Premier League Table: Updated 2015 EPL Standings Following Matchday 21 Results

After an FA Cup break last weekend, the Premier League once again took England's spotlight in Week 21 of the 2014-15 campaign, where Chelsea were fortunate enough to reclaim a clear lead at the table's perch.

Their result against Newcastle United on Saturday was the Blues' first league win of 2015, having gone two games without a win prior to this meeting.

Manchester United play host to Southampton on Sunday in a scrap that promises to have a grave bearing on the top four's make-up this season, while Arsenal are seeking redemption against Stoke City.

Read on for an updated look at the current standings, along with recap of the drama to unfold on Matchday 21 thus far.

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	21	15	4	2	46	19	+27	49
2	Manchester City	21	14	5	2	45	20	+25	47
3	Southampton	21	12	3	6	35	15	+20	39
4	Manchester United	21	10	7	4	34	21	+13	37
5	Arsenal	21	10	6	5	37	25	+12	36
6	Tottenham	21	10	4	7	30	29	+1	34
7	West Ham	21	9	6	6	32	25	+7	33
8	Liverpool	21	9	5	7	29	27	+2	32
9	Swansea	21	8	6	7	26	25	+1	30
10	Newcastle United	21	7	6	8	25	33	-8	27
11	Stoke	21	7	5	9	22	27	-5	26
12	Everton	21	5	7	9	30	34	-4	22
13	Aston Villa	21	5	7	9	11	23	-12	22
14	West Bromwich Albion	21	5	6	10	20	29	-9	21
15	Crystal Palace	21	4	8	9	22	31	-9	20
16	Sunderland	21	3	11	7	18	31	-13	20
17	Burnley	21	4	8	9	19	33	-14	20
18	Hull	21	4	7	10	20	27	-7	19
19	Queens Park Rangers	21	5	4	12	23	37	-14	19
20	Leicester	21	4	5	12	20	33	-13	17

Date	Home	vs.	Away
Jan. 10	Sunderland	0 - 1	Liverpool
Jan. 10	Burnley	2 - 1	QPR
Jan. 10	Chelsea	2 - 0	Newcastle United
Jan. 10	Everton	1 - 1	Manchester City
Jan. 10	Leicester City	1 - 0	Aston Villa
Jan. 10	Swansea City	1 - 1	West Ham United
Jan. 10	West Brom	1 - 0	Hull City
Jan. 10	Crystal Palace	2 - 1	Tottenham Hotspur
Jan. 11	Arsenal	3 - 0	Stoke City
Jan. 11	Manchester United	0 - 1	Southampton

Sunday Recap

Manchester United lost a significant step in their pursuit of a top-four finish on Sunday after suffering a 1-0 home defeat against Southampton, their first loss at home since the opening day of the 2014-15 campaign.

The result also brings an end to Louis van Gaal's 10-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League. As WhoScored.com attests, the Saints haven't dropped many points from winning positions this season and did a fine job of defending their slender Old Trafford lead:

Only a few minutes after entering the fray, Dusan Tadic fired low from the edge of United's area past David de Gea, with Ronald Koeman's side moving into third, ahead of the Red Devils, as a result.

In the opinion of Goal.com's Jay Jaffa, this result proves the Saints are the "real deal," and despite still sitting eight points off second-place Manchester City, their European dreams now look far more hopeful:

It was a dramatic result for Van Gaal to lose in a battle of Dutch wit, but the United helmsman will be disappointed his players weren't able to take advantage of the considerable chances they did enjoy.

Earlier, Arsenal came back from the New Year's Day defeat to Southampton with one of their most confident displays of the season thus far against Stoke City on Sunday, demolishing the Potters 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsene Wenger was overjoyed to see star man Alexis Sanchez back in top form, too, with the Chilean having a hand in each goal, scoring two and assisting Laurent Koscielny's opener, per WhoScored:

There was gloom amongst that joy, however, as it was confirmed by Goal.com that right-back Mathieu Debuchy dislocated his shoulder in the tie and could be set for another lengthy spell out of action:

The clean sheet will be as welcomed by the Gunners support as much as the three-goal haul, with Koscielny in particular giving Wenger's men a more assured stance at the back.

