Premier League Table: Latest 2014 EPL Standings and Predictions for Matchday 17

The 2014-15 Premier League season is starting to take shape, with Chelsea and Manchester City the clear favourites to compete for the title.

But Manchester United and Arsenal are chasing hard, with the Red Devils now top of the Premier League form guide after defeating Liverpool, 3-0, at Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, West Ham consolidated their position in the top four with their point against draw specialists Sunderland.

Here we take a look at the latest standings in the English league, as well as make predictions for next week's fixtures:

R	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	16	12	3	1	36	13	23	39
2	Manchester City	16	11	3	2	33	14	19	36
3	Manchester United	16	9	4	3	29	17	12	31
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	Tottenham Hotspur	16	7	3	6	20	22	-2	24
8	Newcastle United	16	6	5	5	18	22	-4	23
9	Swansea City	16	6	4	6	21	19	2	22
10	Everton	16	5	6	5	27	24	3	21
11	Liverpool	16	6	3	7	19	22	-3	21
12	Stoke City	16	5	4	7	18	21	-3	19
13	Aston Villa	16	5	4	7	10	20	-10	19
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	16	4	2	9	17	30	-13	14
19	Hull City	16	2	7	7	15	23	-8	13
20	Leicester City	16	2	4	10	15	27	-12	10

Date	Home	v	Away	Prediction
Saturday, Dec. 20	Manchester City	v	Crystal Palace	3-1
Saturday, Dec. 20	Aston Villa	v	Manchester United	2-1
Saturday, Dec. 20	Hull City	v	Swansea City	1-1
Saturday, Dec. 20	QPR	v	West Brom	2-1
Saturday, Dec. 20	Southampton	v	Everton	1-2
Saturday, Dec. 20	Tottenham	v	Burnley	2-0
Saturday, Dec. 20	West Ham	v	Leicester City	3-1
Sunday, Dec. 21	Newcastle	v	Sunderland	1-1
Sunday, Dec. 21	Liverpool	v	Arsenal	1-4
Monday, Dec. 22	Stoke City	v	Chelsea	1-1

Manchester United to Lose Their Unbeaten Run at Villa Park

Jon Super/Associated Press

There is a life force and energy currently pumping through Manchester United, with Louis van Gaal's team on a great run of six straight wins in the Premier League.

Those victories mean United are in touch with their city rivals and Jose Mourinho's imperious west London side, which undoubtedly leaves Van Gaal pleased with his team's form.

But the truth is United's performances during this tremendous winning streak have been anything but spectacular.

The team still looks defensively compromised as LvG attempts to get his primary centre-backs and full-backs fit, but with David de Gea in the form of his life, United have survived their opponents' attacks.

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

But the Red Devils will surely slip up soon, and that could easily happen in the Midlands when United face Aston Villa on Saturday.

The Villans have only lost one match in their previous six Premier League games, per WhoScored.com, and they will fancy their chances against a United team struggling to pass the ball with conviction.

However, the return of Michael Carrick has given Van Gaal a fulcrum to build his side around.

In a recent Daily Mail column, Jamie Redknapp said that Carrick's return and United's winning run have been "no coincidence" and hugely praised the England international:

"

He is so versatile and experienced and his calming influence is helping the rest of the team. He is a good, honest player and he doesn’t try to overcomplicate things—all he has is a nasty habit of passing to his own team-mates!

But it’s not just that he takes the easy option every time. He is always looking to pass it forward and get his attacking players on the ball in dangerous positions. 

"

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Despite Carrick's influence, United still do not look like a side who are 100 per cent comfortable in their own skin.

United's performances dictate that they will soon surrender this extraordinary winning run, achieved during one of the club's biggest injury crisis in living memory, and if Paul Lambert's team can play on the front foot, Van Gaal could finally see his club drop vital points.

Manchester City to Cut the Gap to Chelsea

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Manuel Pellegrini's skills will be severely tested in the next few weeks as Manchester City look to cope without their two best players: Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany.

The loss of the pair is a huge blow to the Chilean manager, who has watched Chelsea set off like a Ferrari, speeding into the distance.

But City have chipped away at Mourinho's lead and are now just a solitary win behind the leaders, with goal difference between the two clubs marginal.

Up next for City is a game at the Eithad against a Crystal Palace team that has typically been difficult to beat, and without Aguero, the Sky Blues will have to find goals from elsewhere.

But the Premier League champions are in good form and recently ground out 1-0 wins against Leicester City and Everton.

Tim Ireland/Associated Press

The north west club should have enough in the tank to beat the Eagles in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, meaning they could overtake Chelsea ahead of their difficult Monday night trip to Stoke.

The title race is just starting to catch fire now, and the heavy Christmas schedule that English football subjects itself to every season will further shape proceedings. Chelsea's performance level has slipped—as demosontrated by their recent loss to Newcastle—but they are still the most likely to lift the trophy at the end of the campaign.

City have strength and depth, but they have dropped points in Kompany's absence in the past. The club still do not have a player of the Belgium international's quality and influence in reserve, and Pellegrini might find that his side become rudderless until the defender returns.