Premier League Table 2013-14 Week 17: Updated Standings Following Matchday 16

While every match in the English Premier League season is important, Week 16 features some battles that will truly have a lasting effect throughout the year.

In the first match of the weekend, Manchester City defeated Arsenal at home to narrow the gap on top of the table. 

This kicked off an exciting set of matches, including Newcastle against Southampton and Liverpool vs. Tottenham. These battles all had a big impact on the current league table as the season nears its halfway point.

Here is a look at the latest standings and full results from Matchday 16.

Pos.	Club	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal	16	11	2	3	16	35
2	Liverpool	16	10	3	3	21	33
3	Chelsea	16	10	3	3	14	33
4	Manchester City	16	10	2	4	29	32
5	Everton	16	8	7	1	12	31
6	Newcastle United	16	8	3	5	-1	27
7	Tottenham Hotspur	16	8	3	5	-6	27
8	Manchester United	16	7	4	5	6	25
9	Southampton	16	6	6	4	5	24
10	Swansea City	16	5	5	6	1	20
11	Aston Villa	16	5	4	7	-5	19
12	Hull City	16	5	4	7	-6	19
13	Stoke City	16	4	6	6	-5	18
14	Norwich City	16	5	3	8	-14	18
15	Cardiff City	16	4	5	7	-10	17
16	West Bromwich Albion	16	3	6	7	-5	15
17	West Ham United	16	3	5	8	-6	14
18	Crystal Palace	16	4	1	11	-13	13
19	Fulham	16	4	1	11	-15	13
20	Sunderland	16	2	3	11	-18	9

Date	Home	Score/Time	Away
Dec. 14	Manchester City	6-3	Arsenal
Dec. 14	Cardiff City	1-0	West Bromwich Albion
Dec. 14	Chelsea	2-1	Crystal Palace
Dec. 14	Everton	4-1	Fulham
Dec. 14	Newcastle United	1-1	Southampton
Dec. 14	West Ham United	0-0	Sunderland
Dec. 14	Hull City	0-0	Stoke City
Dec. 15	Aston Villa	0-3	Manchester United
Dec. 15	Norwich City	1-1	Swansea City
Dec. 15	Tottenham	0-5	Liverpool

Easily the most highly anticipated match entering the week was between Arsenal and Manchester City. This battle pitted the top club in the league against a team that won all seven previous matches at home.

Theo Walcott scored two goals in his first start since September for Arsenal, but City's offense was simply too tough to stop. Five different players scored in a 6-3 win that sent a message to the rest of the league. 

Bleacher Report UK provided a look at how dominant the club has been at Etihad Stadium this year:

Newcastle United and Southampton were also involved in a thrilling match between two squads fighting on the top half of the table. Each side struggled in the final third in this one, but they were both able to come away with one score in a 1-1 draw.

Chelsea were able to get a win at home against Crystal Palace, but it was not as easy as it should have been with the road team challenging throughout the match. However, the Blues got goals from Fernando Torres and Ramires to leave with a 2-1 victory.

Football analyst Iain Macintosh points out that the crowd was not thrilled with the effort despite the win:

Everton had an easier time with Fulham, dominating the opponent for a 4-1 victory. Only a Dimitar Berbatov penalty shot prevented another clean sheet for the home club.

The action continues on Sunday with some of the most popular clubs in England.

Manchester United will look to end their recent slide with a road match against Aston Villa. After losing the last two EPL contests at home, perhaps this trip to Villa Park could be beneficial.

Meanwhile, Tottenham are hoping to continue their recent strong offensive play after scoring two goals in three straight matches. Of course, this will be necessary against Liverpool, who can score with anyone in the league.

These battles and more help create the weekly excitement in the always-competitive English Premier League.

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