Saturday Recap

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho may not have been entirely content with the display given by his Blues against Newcastle United on Saturday, but a hard-fought 2-0 win nonetheless gives his side breathing space at the summit.

With Manchester City drawing 1-1 at Goodison Park, the Blues are now two points clear at the top, but the Magpies didn't come without a threat of their own. Ben McAleer of WhoScored illustrates Remy Cabella's impact for the visiting outfit in west London:

Newcastle were bright in the first half, but caretaker manager John Carver was forced to concede a second loss at the club's helm, with even a lacklustre Chelsea good enough to see off their assault.

Manuel Pellegrini's half-time team talk didn't have as great an impact on Merseyside, where the Citizens suffered their first setback of 2015. 

As WhoScored shows, City enjoyed the majority of possession and scoring chances at Goodison Park, but hosts Everton were arguably the better team camped in their counter-attacking stance:

Fernandinho opened the scoring on 74 minutes to give Pellegrini's men hope of what might have been their fifth successive away win in the league. But Steven Naismith rained on their parade just four minutes later, heading past an onrushing Joe Hart.

Alan Pardew's Selhurst Park renovations continued with Crystal Palace's 2-1 comeback win over Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday's late kickoff, with Jason Puncheon sweeping home a terrific 80th-minute effort from the edge of Hugo Lloris' box.

Harry Kane opened the scoring before Dwight Gayle equalised from the penalty spot, and Squawka shows how Pardew may already be asserting his blueprint so early on in his Palace tenure:

The Eagles move out of the bottom three and into 15th as a result of Saturday's victory and are now unbeaten in four games across all competitions.

In south Wales, West Ham United might have moved into fifth had they defended Andy Carroll's 43rd-minute opener, but a Mark Noble own goal 15 minutes from time ensured the spoils were shared with Swansea City.

Bafetimbi Gomis played a huge part in the goal, however, and Swans boss Garry Monk will be especially pleased with the Frenchman's contribution, with Gareth Vincent of the South Wales Evening Post quoting the tactician in confirming Wilfried Bony may yet make the switch to the Etihad:

Either side would have benefited greatly from a win at the Liberty Stadium, but a 1-1 draw was perhaps fair, despite Swansea outscoring the Hammers in the shot count, recording 19 to their guests' 11, per WhoScored.

Where Swansea and West Ham failed to take advantage, though, Liverpool made no mistake, taking a valuable 1-0 win away from the Stadium of Light thanks to Lazar Markovic's eight-minute intervention.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Before December, the Black Cats had lost just one home fixture in the league all season, but Gus Poyet's side have now lost three of their last four in their northeast abode.

"Excellent" was the term used by Liverpool website editor James Carroll to describe the display of Markovic, who may well be coming good under Brendan Rodgers after taking his time to adapt in England:

The Reds now sit just four points off fourth-place Southampton thanks to that win. Closer to the bottom of the standings, West Bromwich Albion, Burnley and Leicester City each helped their survival chances with Saturday wins.

Saido Berahino's future at the Hawthorns may not be certain, but the England youngster netted a late goal to give the Baggies their first win in six, Squawka pointing out what a prolific source the starlet is:

Leicester also emerged on the better end of a 1-0 win as Paul Konchesky gave them a lead just before half-time, although red cards for Matthew James and Ciaran Clark just prior to the final whistle added a dour note.

A goal-ridden first half at Turf Moor saw Scott Arfield and Danny Ings of Burnley overcome the penalty effort of Queens Park Rangers' Charlie Austin and claim a 2-1 win for their side, pushing the Clarets into 17th, just a point off the bottom three.