Premier League Table: Final Week 7 2015 Standings, Results and Week 8 Fixtures
Romelu Lukaku scored a second-half brace on Monday evening as Everton completed a courageous comeback from two goals down at West Bromwich Albion to triumph 3-2 and move up to fifth in the Premier League.
That result only extended the utterly unpredictable nature of the 2015-16 campaign, with Manchester City suffering a 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday before Chelsea drew 2-2 at Newcastle United.
Manchester United saw off Sunderland to move to the head of the standings, but Louis van Gaal's side face a swift test of their title credentials when they make the trip to Arsenal next Sunday.
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Read on as we provide a preview of that high-stakes encounter, along with a recap of all this week's results, the latest standings and a look to the Week 8 schedule.
| 1 | Manchester United | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 16 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 6 | +7 | 15 |
| 3 | West Ham | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 9 | +6 | 13 |
| 4 | Arsenal | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | +3 | 13 |
| 5 | Everton | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 7 | +4 | 12 |
| 6 | Tottenham | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 12 |
| 7 | Crystal Palace | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 12 |
| 8 | Leicester | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 15 | 14 | +1 | 12 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 9 | -2 | 11 |
| 10 | Southampton | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 9 |
| 11 | Swansea | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| 12 | Norwich | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 12 | -1 | 9 |
| 13 | Watford | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 9 |
| 14 | Chelsea | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 8 |
| 15 | West Bromwich Albion | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 8 |
| 16 | Bournemouth | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 7 |
| 17 | Stoke | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 10 | -3 | 6 |
| 18 | Aston Villa | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 12 | -4 | 4 |
| 19 | Newcastle United | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 3 |
| 20 | Sunderland | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 16 | -10 | 2 |
Week 7 Results
| Tottenham Hotspur | 4-1 | Manchester City |
| Leicester City | 2-5 | Arsenal |
| Liverpool | 3-2 | Aston Villa |
| Manchester United | 3-0 | Sunderland |
| Southampton | 3-1 | Swansea City |
| Stoke City | 2-1 | Bournemouth |
| West Ham United | 2-2 | Norwich City |
| Newcastle United | 2-2 | Chelsea |
| Watford | 0-1 | Crystal Palace |
| West Brom | 2-3 | Everton |
Week 8 Fixtures
| Saturday, October 3 | 12:45 p.m. BST/7:45 a.m. ET | Crystal Palace | vs. | West Bromwich Albion |
| Saturday, October 3 | 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET | Aston Villa | vs. | Stoke City |
| Saturday, October 3 | 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET | Bournemouth | vs. | Watford |
| Saturday, October 3 | 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET | Manchester City | vs. | Newcastle |
| Saturday, October 3 | 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET | Norwich City | vs. | Leicester City |
| Saturday, October 3 | 3 p.m. BST/10 a.m. ET | Sunderland | vs. | West Ham United |
| Saturday, October 3 | 5:30 p.m. BST/12:30 p.m. ET | Chelsea | vs. | Southampton |
| Sunday, October 4 | 1:30 p.m. BST/8:30 a.m. ET | Everton | vs. | Liverpool |
| Sunday, October 4 | 4 p.m. BST/11 a.m. ET | Arsenal | vs. | Manchester United |
| Sunday, October 4 | 4 p.m. BST/11 a.m. ET | Swansea City | vs. | Tottenham Hotspur |
Red Devils Fight Arsenal for Prem Perch
United have succeeded in stringing together three successive Premier League wins for the first time this season following a 3-0 hammering of Sunderland, but the Gunners will fight them tooth and nail for top spot on Sunday.
Van Gaal's men head to the Emirates Stadium one point ahead of Manchester City and three points in front of fourth-place Arsenal, with defender Chris Smalling insisting nothing is beyond his team, per Adam Skinner of the Daily Express:
"We have improved. Last season’s start was disastrous and it didn’t give us a foothold to be able to challenge for anything.
We know that we have improved in this section of the season, and we now have to improve in each other section compared to last season and aim a lot higher.
Our aim is to be competitive in all of the competitions and to make sure that we finish higher in the Premier League than we did last season.
If we keep this consistent run from the start, and can maintain that all the way through, then I don’t think anything is out of reach.
"
Smalling will play a major role in those aspirations, too, after rising to show his best form alongside Daley Blind in central defence, with United currently boasting the joint-best back line in the Premier League.
But the Gunners are no newcomers to a race for the title and are in prime form after beating Leicester City 5-2 at the weekend. Prior to that defeat, Foxes manager Claudio Ranieri heaped praise on the north Londoners, per Squawka:
Three points could also be enough for Arsenal to claim first place depending on other results across the division, although Arsene Wenger's side haven't defeated United since May 2011.
Arsenal's much-changed attack has seen Theo Walcott rise to become first choice in attack while Anthony Martial is in firing form at Old Trafford, but who will best who in this clash between two of England's in-form powers?
Chelsea Hunting Saints Redemption
Chelsea have faced Southampton a total of six times since the Saints made the step back up to the Premier League in 2012, but a record of just two wins in those fixtures may be seen as disappointing to the Blues.
That's especially the case when one considers Jose Mourinho's men have drawn their last two games against Southampton. By the Blues' standards, that's not good enough, and ex-Manchester United defender Gary Neville told Sky Sports he felt Saturday's draw at Newcastle was another sub-par display, per the Mirror's Jack Lang:
"When I spoke after [the game], I said they needed to give themselves a slap round the face, the players.
When you win the league, it's normal to have a dip at the start of the season, but [Jose] Mourinho somehow has to get his message over to the players... or they have to wake up themselves.
It isn't good enough. It's nowhere near good enough.
They had a massive opportunity on Sunday. [Manchester] had been beaten earlier on in the day. That should have given them a boost to fly out of the blocks.
The performance in that first half was ridiculous. This is not just a blip anymore. It's dragging on.
"
Meanwhile, Southampton enjoyed a 3-1 win over Swansea City this past weekend, their first league win since August, giving them a welcome spring before making the difficult trip to Stamford Bridge.
The south coast outfit couldn't really ask for a better time to take on Mourinho's Chelsea, and manager Ronald Koeman identified accuracy as a key factor in their most recent win, per the official Premier League Twitter account:
Like Chelsea, Southampton have been somewhat off the boil lately compared to the quality they've shown in recent campaigns, and Saturday's clash will be considered hugely valuable for both sides competing.
That being said, Chelsea face a Champions League meeting with Porto on Tuesday, while Koeman's side will be glad of an extra few days' rest prior to a potentially profitable trip to west London.
