Match Week 16: Devils Remain Hot; Liverpool Struggles; Stand Off at The Bridge; Gunners Strike Again; More COVID Cancellations

Top of the Table

Liverpool - Liverpool dropped points in a second consecutive match, drawing 0-0 at Newcastle. Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah seem to have temporarily geared down, making the absence of Diogo Jota all that much more striking. Liverpool has won just two of eight away matches.

Manchester United -Manchester United defeated Wolves 1-0 on a late Marcus Rashford goal to continue the team’s developing title challenge.  The Red Devils are now just three points behind Liverpool with a match in hand.  United is unbeaten in nine matches, winning seven while moving from fifteenth in the table to just a hair’s breadth from the top.  Bruno Fernandes assisted on the Rashford goal and has now been involved in more goals than any other Premier League player since his February 2020 debut.

Leicester – Leicester needed an 83^rd minute goal from Harvey Barnes to escape with a point in a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace.  The Foxes were continually frustrated by Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita who saved a first half penalty kick attempt by Kelechi Iheanacho.  A second consecutive draw was another missed opportunity for Leicester to make up ground on Liverpool.

Everton – Everton’s Monday game with Manchester City was postponed due to COVID. The Toffees finish 2020 as a top four club as the Carlo Ancelotti project is delivering results.

Aston Villa – Aston Villa extended its unbeaten run to five matches in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea.  Anwar El Ghazi scored in a third consecutive league appearance.  With ten shots at Chelsea, the aggressive Villa side is the only Premier League club to have double digit shots in each of its games this season.  Fifth place Villa has lost only one of nine away matches to date.

Chelsea – Chelsea continued to pick up points at home with a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa.  The Blues have lost just once at Stamford Bridge this season.  Olivier Giroud scored for a third time in his last four league starts.  Despite the point, Chelsea failed to win for a fourth time in five matches.  Out of form attackers Timo Werner and Kai Havertz were spectators for Chelsea.   

Tottenham Hotspur – Spurs’ match versus Fulham was a COVID casualty.  A break could be beneficial for a Spurs club which is winless in four matches.  Two losses in their past three matches has seen Spurs fall from the top of the table all the way to seventh

Manchester City – Manchester City’s match with Everton was postponed due to COVID.  City remains unbeaten in six matches.  The Citizens now hold two games in hand while trailing league leader Liverpool by seven points.

Southampton – Southampton is the fifth of five clubs level on twenty-six points, seven behind first place Liverpool.  While Striker Danny Ings is back, Southampton continued to struggle in attack while drawing 0-0 with West Ham.  The Saints have failed to score in their last three matches and have fallen from third to ninth in the table entering the new year.

Mid Table

West Ham – West Ham’s 0-0 result with Southampton was a third draw in four matches for the Hammers.  The tenth place Hammers have so far nailed a top half position with a seven-point improvement over their sixteen-match performance in 2019/20. 

Leeds – Leeds destroyed a hapless West Brom side 5-0 for a third victory in their last five matches.  It was the second time in four weeks that Leeds scored as many as five times.  The volatile Whites also conceded six goals to Manchester United during that stretch.  The never boring Leeds squad has both scored and conceded thirty goals this season. The team is third in the league in goals scored while second in the league in goals conceded.

Beautiful to finish this year 2020 like this😍👏🏼 nice performance! 💙💛 #mot #LeedsUnited @LUFC pic.twitter.com/cEwuk3aetr

— Ezgjan Alioski (@ezgjanalioski) December 29, 2020

Wolves – Wolves’ deficiencies in attack were again highlighted as a strong defensive effort was wasted with the injury time concession of the winner in a 1-0 loss to Manchester United.  Wolves have lost four of six while failing to score in half of those six matches.

Arsenal – Alexandre Lacazette scored for a second consecutive game and Arsenal won back-to-back matches for the first time since the season’s opening two games.  Lacazette’s goal came just twenty-nine seconds after his second half substitution.  Thirteenth place Arsenal has moved nine points safe of relegation with its two victories.

Newcastle – Furious defending and strong play form goalkeeper Karl Darlow enabled Newcastle to frustrate Liverpool in a goalless draw at St. James Park.  A string of second half saves and a key goal line clearance from defender Fabian Schar preserved the point for the Magpies.  

Crystal Palace – A Wilfried Zaha goal, his eighth of the season, enabled Crystal Palace to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw with Leicester.  A late Leicester goal deprived the Eagles of their first clean sheet since the opening weekend.  Crystal Palace benefited from a first half penalty save by goalkeeper Vicente Guaita who has played well in backstopping a suspect defense this year.

 

Bottom of the Table

Burnley – Burnley put further distance between itself and the relegation places with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United.  The improving Clarets lost five of their six opening matches this season but have lost just once in their past six, winning three times in that run.

Brighton & Hove Albion – Brighton’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal extended the winless streak for the Seagulls to seven matches as they now reside only two points from the relegation zone with 18^th place Fulham also having a game in hand.  Brighton has won just once in its past fourteen league matches.  The Seagulls were scoreless for a third time in five matches.

