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Football News: Premier League Preview

Monday 12:30pm
Watford v Crystal Palace

Prodl (doubt)
Pereyra (out)
Okaka (doubt)
Mariappa (doubt)
Dja Djedje (out)
Kenedy (doubt)

Flamini (doubt)
Tomkins (out)
Sako (out)
Wickham (out)
Remy (out)
Mandanda (out)
J Benteke (out)
Souare (out)

Watford's recent form has been troubling, five defeats in seven matches has seen them slip into the bottom half, despite their two wins in those seven games. They are currently dangerously balanced between a safe midtable place and falling away into the relegation battle. The 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in their last match has certainly not helped in that regard. With the visitors being a relegation battler themselves, this is a chance for the Hornets to regain some breathing space over the bottom three. The sides below them, other than Palace and Leicester, seem to be improving, so a win over Palace is much needed.

Alan Pardew's sacking has meant this time, already on a downward spiral, are now in disarray and relying on the 'new manager bounce' to pick up a result. As teams always seem to respond immediately to a managerial change, it is to be expected that performances improve. Plus, after two defeats in a row and just one win in the last eleven games, it is very difficult to see how Palace could possibly get any worse than they were under Pardew. One thing is for sure, Sam Allardyce will look to improve on the organisation issues that were evident under Pardew.

Monday 3pm
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion

Oxlade-Chamberlain (out)
Mustafi (out)
Debuchy (out)
Cazorla (out)
Akpom (doubt)
Mertesacker (out)
Sanogo (doubt)
Ramsey (doubt)

Morrison (doubt)
Evans (doubt)
Berahino (doubt)

Arsenal being Arsenal, and slumping just as they are in place to challenge for the title, seems to have come early this season. Usually they hold off until the New Year, to fill the fans with false hope that Arsene Wenger is back to being the man who first came in to take charge. That the days when the Gunners fought and scrapped in every game, as well as tried to play good football, were back. Unfortunately for those Gooners, it seems to be the same old story again this season. Early promise fading out as soon as the going gets tough as long term injuries decimate the squad. After two defeats in a row, it is time for Wenger to pick up his players and show the league that this year is different. A match against a Pulis team is the perfect time to show whether Arsenal have the bottle to put themselves back into the title race or not.

This is the game that Tony Pulis most seems to relish each season, with his style of brutal football being a real problem for Wenger's team to cope with. Added to that, his Baggies side have been in good form in the lead up to the match, despite a couple of setbacks to Chelsea and Manchester United. It will be the usual case of using physicality to knock the Gunners out of their stride and looking to load up the penalty box at every setpiece, using the height advantage to lead to chances. With Salomon Rondon in good form, this could another chance for Pulis to put one over Wenger.

Monday 3pm
Burnley v Middlesbrough

Gudmundsson (doubt)

Fischer (out)
Ramirez (doubt)
Stuani (doubt)
Ayala (doubt)
Husband (doubt)

Burnley are very much a Jekyll and Hyde team, atrocious away from home but very good on their own patch. A couple of away losses on the spin has left them perilously close to the relegation zone, with just one win separating them from the bottom three. They really need to get themselves back to their best, as five defeats in the last six games is the form of a relegation side. With Sunderland next up for the Clarets in the Prem, a good result is vital or the pressure will be huge against the Mackems.

Despite some excellent results, notably the 3-0 win over Swansea in the previous match, Boro have been unable to build a gap over the relegation places and are still very much in the dogfight. With just one win away from home so far this season, Aitor Karanka will no doubt be intending to keep things tight against Burnley, hoping to snatch a point or even three with luck on their side. A win would see them build a gap over the bottom three and give the Teesiders real genuine belief in their chances of surviving.

