Manchester United ended week 17 of the Barclays Premier League on top, two points clear and with a game in hand ahead of their crucial clash with Chelsea next Sunday. If that game is big then so was there win over Arsenal at Old Trafford yesterday evening. United won the game thanks to a Park Ji Sung header in the first half.

The Premier League also witnessed Chelsea miss out on a win over Spurs, ending 1-1, Manchester City briefly going joint top after a win at West Ham, Liverpool lost again, this time to Newcastle under new boss Alan Pardew. Bolton Wanderers beat local rivals Blackburn whose manager Sam Allardyce has now lost his job, Aston Villa won 2-1 at home to West Brom, Everton drew 0-0 with Wigan, as did Sunderland and Fulham, Blackpool won on the road again at Stoke and Wolves beat local rivals Birmingham in a hard-fought match.

With the hectic Christmas schedule set to light up the next couple of weeks it will be interesting to see who leads the Premier League heading into new year. Manchester United’s postponed fixture away to Blackpool will be played on the 25th January on a Wednesday evening – could they still be top of the league after that game?

Barclays Premier League Results:

Aston Villa 2-1 West Brom

Everton 0-0 Wigan

Fulham 0-0 Sunderland

Newcastle 3-1 Liverpool

Stoke 0-1 Blackpool

West Ham 1-3 Man City

Bolton 2-1 Blackburn

Tottenham 1-1 Chelsea

Wolverhampton 1-0 Birmingham

Man Utd 1-0 Arsenal

After a short International break the Premier League returns to action with some exciting-looking fixtures. On Saturday Arsenal face local rivals Spurs at the Emirates, Chelsea face a tricky trip to Birmingham, Man United entertain Wigan and Liverpool host West Ham. Sunday’s games see Fulham welcome Manchester City and Aston Villa travel to Blackburn. Monday night’s game sees Sunderland play Everton in a game that really could go either way. Our predictions on the games are below but feel free to comment and give us your views on the games.

Saturday, 20 November 2010

Arsenal 2 v 1 Tottenham, 12:45 – Arsenal have been playing well in recent weeks and welcome the inconsistent Spurs to the Emirates. 3 points for the home team but it won’t be straight forward.

Birmingham 1 v 3 Chelsea, 15:00 – a tough looking fixture for injury-plagued Chelsea but they have the desire and team spirit to put all that to one side and win at St Andrews.

Blackpool 2 v 0 Wolverhampton, 15:00 – This will be a game Wolves manager Mick McCarthy will have down as “must get something from” but we expect Blackpool to win after their great start in the first third of the season.

Bolton 1 v 1 Newcastle, 15:00 – This game is always a tight affair with both teams looking for 3 points. A draw is therefore the most likely result.

Man Utd 2 v 0 Wigan, 15:00 – a home tie for Manchester United to return to winning ways in, they should take full advantage with an impressive record against Wigan.

West Brom 2 v 1 Stoke, 15:00 – A game destined to be last on MOTD due to the contrasting styles of both teams. Good teams to watch in their own way, they may cancel each other out trying not to be beaten.

Liverpool 2 v 1 West Ham, 17:30 – After another poor performance over Stoke last weekend Liverpool will look to Anfield to cheer them on in a relatively easy home tie, West Ham would settle for a point.

Sunday, 21 November 2010

Blackburn 1 v 1 Aston Villa, 13:30 – A game with the potential to set the pulses racing but will more likely be a scrappy affair and a draw the most likely result.

Fulham 2 v 3 Man City, 16:00 – This game has “goals” written all over it and with Manchester City’s superior firepower we expect them to put back-to-back 0-0 stalemates behind them in an exciting Sunday afternoon encounter with ex-manager Mark Hughes.

Monday, 22 November 2010

Sunderland 2 v 2 Everton, 20:00 – Both teams are in good form and getting results, so expect a draw in this one, with plenty of goals for good measure.

This weekend saw a few shock results in the Premier League as week 13 was unlucky for some. Aston Villa led 2-0 before Man United got back into the game to snatch a draw. United’s result seemed like more dropped points but then Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea all followed suit, the latter 2 teams losing at Stoke and at home to Sunderland respectively. Arsenal were the main benefactors as they won 2-1 at Everton, Newcastle and Fulham played out a 0-0, Spurs beat Blackburn 4-2, West Ham and Blackpool failed to score against each other, Wigan beat West Brom at home and Bolton won 3-2 at Wolves.

Barclays Premier League Results:

Aston Villa 2-2 Man Utd
Man City 0-0 Birmingham
Newcastle 0-0 Fulham
Stoke 2-0 Liverpool
Tottenham 4-2 Blackburn
West Ham 0-0 Blackpool
Wigan 1-0 West Brom
Wolverhampton 2-3 Bolton
Chelsea 0-3 Sunderland
Everton 1-2 Arsenal

Another round of fixtures will be played this weekend with some more intruiging ties to be played. Manchester United travel to Villa Park, Man City face Birmingham, Stoke welcome Liverpool, Everton face Arsenal and Chelsea entertain Sunderland. Find our predictions below and feel free to leave your comments too.

Predictions:

Saturday, 13 November 2010

Barclays Premier League

Aston Villa 1 v 2 Man Utd, 12:45

Man City 3 v 0 Birmingham, 15:00

Newcastle 2 v 1 Fulham, 15:00

Tottenham 1 v 1 Blackburn, 15:00

West Ham 2 v 1 Blackpool, 15:00

Wigan 2 v 1 West Brom, 15:00

Wolverhampton 1 v 1 Bolton, 15:00

Stoke 1 v 2 Liverpool, 17:30

Sunday, 14 November 2010

Barclays Premier League

Everton 1 v 3 Arsenal, 14:00

Chelsea 3 v 0 Sunderland, 16:10