Fulham – Fulham’s match with Everton was a COVID postponement.  The Cottagers enter 2021 two points from safety with a game in hand.

West Bromwich Albion – Any positive thoughts from a 1-1 draw with Liverpool were eradicated in a 5-0 loss to Leeds.  The Baggies gifted an opening own goal to their opponent leading to four first half goals conceded in the rout.  Manager Sam Allardyce lost a second consecutive home match by more than three goals.  The own goal was West Brom’s seventh of the season, a measure of ineptitude matched by only one other side in all tiers of English football this season.  

Sheffield United – The Blades 1-0 loss to Burnley marked sixteen matches without a win to start the season, matching a Premier League record.  Ten of the Blades’ fourteen losses this season have been by a single goal.

 

Match Week 15: Baggies Take Point at Anfield; Gunners Find the Target; Everton Go Second; Villa Latest to Embarrass Eagles; Spurs Slide Continues

Top of the Table

Liverpool - League leader Liverpool was fortunate to extend its unbeaten Anfield run with a 1-1 draw with surprisingly competitive West Brom.  A twelfth minute goal by Sadio Mane was the only scoring until West Brom tied the game in the eighty second minute.  The Reds managed just one additional shot on target against the deep defending Baggies following the Mane goal.  Liverpool’s lead in the table entering Monday was three points over second place Everton. 

Everton – Everton won a fourth consecutive match by defeating Sheffield United 1-0 as the resurgent Toffees moved to second in the table behind their cross-town rival Liverpool.  A Gylfi Sigurdsson 80th minute free kick provided the winner for Everton in a taut defensive match.  The Toffees have registered all three of their clean sheets this season in the last four matches.

Leicester – Leicester came back twice to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw with Manchester United.  A Jamie Vardy shot deflected off United’s Axel Tuanzebe for an own goal with but five minutes left to knot things for the Foxes.  Leicester fell to third in the table behind surging Everton.

Manchester United – Manchester United maintained its good road form in  the 2-2 draw at Leicester.  The Red Devils are unbeaten in their last fourteen away games and have scored at least two goals in their past eleven road matches, equaling the league record.  United, fourth following the draw, hold a game in hand on the competitors above them in the table.  

Tottenham Hotspur – Spurs’ increasing aptitude for self-destruction was on full display in a 1-1 draw with Wolves.  Spurs scored one minute into the game and then went into a defensive shell.  An 86th minute equalizer by Wolves saw Jose’s men throw away points from a winning position for a fourth time this season.  With Spurs winless in their last four Premier League matches, Mourinho’s conservative style of play is again under question.

Manchester City – Manchester City extended its current unbeaten run to six matches with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle.  The Citizens scored in a twenty fourth consecutive match against the Magpies, equaling a Premier League record.  City had won four in a six-match unbeaten run, rising to sixth in the table with a game in hand entering Monday’s match with Everton.  

Aston Villa – Aston Villa scored two second half goals while playing with only ten men to secure a 3-0 defeat of Crystal Palace.  The clean sheet was a league leading eighth of the season for the Villans. Aston Villa’s third win in an unbeaten run of four matches moved the club to seventh in the table with two games in hand.  Villa was travelling to eighth place Chelsea Monday.

Chelsea – Chelsea were poor in a 3-1 defeat at Arsenal.  Forward Timo Werner continued his poor run and was removed at half-time.  Jorginho missed his third penalty kick in his last six tries across all competitions.  A third defeat in three matches dropped the Blues all the way to eighth in the table.  Chelsea have lost their last three away Premier League matches.

Southampton – Southampton drew 0-0 at Fulham to extend an unbeaten away run to seven matches. The Saints were well undermanned with striker Danny Ings, midfielder Oriol Romeu and center back Jannick Vestergaard all missing from the line-up.  A James Ward-Prowse free kick which touched the cross bar was the match’s only noteworthy event.  Only four points separated the ninth place Saints from second place Everton in the table entering Monday.

Mid Table

West Ham – West Ham scored an equalizer on a headed goal by Tomas Soucek to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw with visiting Brighton.  No Premier League player has scored more headers than Soucek since his league debut in February of this year.  The Hammers have now drawn their last four league meetings against Brighton.

Wolves – Wolves escaped with a late point at Molineux versus a strangely passive Spurs side.  Struggling to generate quality chances after conceding an early goal, Wolves secured the point in a 1-1 draw with a late header from defender Romain Saiss off a well-placed corner kick from Pedro Neto.   The late goal helped Wolves avert a fourth loss in five matches.

Romain Saiss strikes late to salvage deserved point for Wolves against Tottenham https://t.co/LES7kR8ZH7#WOLTOT #COYS

— Indy Football (@IndyFootball) December 27, 2020

Leeds – Patrick Bamford’s penalty kick, his tenth Premier League goal of the season, was enough for Leeds to take all three points in a 1-0 victory over Burnley.  Leeds will be untroubled by accusations of gifted officiating decisions, winning for a second time in three matches.

