The final push

With eight matches left in the Premier League there is still plenty to play for as the European hopefuls chase Chelsea at the top and the battle at the bottom hots up.

Chelsea continue to lead the way with a game in hand. After their rare 5-3 home loss to Tottenham and 5-0 success at Swansea they have had three 1-1 home draws against Manchester City, Burnley and Southampton and picked up narrow wins in the rest of their matches.

Manchester City suffered a setback losing 2-0 at home to Arsenal and were held 1-1 at home by Hull City. A 2-1 defeat at Liverpool and a 1-0 loss at Burnley put daylight between them and the leaders.

Arsenal lost 2-0 at Southampton and 2-1 at Tottenham, but won 2-0 at Manchester City and with 6 wins in a row are tightly sandwiched between the two Manchester clubs.

Manchester United lost 1-0 at home to Southampton and 2-1 at Swansea, but seem to be going in the right direction with 4 wins in their latest matches including an easy 3-0 win at home to Tottenham and a 2-1 victory in Liverpool.

Liverpool began the new year with a 2-2 draw at home to Leicester but since then had only dropped points in a goalless draw at Everton until Manchester United arrived and dealt a blow to their European hopes with a 2-1 win.

Southampton showed they were serious contenders for Europe with a 2-0 home win over Arsenal followed by a 2-1 victory at Manchester United, but home defeats 1-0 to Swansea and 2-0 to Liverpool and a goalless draw at home to West Ham has left them slightly below their desired position despite a 1-1 draw at Chelsea.

Tottenham enjoyed home wins over their London rivals, Chelsea 5-3 and Arsenal 2-1, but lost 2-1 at Crystal Palace and drew 2-2 at home to West Ham. After losing 3-0 at Manchester United a 4-3 win at home to bottom team Leicester keeps Tottenham among the top teams.

Swansea City who were thrashed 5-0 at home to Chelsea have a 2-1 home victory over Manchester United to their name, but are 10 points behind their nearest rivals.  

West Ham United had only won once this year until their recent 1-0 home win over Sunderland, but a 1-1 home draw against Manchester United and draws at Southampton 0-0 and Tottenham 2-2 have kept the hammers at the top half of the table.

Stoke City held visiting Manchester United to a 1-1 draw but where easily beaten 3-0 at Arsenal and 4-1 at home to Manchester City. The Potters recently enjoyed a 2-0 home win against Everton before losing 1-0 at West Brom and 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace to find themselves at the mid point of the table.

Crystal Palace have steered clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 home victory over Tottenham and 3-1 wins away to West Ham and at home to QPR followed by a 2-1 win at Stoke.

Newcastle United have been losing too many matches before picking up points. Wins against lower sides, such as 3-0 at Hull and 1-0 at home to Aston Villa, have kept the Magpies away from the immediate drop zone.

Everton have underachieved and are sitting uncomfortably in 13th place, but after losing 2-0 at Arsenal and Stoke have picked up 2 wins in a row for only the second time this season 3-0 at home to Newcastle and 2-1 at Queens Park Rangers.

West Bromwich Albion have won 3 home matches in a row, since their 3-0 defeat to Spurs, including 1-0 over high flyers Southampton and with 4 away draws this year the Baggies are just above the relegation zone.

Hull City drew 1-1 at Manchester City and have picked up points against some of the troubled teams, but are perilously close to the drop zone.

Aston Villa slid down the table with 7 straight defeats, but since the appointment of manager Tim Sherwood have picked up a 2-1 home win against West Bromwich Albion and smashed Sunderland 4-0 at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland are only one point above the relegation zone and with home defeats 2-0 to troubled Queens Park Rangers and 4-0 to lowly Aston Villa presenting them huge concerns, Dick Advocaat was called in to save the black Cats from the dreaded drop.

Burnley are still in the bottom three but a 1-1 draw at Chelsea and a 1-0 win at home to Manchester City should give them the confidence to battle for survival.

Queens Park Rangers are 2nd from bottom and with only one win and one draw in their last ten matches are in serious danger of relegation.

Leicester City are bottom of the table and despite starting the year with a 2-2 draw at Liverpool and a 1-0 win at home to Aston Villa have picked up 2 more draws and seem to need something of a miracle to stay up.

Blue Christmas

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.

Chelsea eye title

With ten weeks gone in the Premier League 2014-15 season Chelsea look invincible at the top of the pile having won all their league matches apart from 1-1 draws at the Manchester clubs. Their most prolific win was 6-3 at Everton.

Southampton began with a 2-1 loss at Liverpool and a goalless draw at home to West Brom, but have since been in top form under Ronald Koeman and are second in the table having enjoyed impressive wins over their visitors from the northeast, thumping Newcastle 4-0 and embarrassing a hapless Sunderland 8-0 while conceding only 5 goals in the league so far.

 Reining champions Manchester City are in third place after losing by a single goal at home to Stoke and 2-1 at West Ham. In their most recent match they earned 3 points with a goal against their neighbours at the Etihad.

Draw specialists Arsenal have only lost once, 2-0 at Chelsea, but are in fourth place ruing their 5 draws including a 2-2 home draw at home to Hull City.

West Ham United are only behind Arsenal on goal difference having enjoyed a good home run in recent matches including a 3-1 victory over Liverpool.

 Swansea City  got off to a flying start with a 2-1 triumph at Manchester United followed by wins over Burnley and West Brom before being brought down to earth 4-2 at Chelsea. In their latest match they held Everton to a goalless draw at Godison Park.

Liverpool have been below par so far this season losing 1-0 at home to Aston Villa and away to Newcastle while also firing blanks at home to Hull.

Tottenham  have had their ups and downs with a 1-1 draw at Arsenal and a 1-0 home win against Southampton on the plus side but suffering home defeats 1-0 against West Brom and 2-1 against Newcastle.

Everton who have scored in all but one of their matches are in 9th position with their 3-2 home defeat to Crystal Palace being their lowest and their 3-0 home win against Aston Villa  their highest point of the season so far.

Star-studded Manchester United are 10th after 10 matches and still looking to find their balance. Their first win was a 4-0 victory at home to QPR that came in their fourth match of the season but was followed by a 5-3 defeat at Leicester having led 3-1 with half an hour left.

West Bromwich Albion are just behind Manchester United on goal difference with 4 draws and 2 wins, 1-0 at Tottenham at 4-0 at home to struggling Burnley.

Newcastle United  made a good recovery to a poor start of the season winning their latest 3 matches, 1-0 at home to Leicester and Liverpool and 2-1 at Spurs to be equal on points with Everton, Manchester United and West Brom.

Stoke City  have had a mixed bag of results but will remember their 1-0 victory at Manchester City.   

Hull City  have mostly held their own and will be pleased with their draws 2-2 at Arsenal and 0-0 at Liverpool.

Sunderland who will be scarred by their 8-0 pummelling at Southampton have drawn 5 matches and are only 2 points behind Manchester United.

Aston Villa  have had a tough run of matches and since their 1-0 win at Liverpool have slid down the table with 6 straight defeats.

Crystal Palace are just outside the relegation zone having only registered 2 wins, 3-2 at Everton and 2-0 at home to Leicester.

Leicester City have slipped into the relegation zone with 3 straight defeats, behind Crystal Palace who have scored more goals.

Queens Park Rangers have lost 7 matches including 4-0 drubbings at Tottenham and Manchester United, but have had closer encounters recently.

Burnley are at the bottom of the table with a meagre 4 points from 4 draws. Three goalless draws at home to Manchester United and Sunderland and away to Crystal Palace and a 2-2 draw at Leicester is all the newcomers have to show for.