Monday 3pm
Chelsea v Bournemouth

Hazard (doubt)
Terry (doubt)
Kane (doubt)
Obi Mikel (doubt)
Costa (suspended)
Kante (suspended)

Stanislas (doubt)
Surman (doubt)
Cook (out)

What should, on paper, have been a straightforward win for a Chelsea side riding a crest of a wave at the top of the table has become a lot more difficult with the suspension of both N'Golo Kante and Diego Costa. It does give the Blues a chance to show they are not just a one man team, overly reliant on the goals of Costa to pick up points. It also should kill any chance of complacency creeping in and costing them points at home to the Cherries. One thing is for sure, no matter who is missing from the team, it is difficult to see anything other than a twelfth win in a row for the Londoners.

Bournemouth will take heart from Chelsea missing two key players against them, despite their own struggles away from home. With the Cherries fairly safe in midtable at the moment, a good result against Chelsea could spur them on into the second half of the season. Otherwise they could see their season peter out as the six or so pull themselves clear of the pack. Worse, they could be dragged back into the relegation battle if they are not careful. Eddie Howe will be keen to take advantage this Boxing Day and ensure the season continues to build.

Monday 3pm
Leicester City v Everton

Drinkwater (doubt)
Fuchs (suspended)
Vardy (suspended)
Huth (suspended)

Stekelenburg (doubt)
McCarthy (out)
Bolasie (out)
Besic (out)
Pennington (doubt)
Kone (doubt)

Leicester have just two wins in their last 12 matches, relegation form by anyone's standards. The reigning champions will by boosted by the fact that all four of their league wins this season came at home as they look forward to the visit of Everton. Just three points above the drop zone, with both Swansea and Sunderland showing better form, the Foxes need to show some of that desire and workrate that helped them to the title last season. Having shown a flash of the quality they have in the team, in their dismantling of Man City, they returned quickly back to normal with their next two games. Claudio Ranieri will be keen to find the answer, before his side completely lose their way.

What better way to recover from the heartbreak of a late loss in the derby than a trip to play the reigning champions while they are struggling? The Toffees head into this trip in indifferent form, particularly away, but this is a good chance for them to lift themselves up. Currently safely ensconced in midtable, a welcome relief after the struggles under Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman will be hoping a good Christmas, followed by some good additions in the January window, can put the blue half of Merseyside into contention for European places. It will be a difficult task to claw back the ten points they are behind fifth place currently, but there is still a long way to go in the season.

Monday 3pm
Manchester United v Sunderland

Bailly (doubt)
Mkhitaryan (doubt)
Shaw (doubt)
Wilson (out)

Jones (doubt)
Kirchhoff (out)
Manquillo (doubt)
Pienaar (doubt)
Watmore (out)
Gooch (out)
McNair (out)
Cattermole (out)
Rodwell (doubt)

Surprisingly Man Utd's home form has not been as good as their away form, having won just three games at Old Trafford this season. However, their form and performances have improved recently, with a run of eight games unbeaten suggesting they are genuine top four challengers, despite currently sitting in sixth. Jose Mourinho has finally started to get the Red Devils playing the way he wants them to, with three wins in a row testament to his methods beginning to take effect.

The Mackems are finally starting to look like a team capable of clawing their way out of the drop zone following recent performances. It took them 11 games to register their first league win of the season, they have gone on to add another three wins since then. However, the worry is for Sunderland that David Moyes might have taken his eyes off the ball in all the talk of his time at Man Utd as their manager. If Moyes has been distracted by all the talk of failed signings and broken promises at United, the Wearsiders could be in real trouble against a revitalised Man Utd.

Monday 3pm
Swansea City v West Ham United

Fernandez (doubt)
Sung-Yeung (doubt)

Sakho (out)
Zaza (doubt)
Tore (out)
Collins (doubt)
Oxford (doubt)
Byram (doubt)
Cresswell (doubt)
Henry (out)

It had looked like Bob Bradley had got the Swans moving the right way, especially with the win over fellow strugglers Sunderland. Two defeats on the spin since then have left them back in the mess, with all the teams around them, other than Hull, looking like teams making genuine improvements. This game against West Ham has the potential to make or break either club's season, with a win for Swansea acting as the lift they need to spur themselves on. They are fast running out of time to get themselves out of the drop zone.