Newcastle – Newcastle managed just 24% possession and two shots on target in meekly conceding 2-0 to Manchester City.  The absence of leading scorer Callum Wilson ensured the futility for the Magpies.  Newcastle have lost three of their last four league away matches.

Crystal Palace – Crystal Palace have now allowed ten goals in their last two matches while remaining scoreless themselves.  The 3-0 loss to Aston Villa was incurred despite the Eagles  enjoying a man advantage for the entire second half.  With the Villa loss, Palace failed again to keep a clean sheet since the season’s opening weekend and had lost four of seven matches.

Arsenal – Arsenal scored three goals for the first time since the opening weekend in a 3-1 victory over London rival Chelsea.  Manger Mikel Arteta infused some of his younger players into the line-up and the Gunners played with renewed energy.  It is a tricky thing, though, when your best line-up excludes your purported best player (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang).  It was the Gunners first win in eight matches and, at least temporarily, ended talk of relegation.

 

Bottom of the Table

Brighton & Hove Albion – Brighton relinquished two leads in their 2-2 match with West Ham which was the Seagulls’ league leading sixth draw of the season.  While delivering a good effort versus a more talented West Ham side, Brighton continues to risk a relegation fight with fewer victories this year than all but Sheffield and West Brom.

Burnley – Burnley will feel they were treated unjustly in a 1-0 loss to Leeds.  Leeds penalty kick goal came on a questionable call and an equalizing goal by Burnley was also seemingly wrongly disallowed.  The Clarets generate little in attack and thus any bad luck is usually decisive.

Fulham – Fulham earned a point for a fourth consecutive match in the goalless draw with Southampton.  The Cottagers managed just one shot on goal, that coming in the eighth minute.  Manager Scott Parker was in quarantine for the match.

West Bromwich Albion – Manager Sam Allardyce captured his first point at West Brom in dramatic fashion as his Baggies drew 1-1 with first place Liverpool.  Semi Ajayi scored a header from a corner kick to provide the tying goal for the defensively solid Baggies at the eighty second minute mark.  Nineteenth place West Brom needed only 22% ball possession to become the first opponent not to lose in a match at Anfield this season. 

Sheffield United – The Blades 1-0 loss to Everton was a tenth defeat by a one goal margin in their fifteen matches.  Sheffield United is the first team in Premier League history team to be winless through Boxing Day.  The Blades’ eight goals this season are joint lowest with Burnley.

 

 

Week 15 Preview

Beginning with Friday's Boxing Day slate, the Premier League is in action for nine of the next ten days over the holiday period. Following are the matches being played this weekend.

Saturday Matches 

Boxing Day kicks off with third place Manchester United visiting second place Leicester.   Surging Manchester United have won all six of their away matches this season while Leicester has lost four of its seven home matches. An away win versus the Foxes would mark an eleventh consecutive away win dating back to last season for the Red Devils, equaling the Premier League record.  The four home defeats for the Foxes, meanwhile, is more than that suffered by all but four Premier League clubs this season.  

Chelsea will visit struggling Arsenal in a London Derby which would seem a mismatch.  The Gunners could be facing a home Boxing Day loss for the first time in nineteen years.  

Everton seeks a fourth win in a row when it visits hapless Sheffield United.  The Blades will be looking for history to repeat itself as Everton was the victim the last time a bottom dwelling club was victorious on Boxing Day, a Sunderland win in 1993.  

An improving Fulham side could cause problems for visiting Southampton who will likely be without striker Danny Ings when they visit Craven Cottage.  The Saints, though, have won their last nine league contests versus promoted clubs.  

Manchester City will look to extend its current five match unbeaten run when the Citizens welcome Newcastle to the Etihad. City have been victorious in their last eleven home matches against the Magpies, their longest home winning streak versus any opponent.  

Aston Villa will have a three-match unbeaten run on the line when Crystal Place visits Villa Park.  The Villans will look to add to their league leading seven clean sheets when they face an Eagles side which has been blanked five times this season, most recently in last week’s 7-0 flogging by Liverpool.

Sunday Matches

Spurs visit to Wolves features two clubs that play a similar counterattacking style.  Jose Mourinho’s Spurs team, however, have weapons in Son Heung-min and Harry Kane that the Wolves can only dream about.  Both clubs could sorely use a victory.  Spurs has tumbled down the table with two straight losses while Wolves have lost three of their last four matches and are reeling from the loss of striker Raul Jimenez.  

Strikingly different styles will be on display when Burnley visits Leeds.  Tacticians will enjoy seeing the Leeds attacking open style of play matched against the strictly north/south and battened down Clarets.  

West Ham will need to be on guard against visiting Brighton.  The Seagulls, despite a number of close matches, must recognize a growing relegation threat from their current five match winless run. The Hammers will be looking to respond after their disappointing derby performance versus Chelsea.  

Liverpool is home to West Brom, continuing a rude reception for Big Sam’s return to the Premier League.