The best and worst of the Matchday 15 EPL schedule

The Premier League’s traditional Boxing Day weekend is full of action to keep you entertained during your post-Christmas recovery routine. With Liverpool at the top of the table, Tottenham falling to sixth, and Man U inching ever closer to that top spot, there’s plenty on the line this weekend as clubs fight for their position in the table as we kick off the second half of the 2020-21 season.

Best of Week 15

Leicester v. Manchester United

Saturday, December 26, 7:30a.m. ET
King Power Stadium, Leicester
Watch on NBCSN

Boxing Day kicks off with what I would call the best match of the bunch. Third-place Manchester United heads to Leicester to take on the current second place holders while only one point separates the two clubs. Quite literally, the side who wins this match will be in second place when Matchday 15 is done. Unless, of course, fourth-place Everton grab a massive win to overtake Man U on goal differential. After a rocky start to the season, the Red Devils have finally found their groove as they’ve gone unbeaten in their last seven outings, six of them victories. Dating back to week seven, they’ve climbed from 14th all the way to third place in a very impressive turnaround for Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s men. Leicester have been hovering near the top of the table throughout the entire campaign, never falling lower than fourth. Jamie Vardy will be available despite picking up a slight groin injury, and there’s no doubt he’ll be a handful for Man U’s back line. File this match under “don’t miss.”

Worst of Week 15

Liverpool v. West Brom

Sunday, December 27, 11:30a.m. ET
Anfield, Liverpool
Watch on NBCSN & Telemundo

The league leaders Liverpool will play host to one of the absolute worst teams in the league, West Bromwich Albion. West Brom sits in 19th place with only one win on the season and have managed to only score 10 goals in their first 14 games. They’re in the midst of a four-game losing streak, earning their first and only win five weeks ago with a 1-0 victory over last-place Sheffield. Liverpool, who have only lost one game all season with an embarrassing 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa, are riding a 10-game unbeaten streak and recently reclaimed their first place spot after a 2-1 win over then-leaders Tottenham a couple weeks ago. Last week, they slaughtered Crystal Palace by a score of 7-0, and I’ll honestly be surprised if it’s not a similar scoreline against the Baggies. If you enjoy watching teams get completely taken to task in one-sided matches, then maybe this one is for you, but otherwise you can almost automatically give Liverpool the three points and call it a day without even watching.

Week 15 Sleeper

Wolverhampton v. Tottenham

Sunday, December 27, 2:15p.m. ET
Molineux Stadium, Wolverhampton
Watch on NBCSN & Universo

Tottenham are in dire need of a win if they want to compete with the top four, as they’ve only won once in their last five outings. The Spurs are coming off of two very tough weeks as they dropped a 2-1 result to Liverpool followed immediately by a 2-0 loss to Leicester, which saw them fall all the way down to sixth place in almost no time. 11th-place Wolverhampton will be up for the task as they’re trying to climb the table themselves and get back into the top 10 after slipping below just a few weeks ago. The Wolves’ speedy right back Nelson Semedo will have his work cut out for him as Son-Heung min will look to expose any weaknesses on the Wolves’ left side and capitalize on them, which should result in an entertaining and exciting match in itself, let alone all the other match-ups on the field. If the Wolves can pull off a win, that would bring them within two points of the Spurs, and could land them as high as ninth place if other results around the league go their way.

This Weekend’s Full Schedule

All times listed are Eastern.

Saturday, December 26

7:30a.m.: Leicester City v. Manchester United — NBCSN
10:00a.m.: Aston Villa v. Crystal Palace — NBCSN
10:00a.m.: Fulham v. Southampton — Peacock
12:30p.m.: Arsenal v. Chelsea — NBC, Universo
3:00p.m.: Manchester City v. Newcastle United — NBCSN, Universo
3:00p.m.: Sheffield United v. Everton — Peacock

Sunday, December 27

7:00a.m.: Leeds United v. Burnley — Peacock
9:15a.m.: West Ham v. Brighton & Hove — NBCSN
11:30a.m.: Liverpool v. West Brom — NBCSN, Telemundo
2:15p.m.: Wolverhampton v. Tottenham — NBCSN, Universo