Another weekend and another Premier League preview. With the competition gradually approaching its business end, clubs in both halves of the table will have another chance to stake a claim for a satisfactory finish at the end of the season when they line up for this weekend's fixtures. Last week, fans were treated to spectacles once more when Wolverhampton defied the odds to condemn Tottenham Hotspur to a second successive defeat in the league.
Prior to Spurs' collapse in their own backyard, Manchester United had come under scrutiny for their inconsistency after giving up a one-goal lead to share spoils with Southampton at Old Trafford. Elsewhere, Frank Lampard got his first win as Everton boss after his side put three goals past Leed in their first home game of the season under for the former Chelsea man.
League leaders Manchester City had a stroll in the park, beating Norwich by four goals to nil while Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool kept the pressure on the Citizens atop the table by beating Burnley 1-0. Chelsea and Arsenal were due for a London derby but had the game postponed in wake of the former's FIFA Club World Cup commitment.
Here is how things look in the Premier League ahead of this weekend's round of matches:
Premier League standings heading into matchday 26
| Pos. | Team | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | P | Form | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 36 | 26 | 5 | 5 | 88 | 28 | +60 | 83 | WWWWL | |
| 2 | Manchester City | 35 | 25 | 7 | 3 | 87 | 33 | +54 | 82 | WWWWW | |
| 3 | Liverpool | 35 | 22 | 9 | 4 | 77 | 36 | +41 | 75 | DLWLD | |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 36 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 73 | 53 | +20 | 67 | LDWWD | |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 34 | 18 | 6 | 10 | 67 | 54 | +13 | 60 | LLLWD | |
| 6 | Newcastle United | 35 | 17 | 5 | 13 | 78 | 56 | +22 | 56 | WWLWW | |
| 7 | Chelsea | 35 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 70 | 59 | +11 | 54 | WWDLW | |
| 8 | Manchester United | 34 | 16 | 6 | 12 | 52 | 51 | +1 | 54 | DWDDL | |
| 9 | West Ham United | 36 | 13 | 10 | 13 | 56 | 70 | -14 | 49 | LDLLW | |
| 10 | AFC Bournemouth | 36 | 13 | 9 | 14 | 52 | 63 | -11 | 48 | LWWLD | |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 35 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 53 | 57 | -4 | 47 | WLLDL | |
| 12 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 36 | 13 | 7 | 16 | 49 | 60 | -11 | 46 | LWLLD | |
| 13 | Fulham | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 51 | 55 | -4 | 44 | DDLWL | |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 35 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 45 | 57 | -12 | 40 | DWWWL | |
| 15 | Everton | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 38 | 49 | -11 | 37 | DWWWL | |
| 16 | Brentford | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 52 | 60 | -8 | 36 | DLWWD | |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 36 | 8 | 9 | 19 | 45 | 63 | -18 | 29 | WLLDL | |
| 18 | Luton Town | 36 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 49 | 78 | -29 | 26 | DLLLW | |
| 19 | Burnley | 36 | 5 | 9 | 22 | 39 | 74 | -35 | 24 | LDWDL | |
| 20 | Sheffield United | 36 | 3 | 7 | 26 | 35 | 100 | -65 | 16 | LLLLL |
Premier League games you won't want to miss on matchday 26
West Ham vs Newcastle United: On Saturday, West Ham United will face a revitalized Newcastle United in the first Premier League game of the weekend. While Hammers would have seen this as little more than a routine win a few weeks ago, the Magpies have now won three in a row, giving him optimism of keeping the division's biggest spenders in January in the division. The visitors, who have already climbed out of the relegation zone, are coming off a 1-0 win over Aston Villa, while West Ham drew 2-2 with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
West Ham won 4-2 in a highly entertaining matchup between the two clubs in the season opener and considering both teams' recent attacking play, it seems reasonable to predict another exciting encounter.
Arsenal vs Brentford: Arsenal may put more pressure on Manchester United in fourth place this weekend after returning to winning ways in their last Premier League match. With three games in hand and four points behind the Red Devils, the clash with Brentford gives the Gunners a window to avenge the first round defeat suffered against the local rivals. Mikel Arteta's men will go into the encounter with a spring in their step, having beaten Wolves in their last Premier League outing.
On the contrary, Brentford will be looking for a win to boost the confidence in camp amid their recent struggles. Thomas Frank's men are in awful form and have not won in the Premier League since beating Aston Villa at the start of January. However, they ended a run of five straight Premier League defeats, and registered a clean sheet for the first time in 12 matches, with a 0-0 home draw against Crystal Palace last Saturday.
Man City vs Tottenham Hotspur: On Saturday, Manchester City will play Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium in a top Premier League game. The Citizens will return to base after a brilliant performance in Europe fired them to a 5-0 win over Sporting CP in the Round of 16 stage of the elite competition. In the league, they will be poised to keep their impressive run going. The defending champions lead Liverpool by nine points, despite the fact that the Reds have a game in hand.
Meanwhile, Antonio Conte's men are currently in eighth place in the Premier League, with 11 wins, three draws, and eight defeats. Spurs are currently in a rough period, having lost three of their previous five Premier League games. They will go into Sunday's meeting with the desire to bounce back from successive defeats to Southampton and Wolves with a win.
Leeds United vs Manchester United: Manchester United will be poised to build on the victory against Brighton in midweek when they visit rivals Leeds United on Sunday. With the win over the Seagulls, the Red Devils ended a three-game losing streak and surged back into the top four, despite having played more games than most of their Champions League competitors.
Meanwhile, Leeds are in desperate need of points for a different reason, having recently suffered terrible losses at the hands of relegation rivals Everton and Newcastle, and are ready to embark on a difficult run of fixtures, with Liverpool and Tottenham to follow.
Team news for matchday 26
Arsenal: Gabriel Martinelli (suspended), Takehiro Tomiyasu (calf injury)
Chelsea: Mason Mount (ankle injury), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (knock), Benjamin Chilwell (ACL injury)
Liverpool: Diogo Jota (ankle)
Manchester City: Jack Grealish (shin injury), Gabriel Jesus (Muscle injury), Zack Steffen (Back injury), Cole Palmer (muscle injury)
Manchester United: Nemanja Matic (shin injury), Mason Greenwood (suspended)
Tottenham: Oliver Skipp (groin injury), Japhet Tanganga (knee injury), Eric Dier (thigh injury)
