SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE ARTICLES

The best of Match Day 21 was clearly saved for last. There are clearly six teams fighting for one championship and four spots in the Champions League this year, and two of the six are going to be on display in the last match of the weekend when Liverpool and Manchester United renew their heated rivalry.... 

Reality has completely set in for Leicester City. The Foxes might be the defending Premier League champions, but they have run out of magic and are going to be fortunate jut to avoid the drop this year. After getting blasted 3-0 earlier this year by Chelsea, they have to try to figure out how to stump the Blues once again, though it definitely should be noted that King Power Stadium was a house of horrors for the big time teams in England a campaign ago.... 

It's starting to get late early for Manchester City. The team finds itself in the second half of the EPL season trailing Chelsea by seven points and only a point clear of the Top 4 with Arsenal and Manchester United just behind. The pressure is really on the Citizens to get three points in these tough matches against teams like Everton, and that pressure could end up being too much for them to handle.... 

Jose Mourinho doesn't have a heck of a lot to worry about with his Manchester United squad this year. The Europa League is going to be a secondary tournament until the latter stages should the team ultimately get there, and the gap on Chelsea almost certainly isn't being closed. That said, if there's a serious piece of silverware to go get, it's the FA Cup. Will he go all out for it? We'll find out a lot about how he's going to handle the Red Devils against Reading in the first of a slew of FA Cup matches on the day.... 

Poor Peterborough United. Here we have a team that has had to fight, and scratch and claw its way into the third round proper of the FA Cup. It had to fend off a challenge from seventh division Chesham United in November then needed 120 minutes in December to see off Notts County. Its reward? It gets to travel to Stamford Bridge to play against a Chelsea team that just wrapped up one of the best runs in the history of English soccer.... 

Drawing an away match in the FA Cup is always a massive pain for these big time teams, particularly early in the tournament. This is the first match Arsenal and Preston North End have had, and while the Gunners are merely trying to avoid becoming a scalp on the road, Preston has its sights set on a huge scalp and a magical run.... 

Santa saved the best for last. The holiday fixture list is always incredibly complex to get around in the Premier League, but the last day of the official set of these matches is clearly one of the best. Tottenham probably only has one shot left to win the Premier League this year, and it's clear that this match against Chelsea absolutely has to be won to have any chance whatsoever to making that dream come true.... 

AFC Bournemouth has managed to stay in the Premier League for two straight seasons against really all odds. This is a team that is really getting outspent in relation to basically the rest of the teams in the top flight in England, and a match like this one against Arsenal really highlights the fact that there are massive differences in budgets between the two squads.... 

The holiday fixtures are already tough enough as it is for the teams in the Premier League. The last thing that any of them want to have to do is play one of these massive six-point swingers either at the very top or the very bottom of the table. Alas, Manchester City and Liverpool don't have that luxury of avoiding said matches. They've drawn each other on New Year's Eve, and though we're a long way from being finished this year, if there's a loser of this one, it's going to be a long climb back into legitimate championship contention.... 

New Year's Day is always a coveted one in sports. Sure, England hasn't quite caught on to the same degree of major sporting events as we have here in the United States, but the Premier League action to kick off 2017 is going to be intense. Arsenal is still trying to hang in there at the top of the table, and a match against Crystal Palace at home is going to be almost a mandatory three-pointer to stay in the chase.... 

Had you told Middlesbrough fans that their squad would be going into the new year on the right side of the relegation zone, that probably would have been perceived as a victory. Sure, Boro isn't safe from the immediate drop back to Championship yet, but things are looking good at the moment with four points of safety between them and said drop. But this New Year's Eve fixture and Manchester United isn't really one of those that looks like it can help the situation any.... 

There's nothing quite like the Boxing Day fixtures in the Premier League, and though technically speaking, the duel between Southampton and Tottenham isn't on Boxing Day, it's the last of the fixtures in the top flight of the holiday swing as the clubs get ready for the new calendar year.... 

