Tuesday’s titanic match between Arsenal and Aston Villa. 

Premier League Match Week 18 Preview

Stamford Bridge is the site for this weekend’s feature match between Chelsea and Aston Villa. The two clubs were level on points entering December, Chelsea holding onto third in the table on tiebreakers. Things have changed. Aston Villa is the Premier League’s hottest club with seven consecutive league victories (10 across all competitions), a run which has landed Unai Emery’s squad squarely in the title chase. A win on Saturday would equal Aston Villa’s longest consecutive victory run, first set in 1897 and last reached in 1914. Fourth place Chelsea is right behind Aston Villa in the standings but the gap between third and fourth is seven points as Chelsea has hit a rough patch, winning only one of its past five Premier League matches.

Villa is just three points removed from league leading Arsenal which hosts Brighton this weekend. The Gunners are one of only two squads to be unbeaten at their home stadium, a draw versus Manchester City being the only non-winning effort this season at the Emirates. The Seagulls, currently perched ninth in the Premier League table, are winless in their last four league matches.

Boxing Day work 💪 pic.twitter.com/64JKjKkVr8

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 26, 2025

The other undefeated club at home this season is Sunderland which will try to extend its unbeaten form against fellow promoted side Leeds on Sunday. The Whites have at least temporarily separated themselves from the relegation fight with a four-match unbeaten run which has them six points above the drop line. Sunderland has been surprisingly good all season and currently sits sixth in the league table.

Nottingham Forest has also escaped the relegation zone under new manager Sean Dyche. The Tricky Trees will need to have something special up their sleeve this weekend, however, when they visit second place Manchester City. The Citizens, led by league scoring leader Erling Haaland, have scored ten more goals than any other Premier League side this season.

While Manchester City has scored 41 goals, poor Wolverhampton is still trying to reach double figures. Sad sack Wolves present a prime opportunity for Liverpool to win a third consecutive match for the first time since September when the clubs meet at Anfield on Saturday.

Only one match is scheduled for Boxing Day this holiday season and that takes place at Old Trafford where Manchester United will host Newcastle. Manchester United had a four-match unbeaten run stopped by streaking Aston Villa last weekend. Unfortunately, the Red Devils lost star Bruno Fernandes as well with the Portuguese midfielder now sidelined with a hamstring injury. Newcastle has its own injury concerns on its back line and comes into the match after squandering a two-goal advantage versus Chelsea last week.

Crystal Palace is level on points with Manchester United as the eighth place Eagles are clawing to hold onto European qualification for a second consecutive year. Palace will host struggling Tottenham Hotspur in a London derby on Sunday.

While Palace fights for Europe, West Ham just wants to stick around in the Premier League. The Hammers would be heading down if the season ended today. There is a certain ignominy that West Ham Manager Nuno Espirito Santo is five points below his currently safe former team Nottingham Forest which he petulantly departed earlier this season. Nuno and his Hammers get a chance to improve their situation on Saturday when Fulham visits London Stadium. The Cottagers are clumped among six other teams, each within two points of each other in the middle of the Premier League table.

Brentford and Bournemouth are among those log jam clubs as they face each other at the Bees’ Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday. Brentford has probably done better than expected under Manager Keith Andrews after the Bees lost former Manager Thomas Frank and most of its attacking threats after last season. Bournemouth, meanwhile, has underperformed expectations and now is beset with rumors that leading scorer Antoine Semenyo will depart in the January window.

Burnley has lost five of its eight home matches to date as the Clarets are preparing to host Everton this weekend. There is clearly a different vibe at Turf Moor where the Clarets were unbeaten during their promotion season and now seem headed for a quick return to the second tier. The Clarets are seven points from safety. Everton, meanwhile, will look to rebound from back-to-back league defeats as the Toffees still have dreams of European qualification as they sit amid the mid-table congestion.