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.