The Christmas fixtures brought the Premier League to its
midway point with Chelsea and Manchester City leading the way.
Chelsea suffered
their first defeat of the season when they fell 2-1 away to Newcastle and also
dropped points in a goalless draw at Sunderland and in their most recent match
1-1 at Southampton.
Manchester City
had won 7 matches in a row since drawing 2-2 at QPR until they lost a 2 goal
lead to draw at home to Burnley in their latest match and are 3 points behind
the leaders.
Manchester United
had been picking up wins including 2-1 at Arsenal against the run of play, but
have recently slowed down somewhat with a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa and 0-0 at
Tottenham.
Southampton have
been through a rough patch, losing at home to the Manchester clubs and away to
Arsenal. The Saints were even shocked 1-0 at Burnley but turned things around
by sending Everton home 3-0 losers and winning 3-1 at Crystal Palace before
earning a respectable 1-1 draw at home to leaders Chelsea,
Arsenal are on
the fringe of Europe after overtaking West Ham with a 2-1 success at the Boleyn
Stadium but will be regretting their first-half performance at Stoke which led
to a 3-2 defeat.
West Ham United are
in 6th place after consecutive home wins over Newcastle, Swansea and Leicester
and a 2-1 away victory at West Brom.
Tottenham have
won most of their matches 2-1 since their 2-1 defeat at home to Stoke, but have
also drawn 0-0 at home to Crystal Palace and recently Manchester United. Their
only other recent setback was 3-0 at Chelsea.
Liverpool who
have been disappointing by the high standards they set last season moved above
Swansea on goals scored after cruising 4-1 past the Welsh outfit at Anfield in
the last match of 2014.
Swansea City have
been inconsistent, with their 2-1 win at home to Arsenal being reversed by
Tottenham and points being dropped in a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace.
Newcastle United
have had their ups and downs, inflicting a 2-1 loss on Chelsea at St James'
Park before crashing 4-1 at Arsenal and losing 1-0 at home to neighbours
Sunderland. However, they finished the year on a high with a 3-2 home win over
Everton.
Stoke City have
had their fair share of wins with Tottenham, Arsenal and Everton among their scalps,
but have also lost 2-1 at home to Burnley and are at the midpoint of the table.
Everton have
ended the year with 3 straight defeats including 3-0 at Southampton and find
themselves in the bottom half of the table.
Aston Villa who are
behind Everton on goal difference have ended the year with 1-0 losses at West
Brom and Swansea and home draws against Manchester United and Sunderland.
Sunderland are
close to the danger zone having drawn 6 of their last 9 matches. Draws at home
to Chelsea and away to Liverpool should have given them hope but a recent 3-1
failure at home to Hull City would have sounded alarm bells for the Black Cats.
Queens Park Rangers
have picked up vital points to climb out of the relegation zone with home wins
over West Brom 3-2 and Burnley 2-0 and a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City.
West Bromwich Albion
are a point clear of the drop zone with a goalless draw at Hull and a
single-goal win at home to Aston Villa all they have to show for in their last
9 matches.
Hull City are
just above the bottom 3 on goal difference but will be happy with their 1-1
draw at Everton 3-1 victory at Sunderland.
Crystal Palace parted
with manager Neil Warnock at Christmas, having only tasted one victory in their
last 9 matches, beating Liverpool 3-1 at Selhurst Park, though the London side
have picked up several draws even away from home.
Burnley are
second from bottom despite wins over Hull, Stoke and Southampton and draws against
Newcastle, Aston Villa and a recent 2-2 at Manchester City.
Leicester
City are bottom of the Premier League with a 1-0 win
at Hull City in their latest match and a goalless draw at home to Sunderland
the only points they have picked up in their last 12 matches.
