Your Guide To Week 22 Of The Barclays Premier League

With the festive period and Cup ties behind us, the Premier League is finally returning to it’s standard weekend schedule. While that makes more games accessible–no more streaming at work necessary–it also makes it also means they’re easy to miss if you oversleep or forget that you have a television commitment first thing in the morning.

With that in mind, here’s your guid to this weekend in the Barclays Premier League to make sure you don’t miss out on the best matches.

Saturday 1/16

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Sunderland (7:45 EST)

After a strong start to the season, Spurs haven’t looked the best in their two consecutive games against Leicester. This game should give them a chance to get back on track, but the goals haven’t been coming in the amount that anyone would like.

As for Sunderland, their Wednesday night performance against Swansea was the best that the Black Cats have looked all year. Jermain Defoe can score, no matter which team he’s on, and it’s hard not to imagine him having a little extra spark against his former club. Spurs should be able to handle this, but Big Sam Allardyce and Defoe could make the game tougher than anyone would imagine.

Chelsea vs. Everton (10 EST)

Both of these teams drew on Wednesday, but one has to be feeling a lot better than the other. Everton were outplayed during their visit to Manchester City, but still escaped with a 0-0 draw and a good road point. Chelsea, on the other hand, drew an ugly affair with West Brom.

Chelsea has been in better form since Jose Mourinho’s firing, but they’re not exactly setting the league ablaze. Everton should probably win, which will add injury to the insult of forcing Chelsea fans to watch Romelu Lukaku, who left Stamford Bridge after never really getting a shot; he’d look pretty good in a Chelsea shirt, especially after their offensive struggles this season.

Bournemouth vs. Norwich (10 EST)

Out of these two teams, at least Bournemouth tries to play attacking football. The Cherries will also be boosted by new signing Benik Afobe; the former Arsenal man isn’t the greatest talent in England, but he should help Bournemouth fill some injury holes in their attack.

Newcastle vs. West Ham United (10 EST)

After half a season without much to enjoy, Georginio Wijnaldum has been sparking some life into Newcastle. This year’s Manchester United is hardly the United of old, but the Geordies will still have to feel good about taking a point away from Old Trafford. New signing Jonjo Shelvey could also give them a little extra quality going forward.

West Ham are currently in fifth place, but they were dealt a blow in the form of an injury to Andy Carroll; the big striker could miss up to six weeks with a hamstring injury. They still should have enough quality without the England man, but this match just became tougher than they anticipated.

Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace (10 EST)

While this game should be straight forward on paper, neither team’s form has been consistent this season. City has the payroll to win the league without trying, but they’ve looked like a shell of themselves without captain Vincent Kompany, who may only return for the end of the season. Their offense, even with Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling, has sputtered at times, too, making it difficult to know which team will show up.

As for Palace, they’ve got a nice, if not mind blowing, group of players that Alan Pardew is trying to galvanize into a top-class side. Their form leaves something to be desired, however, especially their most recent loss to Aston Villa. They should be outmatched on the day, but it wouldn’t be shocking to both teams share the points.

Southampton vs. West Brom (10 EST)

When Southampton look good (like against Arsenal on Boxing Day or Watford on Wednesday), they can play with anyone. When they’re flat (the 6-1 loss to Liverpool or 1-0 loss to Norwich) they’re pretty close to unwatchable. The inclusion of Shane Long has given the Saints a bit of a spark, however, and he’ll look to keep his good run going on Saturday.

As for West Brom, they did take a point from a trip to Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. They’re not ever going to be that enjoyable to watch, but the Baggies will work hard, get stuck in and make a game out of just about every match-up. When push comes to shove, however, they’re usually lacking a bit of quality.

Aston Villa vs. Leicester (12:30 EST)

If we’re going by form, Leicester should have this match in the bag. They’re still tied for first in the league, only sitting behind Arsenal on goal differential. Contrastingly, Villa are still last in the league, even after beating Crystal Palace.

The Foxes’ offense has slowed down lately, however, with Jamie Vardy‘s health finally catching up to him. The striker has been battling a groin issue–he had surgery in January–and, despite returning to the pitch, he hasn’t looked 100% yet. Leicester shouldn’t have a problem, but it will be interesting to watch Vardy’s progress and the team’s ability to function without him firing on all cylinders.

Sunday 1/17

Liverpool vs. Manchester United (9:05 EST)

Liverpool showed both sides of their game on Wednesday night. At times, their high press forced Arsenal into to countless turnovers and set up plenty of scoring chances; on the other, their back line looked narrow and exposed when Arsenal were able to get their fullbacks into the attack. There’s definitely potential in the side, but the personnel still doesn’t fit Jurgen Klopp‘s system perfectly. His team does show up in the big games, though, and Sunday’s match will be a big one.

The good news for United is that Wayne Rooney looked good on Tuesday night against Newcastle. The bad news is that his strong performance was wasted in a 3-3 draw. Louis Van Gaal also brought more negative attention onto himself when he called a reporter “fat man” during the post match press conference. Based on the inconsistencies of both teams this season, the match could go either way, but Liverpool might have a slight edge.

Stoke City vs. Arsenal (11:15 EST)

Stoke have definitely looked better this year, but they could be without Xherdan Shaqiri for Sunday’s match. The Swiss midfielder has been a key figure for the Potters’ bringing a creative touch that they’ve lacked in past seasons.

For Arsenal, the issue of consistency will once again surface as the Gunners are going from the festive period into a string of tough matches; they played Liverpool on Wednesday and will face Chelsea next weekend. Arsene Wenger’s squad is certainly talented enough to win all of those games, but, as any Arsenal fan can tell you, there is a big difference between ‘should win’ and actually winning. Winning at Stoke will be a step in dispelling those past demons.

Monday 1/18

Swansea City vs. Watford (3 EST)

After losing to Oxford in the FA Cup and Sunderland in the league, things aren’t looking too good in Wales right now. And, to make matters worse, they’ve only won one game since October, have no permanent manager and just sold one of their better players, Jonjo Shelvey. Outside of Andre Ayew, there’s so much inconsistency in the squad it’s hard to feel good about the Swans; even Jefferson Montero and Gylfi Sigurdsson haven’t been hitting their usual heights.

Despite not showing up against Southampton, Watford should be perfectly comfortable in this game. They’ve got a great strike partnership in Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo and, as long as Swansea doesn’t clog the midfield like Southampton did, they should have plenty of joy on Monday night.

Photo: Jermain Defoe of Sunderland capitalises on a mix up by Scott Dann (L) and Wayne Hennessey (R) of Crystal Palace to score the opening goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Sunderland at Selhurst Park on November 23, 2015 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Article by Joe Kozlowski