The English Premier League is notoriously busy over the holidays, while many other leagues take a break. The action ramps up as the 17th round of games kick off on Saturday and go until Monday. These are the three major storylines to watch along with our EPL previews.
Mourinho Out At Chelsea
Chelsea fell 2-1 at Leicester City on Monday in a meeting of the biggest stories in the EPL. The Blues are 16th, one point above the drop zone while Leicester is at the top of the table. To say Jose Mourinho was on the hot seat had to be an understatement. He succumbed to the pressure and the two sides split up this week. A loss on Saturday at home to Sunderland would have resulted in a more forcible exit. Sunderland is 19th, three points below Chelsea in the table, but they’ve been brutal away from home with a win and six losses in eight games, scoring eight goals and allowing 21. But this Chelsea team has lost four times at Stamford Bridge this season. We’ll see how they respond with a new bench boss.
For more previews on all of the EPL games this week, tune in to Premier Punditry to hear them break down the games or visit Premier Punditry.
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Liverpool Trying To Catch Up To Watford
For all the talk of a Liverpool resurgence, they’re still only ninth in the table after a 2-2 draw at home with West Brom. That could have been a loss if not for a late injury-time goal from Divock Origi, but Liverpool suffered another injury as defender Dejan Lovren suffered a knee injury. He’ll be out for a month, but striker Daniel Sturridge might be ready to return from his latest ailment. Watford is seventh in the table after a 1-0 win at Sunderland, their third victory in a row. While they were aiming to stay in the EPL after returning this season, Watford is almost there and they can afford to start taking some shots at the bigger teams. Liverpool would be a big name on their resume.
Arsenal, Manchester City Headline Round 17
The marquee matchup of the week is actually on Monday as Arsenal heads to Manchester City, and the second-place Gunners are a point and a spot ahead of Man City. Arsenal won 2-0 at Aston Villa in what could have been a trap game for them, and striker Oliver Giroud scored to make it five goals in his last three games. Midfielder Aaron Ramsey also scored and had a fine game as he was allowed to play centrally with Arsenal having injuries in that area of the pitch, and they’ll need him to continue that against City’s strong midfield. City won 2-1 at home over Swansea City, but they have their own injury worries. Striker Sergio Aguero and defender Pablo Zabaleta are both due to return this week, along with captain Vincent Kompany, but nothing is set in stone. City has a league-high seven wins at home, while Arsenal tops the EPL with six away wins. This is set to be a cracker of a match on Monday.
