The English Premier League schedule picks up after a nice 10 day break after the busy holiday schedule of Boxing Day and New Year's and the first match after this past weekend's games will be on Saturday, January 11th and has Chelsea taking on Hull City at the Kingston Communications Stadium and the late match on the day has Manchester United taking on Swansea City at Old Trafford in an anticipated matchup.
After the Chelsea match is West Ham United taking on Cardiff City and they have been through some upheaval now with their manager and owner and it will be good for the club to get back to football. Everton and Norwich City play at Goodison Park and the other matches on the day includes Fulham against Sunderland, as well as Southampton and West Brom. Tottenham plays against Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane, while Manchester United finishes the day.
The Sunday schedule has Newcastle United taking on Manchester City at St. James Park in the early match and that is a big game for Man City and in the late match it's Stoke City hosting Liverpool and the Reds will be looking to continue their strong play after winning 2-0 against Hull City last weekend. The Monday match has Aston Villa taking on Arsenal at Villa Park and that means the Gunners may have to wait a day or two to regain their lead on the table if someone jumps over them, but that also happened this week and they ended up in first.
Arsenal is in good position to remain in first place, but with the way that the league has been shaping up this year, it's anyone's guess of who will finish in the top four. Arsenal is in first place now over Manchester City and Chelsea, while Liverpool is in fourth place on the table with 12 wins and Luis Suarez has been the best player in the EPL, leading the league in goals. Everton is in fifth on the table, while Tottenham is next ahead of Manchester United, who have bounced back after a slow start for David Moyes.