PREMIER LEAGUE MATCH PREVIEWS SATURDAY JANUARY 2 – SUNDAY JANUARY 3

West Ham United v Liverpool – Saturday 1245

Positions: West Ham 8^th, Liverpool 7^th

Form: (League matches only – earliest matches first):

West Ham

DDDDDW (8pts)

Liverpool

WLLLWW (9pts)

• West Ham’s run of draws came to an end with a win over Southampton, and Liverpool may find them tough to beat, even though Christian Benteke is back in the goal habit.

Arsenal v Newcastle United – Saturday 1500

Positions: Arsenal 1^st, Newcastle 18^th

Form:

Arsenal

DWWWLW (13pts)

Newcastle

LWWDLL (7pts)

• No trophies are awarded in December, but Arsenal can take heart from leading the pack at year end, as well as having comfortably the highest Premier League points total for the calendar year. They will be strong favourites to start 2016 with three points here.

Leicester City v Bournemouth – Saturday 1500

Positions: Leicester 2^nd, Bournemouth 16^th

Form:

Leicester

DWWWLD (11pts)

Bournemouth

DWWWDL (11pts)

• Leicester remain the joint highest scorers in the league, but after no goal in their last two matches, are the cracks starting to show? Only goal difference keeps the Foxes off the top though, and they will be favourites, but not overwhelmingly so, against a Bournemouth side who went seven matches unbeaten prior to their defeat by Arsenal.

Manchester United v Swansea City – Saturday 1500

Positions: Man Utd 6^th, Swansea 17^th

Form:

Man Utd

DDLLLD (3pts)

Swansea

LLLDWD (5pts)

• Surely there has been no other occasion in United’s recent history when a draw at home to the team in 14^th place was so widely acclaimed. However, the performance, if not the result, against Chelsea on Monday has restored some optimism around Old Trafford, and may have granted Louis van Gaal a stay of execution. Despite Swansea’s lowly position, several indicators are not good for United – they have no win in six, have scored two goals in the last five. Swansea have put together a run of three games unbeaten, all without conceding.

Norwich City v Southampton – Saturday 1500

Positions: Norwich 15^th, Southampton 12^th

Form:

Norwich

DLDWLW (8pts)

Southampton

LDLLWL (4pts)

• Norwich’s form remains inconsistent, but they stand a good chance here at home to a Saints side with just one win in seven.

Sunderland v Aston Villa – Saturday 1500

Positions: Sunderland 19^th, Aston Villa 20^th

Form:

Sunderland

WLLLLL (6pts)

Aston Villa

LDLDDL (3pts)

• The battle of the bottom two. Aston Villa, 11 points from safety, have already been written off in many quarters after their devastating loss to Norwich this week. However, Sunderland are themselves seven points adrift, and if their losing run continues here, their situation will look increasingly forlorn.

West Bromwich Albion v Stoke City – Saturday 1500

Positions: West Brom 13^th, Stoke 10^th

Form:

West Brom

DDDLLW (6pts)

Stoke

LWDLWW (10pts)

• Stoke’s games have often been low scoring, cagey affairs this year, so their 4-3 encounter with Everton this week may have come as something of a shock. The Potters still emerged triumphant though, and will be favourites to win again here. Standing just two points shy of fifth spot, three points could also propel them up the table.

Watford v Manchester City – Saturday 1730

Positions: Watford 9^th, Man City 3^rd

Form:

Watford

WWWWDL (13pts)

Man City

WLWLWD (10pts)

• A tough match for City, even though they remain in strong title contention. Watford were in terrific form until their defeat by Tottenham, and in Odion Ighalo they have a striker well capable of punishing City’s defensive frailties, with Vincent Kompany sidelined for another four weeks.

Crystal Palace v Chelsea – Sunday 1330

Positions: Crystal Palace 5^th, Chelsea 14^th

Form:

Crystal Palace

WDWWDD (12pts)

Chelsea

DLLWDD (6pts)

• Palace’s unbeaten run of six suggest Chelsea will once again not find this an easy task. The biggest doubt over Palace’s ability to win might be their lack of firepower – their last two matches have ended 0-0 and they have scored just four in five since their demolition of Newcastle.

Everton v Tottenham Hotspur – Sunday 1600

Positions: Everton 11^th, Tottenham 4^th

Form:

Everton

DDDLWL (6pts)

Tottenham

DDLWWW (11pts)

After three wins in a row, Tottenham are again being spoken of as title contenders. They stand four points off the pace and have the league’s best defensive record. After losing both of their last two home games, despite scoring five goals in the process, Everton will have their work cut out to stop Spurs’ run here.

Tipster Street.