Slaven Bilic seems to have found the answers to the Hammers poor form this season, and has managed to lift his team out of the bottom three. While not entirely safe yet, the Irons are certainly on an upward trajectory right now. A win over the Swans would put them in a position of relative safety, and looking to move into the top half, where they expected to be this season.

Monday 5:15pm
Hull City v Manchester City

Mason (doubt)
Tymon (doubt)
Hernandez (out)
Keane (out)
Odubajo (out)
Luer (out)
Bruce (out)
McGregor (doubt)

Zabaleta (doubt)
Gundogan (out)
Kompany (out)
Delph (doubt)
Aguero (suspended)

Hull have hit rock bottom, in more ways than one, after the defeat at the hands of the Hammers in the previous round of games. The last thing they needed was the visit of a Man City side with something to prove. The Tigers have now gone six games without a win and are desperately in need of a result, with a gap beginning to open between themselves and safety. Three points is not a huge gap, but it can seem like one when you only have three wins all season so far.

A win against Arsenal has kept Citeh in the hunt for the title, but they still have a seven point gap to close on Chelsea. Hull's main hope of Man City showing complacency is likely to be a forlorn hope, as Pep Guardiola will have them fired up for this match, in their quest to close the gap on the flying Chelsea team. This is a match the Citizens can ill afford to drop any points in if they are to lift the title at the end of the season.

Tuesday 5:15pm
Liverpool v Stoke City

Matip (doubt)
Grujic (doubt)
Coutinho (doubt)
Ings (out)
Origi (doubt)

Muniesa (doubt)
Bardsley (out)
Cameron (out)
Butland (out)
Ireland (out)
Arnautovic (suspended)

The Premier League's top scorers host Stoke on the back of two clean sheets in a row. Even the loss of their key playmaker, Philippe Coutinho, has not blunted their attacking edge, so far. However, this Christmas period they know they have to get points on the board before losing another key attacker to the Africa Cup of Nations in January, as Sadio Mane heads off to join the Senegal squad. Unbeaten at home so far, the Reds need to keep winning to put pressure on the leaders Chelsea.

Stoke are currently on a run of three games without a win, which has seen them drop back out of the top half of the table. The Potters main problem has been putting the ball in the back of the net, as new signing Wilfried Bony has failed to set the heather alight. Just 19 goals in their 17 matches so far tells its own story, as Mark Hughes has tried hard to find the winning formula, with formation changes coming on an almost weekly basis.

Wednesday 7:45pm
Southampton v Tottenham Hotspur

Clasie (out)
Austin (out)
McCarthy (doubt)
Targett (out)
Pied (out)
Hesketh (doubt)
Gardos (doubt)

Dembele (out)
Alderweireld (doubt)
Janssen (doubt)
Lamela (out)

After a slow start under new manager Claude Puel, Saints have gradually climbed back up the table to occupy the 'best of the rest' position in seventh. With a six point gap to Man Utd in sixth, there is little they can hope for other than to finish where they are, unless there is a slip up from someone above them. So a match with Spurs gives them an opportunity to pull one of those teams above them within range. Since returning to the Premier League, Soton have been unable to get a win against the Londoners at their home ground, so they will be hoping for a change of luck this time around.

Spurs seemed to have recovered from their dip which saw them drop down to 5th, after getting themselves as high as 2nd earlier in the season. With the carrot of local rivals Arsenal being just a point ahead of them going into the fixtures, there will be no lack of motivation for the White Hart Lane team. They have shown some signs of getting back to the form that saw them push Leicester so hard last season, Mauricio Pochettino will be looking for more from them this season. The important thing is for Spurs to not get all 'Spursy' when the going gets tough over the Xmas period, as they have still got hopes of moving up the table.

Written by Tris Burke December 26 2016 05:52:53