EPL Table: Updated Premier League Standings, Fixtures, Title Odds After Week 21
Chelsea regained sole possession of the top spot in the Premier League standings, beating Newcastle United 2-0 on Saturday. Defending champions Manchester City could only manage a draw against Everton, while Southampton severely dented Manchester United's title hopes with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
Arsenal and Liverpool both won their Week 21 fixtures, but at this point in time, they're no longer a realistic part of the title race. Here's how the Premier League standings look right now:
| 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 Hotspur | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 29 | 1 | 34 |
| 7 | West Ham United | 21 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 32 | 25 | 7 | 33 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 21 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 29 | 27 | 2 | 32 |
| 9 | Swansea City | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 26 | 25 | 1 | 30 |
| 10 | Newcastle United | 21 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 25 | 33 | -8 | 27 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 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 City | 21 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 27 | -7 | 19 |
| 19 | Queens Park Rangers | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 23 | 37 | -14 | 19 |
| 20 | Leicester City | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 20 | 33 | -13 | 17 |
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The results from Week 21:
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | Sunderland | 0 - 1 | Liverpool |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | Burnley | 2 - 1 | Queens Park Rangers |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | Chelsea | 2 - 0 | Newcastle United |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | Everton | 1 - 1 | Manchester City |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | Leicester City | 1 - 0 | Aston Villa |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | Swansea City | 1 - 1 | West Ham United |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | West Bromwich Albion | 1 - 0 | Hull City |
| Saturday, Jan. 10 | Crystal Palace | 2 - 1 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Sunday, Jan. 11 | Arsenal | 3 - 0 | Stoke City |
| Sunday, Jan. 11 | Manchester United | 0 - 1 | Southampton |
The current title odds, courtesy of Oddschecker.com:
| Chelsea | 4-9 |
| Manchester City | 9-4 |
| Manchester United | 33-1 |
| Arsenal | 80-1 |
| Southampton | 200-1 |
Chelsea
You can't argue with Chelsea's home form in the 2014-15 campaign—as shared by Infostrada Sports, the Blues became the first Premier League team to score multiple goals in their first 10 home matches in the past decade:
Similar to the match at St. James' Park, Newcastle did a good job of being physical with the Blues in midfield, putting tons of pressure on their creative players and forcing the hosts into long passes and out of their comfort zone.
But Chelsea adjusted to the tactics, took the upper hand and were able to grind out a win. It was a nice example of the progression this club has made and the squad's mental fortitude when playing at home.
As shared by the Blues' official Twitter feed, assistant Steve Holland told reporters Jose Mourinho wasn't entirely satisfied after the match but praised his players for making the necessary adjustments:
The next couple of weeks will be key for Chelsea, who have yet to suffer a truly devastating injury and have failed to take advantage of City's struggles in that department.
Away form has been an issue, and given the Blues' tremendous amount of talent, the gap at the top of the standings should be bigger. Chelsea are the favourites for this year's title, and they need to start playing like it away from Stamford Bridge.
Manchester City
It was only a matter of time before the current injury concerns came back to haunt the defending champions, and on Saturday, they did. The replacements of Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany both struggled against Everton, directly leading to the 1-1 draw.
Stevan Jovetic had multiple chances to score in the first half—Eliaquim Mangala was beat time and time again by Romelu Lukaku. Everton had lost four straight coming into this fixture, and while a trip to Goodison Park is never easy, this was the kind of match the Citizens simply had to win.
The Toffees played a fantastic match, mind you, and deserve full credit for the result. KICK TV put it this way:
Aguero and Kompany both made the bench for Saturday's fixture, with the former replacing Jovetic in the second half. This is excellent news for City, who desperately need his incredible finishing ability to help them win close matches like the one against Everton.
Samir Nasri and David Silva are still playing fantastic football, and while the loss of Yaya Toure hurts, the AFCON won't last forever. City still have a fantastic team and the gap over the Blues is only two points.
Sure, the Blues have looked like the best team in the Premier League all season, but the Citizens have come back from worse. Chelsea will host City on the last day of January—expect that match to have a massive impact on how the title race will play out.
