With the holidays right around the corner, and Boxing Day fixtures in the Premier League nearly upon us, the races in each part of the table are now set, and teams will be looking for every little advantage they can procure.
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To be honest, we didn’t learn a whole lot from this past week’s fixtures except a few things: Liverpool is fine, Manchester City has life, and Spurs could be in trouble.
[ MORE: PST’s Player Power Rankings for Weeks 17 ]
The relegation battle is one of the more intriguing scenarios right now, with a good five teams looking like they’ll be the ones to battle it out. The back half of the Champions League fight could prove entertaining as well, should Chelsea run away with the title. Here’s where we stand.
| TEAM | RANKING | |
|---|
| | 20 (18) | | Hull City: Last league win was Nov. 6. Bad news. Could be doomed. |
| | 19 (15) | | Burnley: Sean Dyche can only survive on performances alone for so long. Need results and need them now.
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| 18 (20) | | Swansea City: An absolutely gutting 3-0 loss to Middlesbrough last time out has put Bradley back in the crosshairs. They need transfers and they need them now.
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| | 17 (19) | | Crystal Palace: Alan Pardew is gone, and now the quick rebuild begins. A Jan 3 meeting with Swansea looks crucial. |
| | 16 (14) | | Sunderland: Monumental win over Watford means they’re a point away from pulling off the drop. Problems persist, but results appearing. Tough stretch now versus Man Utd, Liverpool. |
| | 15 (12) | | Watford: Brutal, brutal loss to Sunderland. 6 losses in their last 7. They may be 12th in the table, but this team desperately needs to prove they belong there.
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| 14 (16) | | Middlesbrough: With 2 wins in their last 4, a Boxing Day matchup with Burnley could truly separate them from the relegation scrap.
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| 13 (14) | | Leicester City: A soft schedule ahead provides the opportunity for the Foxes to pull themselves out of the doldrums. Can they do it? |
| 12 (13) | | West Ham United: The Hammers got past Hull, and now could truly cement a comeback by beating Swansea before having to face the Champions plus both Manchester sides.
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| | 11 (11) | | Stoke City: Mark Hughes has done well to eliminate losing from the vocabulary of late. Can they shock either Liverpool or Chelsea? |
| 10 (9) | | Everton: The Liverpool loss was as deflating as they come, and a Boxing Day meeting with Leicester will be a good litmus test for the coming new year. |
| 9 (8) | | Bournemouth: On the heels of a historic game, they fell flat in a derby. A step back.
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| | 8 (7) | | West Bromwich Albion: Beating bad teams, losing to good ones. They face Arsenal, Southampton, and Spurs in their next 4. Make-or-break for their top-half hopes.
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| | 7 (10) | | Southampton: With Europe over, this team’s form has picked up. Where have we heard that before? Hardly moving up 3 places on the Bournemouth win alone, this team is suddenly dangerous. |
| 6 (5) | | Tottenham Hotspur: Had to claw back to beat Burnley. Players are signing contract extensions left and right, but the on-field signs are not good.
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| | 5 (4) | | Manchester United: Quietly, this team has won three straight PL games and hasn’t lost in any competition since November 3.
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| Logo_Manchester_City | 4 (5) | | Manchester City: Many are still unconvinced, but Pep needed a statement win and got it. Beating Arsenal revives the title chase. |
| | 3 (2) | | Arsenal: Two straight losses has this team trending in the wrong direction at the wrong time. |
| | 2 (3) | | Liverpool: With defending an issue, the team stepped up for a gritty 1-0 win over Everton, and they’re back in second in the table and the rankings. As Klopp said, they’re “on fire” |
| 1 (1) | | Chelsea: Eleven straight wins will do that for a team. |
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