Premier League Match Week 16 Preview

Top meets bottom when table leader Arsenal hosts cellar dweller Wolverhampton on Saturday. Wolves are unlikely to find their first win of the season at the Emirates despite Arsenal’s uninspiring form and injury issues of recent weeks. The Gunners injury driven problems at center back should not be visible against an opponent that has only managed eight goals in its 15 league matches to date. Arsenal goalscorers, meanwhile, will be excited to welcome a Wolverhampton defense which has shipped 33 goals this season.

A more competitive match could take place at Selhurst Park where Crystal Palace, now fourth in the Premier League table, will host Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland and second ranked Manchester City on Sunday. The Eagles have never flown higher than their current ascension under miracle worker manager Oliver Glasner. Their 26 league points to date is the most in the club’s history after 15 matches and double their total of this time last season. Manchester City, meanwhile, has been giving every indication of returning to title contender form as they have closed the gap on Arsenal in recent weeks.

Aston Villa, however, is the club riding the league’s longest win streak as they visit relegation zone occupant West Ham on Saturday. West Ham could climb to safety with an upset win but to escape the drop zone this weekend, the Hammers will also need for Nottingham Forest or Leeds to trip up. Forest is home to Tottenham Hotspur while Leeds will travel to Brentford.

There will be more eyes than usual on Liverpool’s Saturday home match with Brighton. Mohamed Salah has dropped hints that this could be his final game at Anfield after a falling out with Liverpool Manager Arne Slot. Salah has even invited his mother such that he won’t need to take a walk alone. After Saturday’s match comes the African Cup of Nations and a potential January transfer to Saudi Arabia for the Liverpool legend.

Newly promoted Sunderland would never have expected to be above defending champion Liverpool in the table this late into the season, but such is the case, even if only based on goal differential. The Black Cats host Newcastle Sunday at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light fortress. Only Sunderland and league leading Arsenal remain undefeated at home this season. Newcastle is currently on a four-match unbeaten run in the league as it tries to recover from a shaky start to its season.

Chelsea, meanwhile, has hit a rough patch where the Blues have gone three matches without a win in the Premier League. A loss to Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday did nothing to brighten spirits as the club prepares to face Everton on Saturday. The Toffees have been good of late but are heading to one of their least preferred destinations, going winless in their last 30 visits to Stamford Bridge.

Bournemouth feels no such trepidation heading to Old Trafford on Monday where the Cherries have posted back-to-back 3-0 victories on their last two visits. Manchester United, however, has been on a rare run of good form under Manager Ruben Amorim. The Red Devils have just one loss in their last nine games and have climbed to a relatively respectable sixth in the Premier League table.

Perhaps the most uninteresting match on this week’s schedule features the most remarkable statistic. Fulham is mired in the bottom half of the table, not yet threatened with relegation but certainly going nowhere good this season. Burnley, meanwhile, looks dead in the water and headed for relegation. When Fulham visits Burnley this weekend, however, the Cottagers will be trying to snap a streak of futility which has seen them go winless in their last 29 league visits to Turf Moor. You have to go back to 1951 to find the last time Fulham won a league match at Burnley.