The English Premier League heads into round 15 of its season and there’s lots on the line this week. Namely, whether or not Jamie Vardy can keep up his incredible streak of scoring in every game. Here are three games to keep an eye this weekend.
Can Vardy Keep Leicester Rolling At Swansea City
The rise of Jamie Vardy and Leicester City has been the story of the EPL season through 14 games. His goal in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United gives him 14 to lead the league. Vardy has now scored in a top-flight record 11 straight games as Leicester is second behind Manchester City and while many don’t expect them to sustain this pace, as long as Vardy is finding the back of the net, why can’t they? They’re travelling to face a Swansea City side that badly needs a win, something they haven’t done in four games. They’re 15th in the table. Stopping Vardy has to be their No. 1 priority on Saturday.
Banged-Up Gunners Welcome Sunderland To London
Arsenal is hanging on to fourth place, but injuries are getting to a big problem at the Emirates. Midfielder Santi Cazorla has been influential, but he is out for three months with a knee injury, joining fellow midfielder Francis Coquelin on the sidelines. Alexis Sanchez has a hamstring problem that will put him down for a couple weeks, and his six goals trails only Oliver Giroud’s seven. This is going into a busy Christmas period for the EPL and Sunderland will be looking to take advantage of the Gunners’ injury woes on Saturday. Sunderland sits in 17th place after a 2-0 win over Stoke City, their second in a row, but they’re only two points above the drop zone and they’ve been terrible away from home with one draw, one win and five losses. Sunderland has also scored just seven goals on the road, and allowed 18.
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.
Red-Hot Liverpool Look To Pile On McLaren, Newcastle
Liverpool is the hottest team in the league and they’re coming off a 6-1 route of Southampton in the Capitol One Cup. Manager Jurgen Klopp has galvanized the team and since a 0-0 draw against Tottenham in his debut, Liverpool has scored in every game with Klopp in charge. The win over Southampton brought two goals from Daniel Sturridge on his return, and when he is healthy, he has proven to be one of the best strikers in England; the issue is that he is always injured. Newcastle is 19th after getting smashed 5-1 at Crystal Palace, and Steve McLaren is now at the top of the list of managers on the hot seat. This game is the beginning of a stretch of three home games out of four overall as Newcastle also host Aston Villa and Everton, and they can’t afford to drop more points. No team in the EPL has a worse goal differential than Newcastle at -16, but it’s only -1 at home at St. James Park, where they have a win, three losses and three draws. However, Liverpool has been great away from home with three wins and three draws in seven games.
