EPL Predictions: Picks, Top Players for Week 26 Premier League Fixtures
Fresh from a 3-1 defeat of Manchester City on Saturday, Leicester City will look to extend their lead at the Premier League summit in Week 26 when they travel to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal.
The Foxes come into Week 26 five points clear at the top of the standings, with north London outfits Tottenham Hotspur, second, and Arsenal, third, level on points just behind Claudio Ranieri's men.
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Leicester's upstarts will be eager to earn some redemption for the 5-2 defeat they suffered at home to the Gunners in September, while Spurs make the trip to Manchester City hoping to set the fourth-place Citizens back.
Manchester United are also in the hunt to upset the Premier League hierarchy as they travel to Sunderland in Saturday's early kick-off with a view to closing the gap on rivals City and the rest of the top four.
Read on as we break down the Week 26 schedule, complete with predictions and a roundup of which players to keep an eye on.
| Saturday, Feb. 13 | 12:45 p.m./7:45 a.m. | Sunderland | 1-3 | Manchester United |
| Saturday, Feb. 13 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Bournemouth | 2-3 | Stoke City |
| Saturday, Feb. 13 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Crystal Palace | 1-1 | Watford |
| Saturday, Feb. 13 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Everton | 2-1 | West Bromwich Albion |
| Saturday, Feb. 13 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Norwich City | 1-3 | West Ham United |
| Saturday, Feb. 13 | 3 p.m./10 a.m. | Swansea City | 1-2 | Southampton |
| Saturday, Feb. 13 | 5:30 p.m./12:30 p.m. | Chelsea | 2-0 | Newcastle United |
| Sunday, Feb. 14 | 12 p.m. GMT/7 a.m. ET | Arsenal | 2-2 | Leicester City |
| Sunday, Feb. 14 | 2:05 p.m./9:05 a.m. | Aston Villa | 2-3 | Liverpool |
| Sunday, Feb. 14 | 4:15 p.m./11:15 a.m. | Manchester City | 1-1 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 1 | Leicester City | 25 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 47 | 27 | 20 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 25 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 45 | 19 | 26 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 25 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 39 | 22 | 17 |
| 4 | Manchester City | 25 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 47 | 26 | 21 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 25 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 32 | 22 | 10 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 25 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 38 | 29 | 9 |
| 7 | Southampton | 25 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 33 | 24 | 9 |
| 8 | Everton | 25 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 46 | 34 | 12 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 25 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 32 | 36 | -4 |
| 10 | Watford | 25 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 27 | 27 | 0 |
| 11 | Stoke City | 25 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 31 | -7 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 25 | 9 | 5 | 11 | 26 | 30 | -4 |
| 13 | Chelsea | 25 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 33 | 35 | -2 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 25 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 23 | 32 | -9 |
| 15 | Bournemouth | 25 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 29 | 41 | -12 |
| 16 | Swansea City | 25 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 24 | 33 | -9 |
| 17 | Newcastle United | 25 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 26 | 44 | -18 |
| 18 | Norwich City | 25 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 28 | 48 | -20 |
| 19 | Sunderland | 25 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 30 | 49 | -19 |
| 20 | Aston Villa | 25 | 3 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 40 | -20 |
N'Golo Kante, Leicester City
It's well founded at this point that a Leicester team fighting the odds has done so largely on a shoestring budget, but N'Golo Kante, the man who cost the club £5.7 million last August, is one of their more expensive stars.
Irrespective of the fee, the Frenchman is proving to be worth every penny of the outlay, and Squawka detailed his influence in the first half of Saturday's 3-1 win over Manchester City:
Arsenal have scored the fewest goals of any team in the Premier League's top four this season (16), but Kante will nevertheless have the job of occupying their creative assets in the hope of muting their procedure.
Ben McAleer of WhoScored.com recently pointed out that Kante has made more tackles and interceptions than any other player in Europe's top five leagues this season:
Now well established in a midfield pivot alongside Daniel Drinkwater, Kante is the box-to-box presence that has worked like a machine for Ranieri. Aaron Ramsey and Mesut Ozil were near their best for the Gunners in a 2-0 defeat of Bournemouth on Sunday, and it's that pair in particular Kante will be looking to suffocate.
For all the flair the likes of Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy provide Leicester, Kante and Drinkwater could be dubbed the glue holding it all together, more so in their trip to Arsenal this Sunday than anytime else.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-2 Leicester City
Jesse Lingard, Manchester United
After a sorry slump in attacking form, Manchester United have benefited immensely from the return of Jesse Lingard, who has scored in each of the team's league results since a sobering defeat at home to Southampton in January.
The 23-year-old's latest strike came in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Sunday, and it shows great fighting spirit on his part to hear Lingard speak of the result as a disappointing one, per Sky Sports (h/t Goal's Joe Wright):
"We played the majority of the game well but to concede late on feels like a defeat.
It was instinct to turn and hit it [for the goal] but it was the three points we wanted.
I think we're playing a lot better now, as a collective we're doing well.
"
Lingard now has four goals to his name from just nine league starts and a trip to Sunderland—the leakiest defence in England's top flight, having conceded 49 times this term—bodes well for United's emerging marvel.
The official Premier League Twitter account went about detailing just how accurate Lingard has been of late, and one gets the sense that if he's found in space, he's capable of testing any stopper at present:
As detailed by Squawka, three of Lingard's four Premier League goals in 2015-16 have come from inside the box, and it's in the area that the Black Cats have conceded the vast majority of their goals this season (46).
Fit again and firing on all cylinders, Lingard is likely to once again pose a threat floating behind United's attacking line and take Sam Allardyce's side to task.
Prediction: Sunderland 1-3 Manchester United
