Will the Premier League’s top four look familiar for the first time in ages, or can upstarts keep the big names at bay and the table the muddled after Week 16 of the 2025-26 season.
No. 2 plays No. 4 and No. 5 meets No. 7, and wins in those games plus elesewhere could mean the weekend finishes with the table reading Arsenal (1), Man City (2), Aston Vila (3), Chelsea (4), and Man United (5).
MORE — Latest Premier League standings
Games going the other way could produce further top four chaos, the possibility of Arsenal remaining first but seeing Aston Villa, Man City, Palace, and Everton as the next four teams.
The weekend is going to be brilliant, and that’s before mentioning the ongoing Mohamed Salah drama at Liverpool, the return of the Wear-Tyne derby after a near 10-year wait, and plenty more!
Premier League Week 16 schedule
Saturday 13 December
10am ET: Chelsea v Everton — USA — Watch live on NBC.com
10am ET: Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion — NBCSN — Watch live on Peacock
12:30pm ET: Burnley v Fulham — NBC — Watch live on NBC.com
3pm ET: Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers — USA — Watch live on NBC.com
Sunday 14 December
9am ET: Crystal Palace v Manchester City — NBCSN — Watch live on Peacock
9am ET: Sunderland v Newcastle United — USA — Watch live on NBC.com
9am ET: Nottingham Forest v Tottenham Hotspur — Watch live on Peacock
9am ET: West Ham United v Aston Villa — Watch live on Peacock
11:30am ET: Brentford v Leeds United — USA — Watch live on NBC.com
Monday 15 December
3pm ET: Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth — USA — Watch live on NBC.com
Man City’s shadow ‘looms large’ in title race
Robbie Earle and Robbie Mustoe share their takeaways from Manchester City’s impressive win against Sunderland where Pep Guardiola’s side currently sit two points behind Arsenal for top spot in the league table.
Premier League Week 16: Top storylines
- One of the greatest rivalries returns to the Premier League: Sunderland host Newcastle in the Wear-Tyne derby — we’re putting the home team first in a customary fashion — for the first time in nearly a decade of Premier League seasons. The Black Cats are surprisingly above the Magpies on the table and have had a full week to prepare while Newcastle went to Germany in the Champions League, yet most sees the visitors as favorites. The Stadium of Light is going to be cauldron of noise. We can’t wait.
- Will Mohamed Salah hit the pitch for Liverpool? This one’s easily No. 1 on the list and we’re pretty sure we do not need to explain why (though Joe Prince-Wright has a delightful read on it at NBCNews.com). We will anyway in TL:DR fashion: One of the greatest players in Premier League history may be playing his final game for his club. Oh, and Brighton are a pretty good opponent for the topsy-turvy Reds.
- Top-four Man United? Yes, there’s again a chance for Ruben Amorim’s men to climb into a top-four position, though they’ll need a bit of help from their neighbors Man City. The Red Devils have won two-straight matches and welcome a suddenly-struggling Bournemouth side with two points from their last six games despite a schedule that was less than a murderers’ row. Amorim’s men have rather quietly — at least for their standards — gone 5W-3D-1L since the start of October.
- West Ham, Villa seek standing: The Villans arrive in London as significant favorites, and Unai Emery rotated his bunch in a testing 2-1 win away to Basel in the Europa League on Thursday. But West Ham have improved and are desperate to get the win that moves them out of the bottom three. They’ve lost just once in six matches — to Liverpool — but have also not won in four. Getting all three points here could be the difference between feeling top-half momentum and sinking deeper into the relegation battle.
- Can 1v20 deliver a shock? Arsenal are home to a team with two points from 15 games, are eyeballing a number of big six-pointers just beneath them, and this should be a waltz to a healthier table lead, right? Right, but the Gunners do have serious injury problems at the back and are 2W-2D-1L in their last five Premier League matches (and the last one was a loss at Villa). The likeilhood is the task is far too straight-forward for the hosts, but this is the Premier League.
What happened between Salah, Slot and Liverpool?
Joe Prince-Wright, Nick Mendola, and Andy Edwards discuss Mohamed Salah’s saga at Liverpool following his controversial comments on Arne Slot and the club.
Premier League Week 16 predictions
Picks below are from Joe Prince-Wright (JPW) and Nick Mendola (NM).
Arsenal vs Wolves prediction
All signs point towards a convincing Arsenal win and they will rotate players in and out of the team and get the job done with minimum fuss. Arsenal 3-0 Wolves. (JPW)
Liverpool vs Brighton prediction
Your guess is as good as ours. Liverpool have tremendous attacking depth even if Salah joins Gakpo in being unavailable for this contest. And maybe that’ll be enough to tip the scales at home against a Brighton team which has beaten Chelsea away and both Man City and Newcastle at home this season. Liverpool 2-1 Brighton.
Chelsea vs Everton prediction
Chelsea slumped to a Champions League defeat to Atalanta in Bergamo on Tuesday, and their experience with rotation plus some decent recovery time shouldn’t leave them weary. Everton are a tough out and this is a tricky game to call. Chelsea 1-1 Everton. (NM)
Burnley v Fulham prediction
Injuries and suspensions have hit Burnley hard at the moment, and the club is relying on veteran goalkeeper Martin Dubravka to keep them in games. Fulham do not have a powerful attack but have been improved of late. Burnley 1-2 Fulham. (NM)
Sunderland vs Newcastle prediction
Sunderland have not lost at home this season and the Stadium of Light has been a cauldron of excitement and noise as supporters are buzzing to be back in the Premier League. That won’t change Sunday as they look to build on a 4W-3D home league record. The Magpies are unbeaten in four league matches but three were at St. James’ Park as away form has been an issue. That said, this is a Newcastle team with more experience in pressure-packed games and more talent top-to-bottom. Anything can happen in derbies but… Sunderland 1-2 Newcastle United. (NM)
Crystal Palace vs Manchester City prediction
This asks a lot of Palace, and it’s difficult to pick them at home knowing that Daniel Munoz will not be available for this one. Erling Haaland feels due for a Premier League goal, and that may be on the menu Sunday. Crystal Palace 0-2 Man City. (NM)
Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur prediction
Neither side has the health to make its depth count at the City Ground after midweek action in Europe. Spurs have more top-end talent and a bit more rest to make this away day a more probable success. Forest 0-2 Spurs (NM)
West Ham United vs Aston Villa preview
Villa are very good and Unai Emery has used his depth better than many would’ve guessed. Shame on us. But West Ham have been steadier of late as Nuno Espirito Santo has given the club hope of arriving to the January transfer window with their Premier League lives in order. This could be another point for them. West Ham 1-1 Aston Villa (NM)
Brentford vs Leeds United prediction
Leeds are in a terrific run of form while Brentford have been so uneven. Those results, however, have occurred almost exclusively across stadium lines. The Bees are 3-0 in their last three home games and 0-4 over their last four away days. That may well continue for Keith Andrews. Brentford 2-0 Leeds (NM)
Manchester United vs Bournemouth prediction
The Red Devils do seem primed to collect another win and run their unbeaten streak to four, but something about Bournemouth’s long winless run gives us pause — surely Andoni Iraola’s squad is due an answer? Ruben Amorim has so far navigated the absence of Matthijs De Ligt but it could be an opening for Antoine Semenyo and Co. Man United 1-1 Bournemouth (NM)
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