Barclays Premier League Table: Updated 2014 EPL Outlook After Week 16 Results
Chelsea returned to their winning ways and Manchester City were able to keep pace at the top of the standings in Week 16 of the 2014-15 Premier League season, as the busy December schedule is clearly starting to take its toll.
No team scored more goals than the Blues during Saturday's early fixtures, and Jose Mourinho's men hardly convinced against Hull City, winning 2-0. City needed a goal from Frank Lampard to edge Leicester City 1-0.
At this stage of the campaign, looking good on the pitch is almost irrelevant. Winning matches and staying healthy throughout the busiest part of the schedule is pivotal—the rest is window dressing. Here's the full results for Week 16:
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| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Burnley | 1 - 0 | Southampton |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Chelsea | 2 - 0 | Hull City |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Crystal Palace | 1 - 1 | Stoke City |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Leicester City | 0 - 1 | Manchester City |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Sunderland | 1 - 1 | West Ham United |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 1 - 0 | Aston Villa |
| Saturday, Dec. 13 | Arsenal | 4 - 1 | Newcastle United |
| Sunday, Dec. 14 | Manchester United | ? - ? | Liverpool |
| Sunday, Dec. 14 | Swansea City | ? - ? | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Monday, Dec. 15 | Everton | ? - ? | Queens Park Rangers |
The current Premier League standings:
| 1 | Chelsea | 16 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 36 | 13 | 23 | 39 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 16 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 14 | 19 | 36 |
| 3 | Manchester United | 15 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 28 |
| 4 | West Ham United | 16 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 27 | 19 | 8 | 28 |
| 5 | Southampton | 16 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 25 | 13 | 12 | 26 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 16 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 28 | 19 | 9 | 26 |
| 7 | Newcastle United | 16 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 18 | 22 | -4 | 23 |
| 8 | Swansea City | 15 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 20 | 17 | 3 | 22 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 21 |
| 10 | Tottenham Hotspur | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 21 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 21 | -3 | 19 |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 20 | -10 | 19 |
| 13 | Everton | 15 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 24 | 23 | 1 | 18 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 16 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 20 | -5 | 17 |
| 15 | Sunderland | 16 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 24 | -10 | 16 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 16 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 24 | -5 | 15 |
| 17 | Burnley | 16 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 24 | -13 | 15 |
| 18 | Queens Park Rangers | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 27 | -11 | 14 |
| 19 | Hull City | 16 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 13 |
| 20 | Leicester City | 16 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 15 | 27 | -12 | 10 |
Chelsea
The Blues bounced back from their first defeat of the season with a 2-0 win over Hull City. Chelsea didn't dominate but were never truly threatened after Eden Hazard opened the scoring inside the first 10 minutes. The match was virtually over when Diego Costa doubled their advantage.
Mourinho's men may no longer be scoring almost at will, like they were earlier in the season, but barring the letdown against Newcastle United, they're getting the job done. Via the club's official Twitter feed, the manager feels the same way:
Chelsea still field the deepest and most balanced squad in the Premier League, but not unlike last season, Mourinho is starting to rely a little too much on individual flashes from Hazard. Should the Belgium international miss time with injury, the Blues could be in trouble.
The talent is there to add more diversity to the attack—with Costa finding his scoring boots again, the return of Cesc Fabregas should add a spark. The Independent's Miguel Delaney believes the Spain international will be key:
Still, of all the title contenders, Chelsea's questions are the easiest to answer. Their march to the title may not be as clear as it was three weeks ago, but the Blues are still very much favourites.
Manchester City
Manchester City struggled to a 1-0 win over Leicester City, but as is the case for Chelsea, what matters most is the three points, not how the team came by them. The win over the Foxes came at a price, however.
Already without top scorer Sergio Aguero, the Citizens lost captain Vincent Kompany and ace striker Edin Dzeko against Leicester. Via the Daily Mirror's David McDonnell, manager Manuel Pellegrini believes neither will feature again in 2014:
City's starting XI is arguably every bit as talented as Chelsea's, but the defending champions can't match the Blues when it comes to depth. And without their top attacking options and the heart and soul of their defence, the club faces a difficult stretch of fixtures.
The schedule doesn't look particularly daunting—City will play Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion, Burnley and Sunderland in their next four fixtures—but the team's remaining stars will still have to come up big to keep pace with Chelsea in the coming weeks.
Arsenal
Maybe that crisis at the Emirates Stadium was a little overblown. The Gunners beat Newcastle United 4-1 in a convincing performance, taking their record to three wins in the last four matches.
Take away the nightmarish first half against Stoke City and Arsenal have played relatively well over the course of the past two weeks. The results have also been solid, as Arsene Wenger's troops find themselves on level terms with Southampton and just two points behind fourth place.
The Associated Press' Rob Harris added his two cents:
It's far too early to start celebrating the Gunners' resurgence—we wouldn't want to jinx anything. The defence is still as inconsistent as it gets, and the midfield unit is one injury away from disaster. A title challenge still seems nearly impossible, but Champions League football should be obtainable in 2015.
Southampton
Fans were anxious to see how Southampton would respond to a more difficult schedule after their excellent start to the season. With four straight losses, it would seem we have our answer.
Losing against title favourites like Chelsea and Manchester United is acceptable. Losing to Burnley, a promoted squad that had never won a Premier League match in December in their club history? Not so much.
It sounds harsh, but Bleacher Report UK summed up the state of Ronald Koeman's squad quite aptly:
Momentum is pivotal in football, and for Saints, it has all but evaporated. Koeman's squad is still as talented as it was at the start of November—they just need to find their groove again in a hurry.
Qualification for European football is still within the possibilities, but as of right now, Saints have to be considered underdogs for the Europa League ticket at best.
