Premier League Table: Latest 2015 EPL Standings and Predictions for Matchday 23
Manchester City gave up further ground to league leaders Chelsea over the weekend as they lost 2-0 to Arsenal at home, with the Blues' 5-0 mauling of Swansea moving them five points clear at the top of the Premier League.
However, City will have an opportunity to reduce the deficit when they visit Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea when the Premier League returns on Jan. 31 for Matchday 23 after a break for the FA Cup.
The battle for the Champions League spots continues to be incredibly tight, with Manchester United, Liverpool, Southampton, Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham all winning in Week 22.
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Read on for full fixture details and predictions ahead of Matchday 23 as well as a closer investigation of the week's marquee clashes.
| # | Team | Pl | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
| 1 | Chelsea | 22 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 51 | 19 | 32 | 52 |
| 2 | Man City | 22 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 45 | 22 | 23 | 47 |
| 3 | So'ton | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 37 | 16 | 21 | 42 |
| 4 | Man Utd | 22 | 11 | 7 | 4 | 36 | 21 | 15 | 40 |
| 5 | Arsenal | 22 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 39 | 25 | 14 | 39 |
| 6 | Tottenham | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 32 | 30 | 2 | 37 |
| 7 | West Ham | 22 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 35 | 25 | 10 | 36 |
| 8 | Liverpool | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 31 | 27 | 4 | 35 |
| 9 | Swansea | 22 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 26 | 30 | -4 | 30 |
| 10 | Stoke | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 27 | -4 | 29 |
| 11 | Newcastle | 22 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 26 | 35 | -9 | 27 |
| 12 | Everton | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 34 | -4 | 23 |
| 13 | C Palace | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 25 | 33 | -8 | 23 |
| 14 | W Brom | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 29 | -9 | 22 |
| 15 | A Villa | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 11 | 25 | -14 | 22 |
| 16 | S'land | 22 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 33 | -14 | 20 |
| 17 | Burnley | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 21 | 36 | -15 | 20 |
| 18 | Hull City | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 30 | -10 | 19 |
| 19 | QPR | 22 | 5 | 4 | 13 | 23 | 39 | -16 | 19 |
| 20 | Leicester | 22 | 4 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 34 | -14 | 17 |
| Date | Time (GMT/ET) | Fixture | Prediction |
| Jan. 31 | 12:45 p.m./7:45 a.m. | Hull City vs. Newcastle | 1-1 |
| Jan. 31 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Crystal Palace vs. Everton | 2-2 |
| Jan. 31 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Liverpool vs. West Ham | 2-1 |
| Jan. 31 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Manchester United vs. Leicester City | 3-1 |
| Jan. 31 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Stoke City vs. QPR | 2-0 |
| Jan. 31 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Sunderland vs. Burnley | 1-1 |
| Jan. 31 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | West Brom vs. Tottenham | 0-1 |
| Jan. 31 | 5:30 p.m./12:30 p.m. | Chelsea vs. Manchester City | 2-1 |
| Feb. 1 | 1:30 p.m./8:30 a.m | Arsenal vs. Aston Villa | 3-0 |
| Feb. 1 | 4 p.m./11 a.m. | Southampton vs. Swansea | 2-2 |
Chelsea vs. Manchester City
This is undoubtedly the clash of the weekend—perhaps of the season—as Chelsea and City are the only two sides with anything like a realistic chance of taking the title.
A victory for Chelsea would see them open up an eight-point lead at the top of the table while a City victory would reduce the gap back down to two points.
Jose Mourinho's men have been indomitable at Stamford Bridge so far this season, winning each of their 10 home league matches and conceding just three goals.
City have to respond after their 2-0 home defeat in Week 22 to Arsenal in which they were dominated in the midfield and seemed to desperately miss Yaya Toure, per The Telegraph's Mark Ogden:
Toure could theoretically be back for the visit to west London if Ivory Coast are knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations at the group stages, but that is highly unlikely.
In his absence, Nemanja Matic and Cesc Fabregas will most likely dominate the middle of the park for the Blues and conduct the tempo of the match, thus handing Chelsea the initiative with their wealth of attacking players set to be well supplied.
Back in September, Chelsea took a 1-1 draw away from the Etihad, robbed of a victory by a late Frank Lampard equaliser. Expect them to go one better at home and take a huge step closer to the league title.
Prediction: 2-1
Liverpool vs. West Ham
Liverpool and West Ham are both set to be contending for European spots come the end of the season, whether it be Champions League or Europa League.
After a dismal start to the season, Brendan Rodgers' Reds have hit a significant patch of form, going six league games unbeaten. Furthermore, the Northern Irishman seems to have found an effective tactical formula playing three at the back, per the Liverpool Echo's James Pearce:
It will be essential, after back-to-back clean sheets, that the Reds defensive line stays solid once again when the Hammers visit Anfield, as the likes of Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing and Enner Valencia will be tough to handle.
However, given Liverpool's home advantage, they would do well to take the game to Sam Allardyce's men, who, despite winning 3-0 against Hull last time out, failed to win the previous four league games.
In beating Villa 2-0 in Week 22, the Reds saw strikers Fabio Borini and Rickie Lambert both find the back of the net, an encouraging sign in a season plagued by striking issues.
Jordan Henderson, Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva will play a key role in dominating possession against a solid West Ham, with the Brazilian seemingly something of a lucky charm for the Reds in the league, per Squawka. However, their only loss with him in the side did come against the Irons:
Liverpool are on the up and are beginning to look more solid in defence and more creative in attack. They should claim a home win against West Ham.
Prediction: 2-1
Manchester United vs. Leicester City
Perhaps the most remarkable result of the Premier League season so far was Leicester's 5-3 win over United at the King Power Stadium back in September.
Since that remarkable day—after which the Foxes sat seventh in the league and United 12th—the Red Devils have, somewhat unconvincingly, risen into the top four and stayed there while Leicester have dropped to the bottom of the table.
While Nigel Pearson's men have been enjoying a slight upturn in form of late, winning two of their last four and drawing one, their most recent outing ended in a 1-0 home loss to Stoke City.
United's defence has been steadily improving, and the likes of Leonardo Ulloa and David Nugent will find it harder to breach this time round, especially at Old Trafford, with Argentinian Marcos Rojo particularly impressing recently, per The Sunday Times' Jonathan Northcroft:
All eyes will be on whether Radamel Falcao starts after recent questioning of his ability although many seem to back the idea of him being given a long run in the side to improve his form, including the Manchester Evening News' Samuel Luckhurst:
The fact of the matter is that at home in front of their own fans and with such quality at their disposal—Falcao, Angel Di Maria, Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata—United should simply be too good to allow anything close to a repeat of September's debacle, and Leicester will likely remain rooted to the bottom of the table.
Prediction: 3-1
