EPL Results: Revised Premier League Odds, Table After Saturday's Week 17 Scores
Conventional wisdom suggests Leicester are eventually going to cool off and leave the Premier League title for one of the perennial contenders. Just don't tell that to the Foxes. They scored another impressive victory over Everton on Saturday to retain the top spot in the table.
Meanwhile, Manchester United suffered a surprising home defeat at the hands of Norwich. It leaves the Red Devils nine points behind Leicester and further amplifies the amount of pressure on manager Louis van Gaal to get things back on track in rapid fashion.
Let's check out all of the key information from Saturday's fixtures, including an updated look at the title odds following the day's results, which mostly favored the away squads. The tables are followed by a recap of the action.
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Matchday 17—Saturday Results
| Dec. 19 | Chelsea | Sunderland | 3-1 |
| Dec. 19 | Everton | Leicester | 2-3 |
| Dec. 19 | Manchester United | Norwich | 1-2 |
| Dec. 19 | Southampton | Tottenham | 0-2 |
| Dec. 19 | Stoke | Crystal Palace | 1-2 |
| Dec. 19 | West Brom | Bournemouth | 1-2 |
| Dec. 19 | Newcastle | Aston Villa | 1-1 |
| Dec. 20 | Watford | Liverpool | Sunday |
| Dec. 20 | Swansea | West Ham | Sunday |
| Dec. 21 | Arsenal | Manchester City | Monday |
Updated Premier League Table
| 1 | Leicester City | 17 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 13 | 38 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 16 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 33 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 15 | 32 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 17 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 14 | 29 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 17 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 29 |
| 6 | Crystal Palace | 17 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 29 |
| 7 | Watford | 16 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 25 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 24 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 24 |
| 10 | Everton | 17 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 23 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 17 | 6 | 5 | 6 | -2 | 23 |
| 12 | Southampton | 17 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 21 |
| 13 | West Bromwich Albion | 17 | 5 | 5 | 7 | -6 | 20 |
| 14 | Bournemouth | 17 | 5 | 4 | 8 | -10 | 19 |
| 15 | Chelsea | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | -6 | 18 |
| 16 | Norwich City | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | -9 | 17 |
| 17 | Newcastle United | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | -13 | 17 |
| 18 | Swansea City | 16 | 3 | 5 | 8 | -9 | 14 |
| 19 | Sunderland | 17 | 3 | 3 | 11 | -15 | 12 |
| 20 | Aston Villa | 17 | 1 | 4 | 12 | -17 | 7 |
Championship Odds
| 1 | Manchester City | 6-5 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 11-8 |
| 3 | Leicester | 11-1 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 16-1 |
| 5 | Tottenham | 20-1 |
| 6 | Liverpool | 22-1 |
Saturday Recap
Riyad Mahrez shined once again for Leicester, as he scored twice from the penalty spot to spark a 3-2 victory over Everton. The result moves the Foxes five points clear of second-place Arsenal, with the Gunners facing a high-profile clash with third-place Manchester City on Monday.
The unexpected leaders have played an aggressive brand of football that's been highly effective throughout the first half of the campaign. Pilib de Brun of talkSPORT commented on the style of play that's allowed them to sit above the top clubs at Christmas:
Meanwhile, manager Claudio Ranieri is happy with where they stand, but he stated afterward that he doesn't want the players to lose focus.
"Two points to go! Nice to have 38 by Christmas, but I've already told the players to clear their minds and go forward," Ranieri said, according to the club's Twitter feed.
The outlook isn't quite as optimistic or joyful at Old Trafford. Manchester United scored one or fewer goals for the sixth time in the last eight Premier League fixtures, and Norwich took advantage with a pair of tallies from Cameron Jerome and Alexander Tettey to score the upset.
It's a setback that further clouds a previously stable situation, per Rob Dawson of the Manchester Evening News:
Chelsea got back in the win column in their first match since the departure of Jose Mourinho. A more free-flowing Blues side managed to find the net three times against Sunderland as they look to start pulling away from the relegation battle.
Squawka Football provided the final numbers from a more promising Chelsea performance:
Elsewhere, Tottenham moved into the top four with a triumph over Southampton. Harry Kane and Dele Alli scored first-half goals and Spurs were on cruise control from there with one of their most complete outings of the term so far.
Crystal Palace continued their quiet pursuit of a possible European bid by knocking off Stoke. Lee Chung-Yong played the role of hero for the Eagles with a goal in the 88th minute to cap a match that was far more entertaining than the scoreline suggests.
Bournemouth also joined the group of away clubs to emerge with three points. The Cherries, who were coming off wins over Chelsea and Manchester United, kept the hot streak alive thanks to a Charlie Daniels penalty in the final minutes.
Finally, Newcastle and Aston Villa played to a 1-1 draw in the day's last match. Fabricio Coloccini gave the Magpies a lead in the first half, but Jordan Ayew netted the equalizer shortly after the hour mark to earn a point for the current cellar-dwellers.
Looking ahead, all eyes will be on the aforementioned meeting between Arsenal and Manchester City on Monday. It's a chance for both sides to make a major statement while also assuming the second-place position behind Leicester.
Before that matchup, there are two fixtures Sunday. Watford welcome Liverpool to Vicarage Road in a collision between two clubs within striking distance of the top four. The same could be said for West Ham, who are set to battle a Swansea side desperately seeking progress.