Last year at this time, Jose Mourinho had just become a free agent. Chelsea had just let him go before the holiday push in one of the most shocking firings we've seen in a long time in English soccer. Mourinho isn't quite being threatened at Old Trafford yet, but Manchester United supporters are starting to get frustrated with the "Chosen One." The Red Devils want nothing more for Christmas than to get back to their winning ways, but by sitting on just 30 points in 17 matches, there's a point that it must be accepted that their ceiling is fourth place and a chance to play in the UCL next season. A match against Sunderland is absolutely a must-win at home.... 

Most Hull City supporters realized that this year in the Premier League was probably going to be its last for a while. The Tigers are expected to get relegated and are expected to finish at the foot of the table. They're overmatched most days, and the last thing they needed was a match against Manchester City. But this is the holiday season after all, and we've seen bigger Christmas miracles than this in England over the years.... 

One of the great traditions of the English Premier League is playing a host of games on Boxing Day throughout the day. Arsenal has had a great history of playing in the tightly packed fixtures around the holidays, and this might not end up being an exception. The Gunners have a game against a suddenly surging West Brom team that is surprisingly sitting in the middle of the table.... 

What odds could you have gotten heading into the last set of fixtures before Christmas in the Premier League that West Brom and Manchester United would be separated by exactly one spot on the table? Soccer is a funny game though, and this is where we're at right now. Now, these two teams are playing against other with a chance for the Baggies to close this gap dramatically.... 

Chelsea is starting to threaten to open up a relatively big lead in the Premier League as we head into the holidays. The Blues have six points on the rest of the field, and they have to love the fact that their two biggest challengers, Arsenal and Manchester City are playing against each other this weekend.... 

What a week Everton could be set to have! Had you told Toffees supporters they were going to get a total of three points between matches from Arsenal and Liverpool at home this week, they would have taken it. Now, they're effectively on house money against the Reds at home on Monday in a duel that could really propel them closer towards the coveted Top 5.... 

The calendar has turned to December, and that means there are a heck of a lot of matches in the English Premier League that are crammed into an awfully short period of time. Everton doesn't know what it's like to play a midweek affair yet, but it's going to get a shot at it this Tuesday when it plays host to Arsenal in one of its biggest games of the season if it wants to continue to stage a fight to stay in the top half of the table.This English Premier League duel will go down Tuesday, December 13, 2016, at 2:45 p.m. ET at Goodison Park. The match will be televised live on NBC Sports Network.... 

Liverpool had its moment atop the Premier League at the outset of December, and though it doesn't hold that spot any longer, Jurgen Klopp can still be satisfied for sure that his team is legitimately going to have a shot this season at what has suddenly become an elusive title for the Reds. West Ham should theoretically provide nothing more than a bump in the road, especially in a match being played at Anfield.... 

Part of what made Leicester City's season so spectacular in 2015-16 was its ability to somehow, against all odds, get positive results against the biggest clubs in the English Premier League. This year though, it's back to the norm for the Foxes, as they're hanging just above the relegation zone, and even at home, they feel like they really don't have much of a shot of any success against a team like Manchester City.... 

If there's a team that badly needs a win against a top competitor right now, it's Manchester United. The Red Devils shockingly only have five wins in 14 matches in the top flight this year, and Jose Mourinho needs something going in his direction once again. Opportunity is there for sure this weekend at home, but it's worth remembering that Tottenham has the best defense in the Premier League thus far this season and will be tough to crack.... 

Both Antonio Conte and Pep Guardiola were expected to have a bit of a transitional period from their previous jobs to the Premier League, but both have been doing a fantastic job out of the blocks. Conte's Chelsea side sits at the top of the Premier League with 31 points, but just a point back is Guardiola's Manchester City side. But at the end of the day on Saturday, the Citizens are going to be favored to be sitting in the catbird's seat in England with the Blues coming to the Etihad.... 

The pressure on Jose Mourinho is immense. He's only got 20 points in his first 13 matches with Manchester United, and that's just not cutting it for the fans at Old Trafford. Of course, Mourinho won't have to worry about this next match against Everton, because he's been suspended by the FA and won't be on the touchline.... 

Some of the fiercest rivalries in all of Europe are the ones in London, and though Arsenal and West Ham aren't quite as bitter against each other as Arsenal and Tottenham are, that doesn't take anything away from what should be a great game on Saturday on Match Day 14 of the EPL campaign....