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Week 16 of the Premier League campaign sees a wealth of attention fixated upon Sunday's clash between Manchester United and Liverpool, where the Red Devils ran out as 3-0 victors over their close rivals.

This week saw Chelsea take on Steve Bruce's Tigers at Stamford Bridge in an effort to keep up his side's prolific start to the season, while the Premier League pack continue to hound down their west London leaders.

It's not just at the top that there's controversy worth keeping an eye on, though, and the ever-rotating search to steer clear of the bottom three presents just as much excitement.

2014-15 Premier League: Week 16 Results Date Home Score Away Saturday, Dec. 13 Burnley 1 - 0 Southampton Saturday, Dec. 13 Chelsea 2 - 0 Hull City Saturday, Dec. 13 Crystal Palace 1 - 1 Stoke City Saturday, Dec. 13 Leicester City 0 - 1 Manchester City Saturday, Dec. 13 Sunderland 1 - 1 West Ham United Saturday, Dec. 13 West Bromwich Albion 1 - 0 Aston Villa Saturday, Dec. 13 Arsenal 3 - 1 Newcastle United Sunday, Dec. 14 Manchester United 3 - 0 Liverpool Sunday, Dec. 14 Swansea City 1 - 2 Tottenham Hotspur Monday, Dec. 15 Everton 3-1 Queens Park Rangers PremierLeague.com

2014-15 Premier League Standings Position Club P W D L GF GA GD Points 1 Chelsea 16 12 3 1 36 13 23 39 2 Manchester City 16 11 3 2 33 14 19 36 3 Manchester United 16 9 4 3 29 17 12 31 4 West Ham United 16 8 4 4 27 19 8 28 5 Southampton 16 8 2 6 25 13 12 26 6 Arsenal 16 7 5 4 28 19 9 26 7 Tottenham Hotspur 16 7 3 6 20 22 -2 24 8 Newcastle United 16 6 5 5 18 22 -4 23 9 Swansea City 16 6 4 6 21 19 2 22 10 Everton 16 5 6 5 27 24 3 21 11 Liverpool 16 6 3 7 19 22 -3 21 12 Stoke City 16 5 4 7 18 21 -3 19 13 Aston Villa 16 5 4 7 10 20 -10 19 14 West Bromwich Albion 16 4 5 7 15 20 -5 17 15 Sunderland 16 2 10 4 14 24 -10 16 16 Crystal Palace 16 3 6 7 19 24 -5 15 17 Burnley 16 3 6 7 11 24 -13 15 18 Queens Park Rangers 16 4 2 10 17 30 -13 14 19 Hull City 16 2 7 7 15 23 -8 13 20 Leicester City 16 2 4 10 15 27 -12 10 PremierLeague.com

Sunday Recap

Louis van Gaal's Manchester United continued to show their credentials for a top-four finish this season after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The early kickoff may well have seen the in-form Red Devils enter the struggle as favourites, but few might have predicted the hosts would rout their rivals so convincingly.

However, Brendan Rodgers' side may have come closer to a result were it not for the stellar performance of David de Gea, who as Goal UK shows, was in superlative shape for the fixture:

Strikes from Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie proved United to be the more clinical of the two in front of goal, whereas Raheem Sterling failed to clinch several clear chances when fielded up front by his manager.

Goalscorer Rooney may have done his part in front of goal, but was sure to thank saviour De Gea through his official Twitter account after the result:

In the late fixture, Christian Eriksen scored a late winner for Tottenham at the Liberty Stadium as Swansea City fell to their third defeat in five games, despite Wilfried Bony's best attempts to pull Garry Monk's side through.

Ben McAleer of WhoScored.com notes how essential Eriksen has been for Mauricio Pochettino this term, possessing a knack for bagging late goals in particular:

Spurs climb to ninth in the standings as a result of their triumph, but have yet to put three consecutive results together so far this term, achieving two-win streaks on two occasions.

Next up for Pochettino's men comes Wednesday evening's Capital One Cup quarter-final against Newcastle United, an opportunity for Tottenham to take some joy outside their uncertain league setting.

Saturday Recap

Arsenal were overjoyed to fully welcome Olivier Giroud back into their ranks after the Frenchman's return to fitness this weekend as their star striker netted twice in a 4-1 win over Newcastle United.

The Gunners and Magpies were level on points coming into this clash, but Giroud's display helped cut out a distinct advantage for Arsene Wenger's men in the pursuit of a top-four finish. Squawka shows the forward's record against Newcastle is particularly prolific:

It was an invigorating performance from the Emirates Stadium hosts which helps to put the memories of a 3-2 defeat to Stoke City last weekend behind them, while Newcastle surrender an edge in the European hunt.

Santi Cazorla also provided a brace to keep up his recent run of good form and further alleviate pressure off under-fire boss Arsene Wenger, whose side have now netted eight times in their last two outings.

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Chelsea and Manchester City continued their duel at the head of the Premier League standings after each managing to take victories against Hull City and Leicester City, respectively.

Diego Costa got back to scoring ways after Eden Hazard opened with a seventh-minute header, but Jose Mourinho admitted his side weren't quite at their most sparkling in the 2-0 win, per ESPN's Miguel Delaney:

There were just three shots on target between the two teams, per WhoScored.com, all of which were recorded by the hosts, but Chelsea will nevertheless take their victory with a smile.

At King Power Stadium, Frank Lampard struck to give Manuel Pellegrini's men a 1-0 win over the Foxes. The official Premier League Twitter account shows Saturday's winner was a landmark effort for the on-loan midfielder:

Despite playing largely in a bench role, Lampard continues to show his worth at the top level and calls for him to remain at the Etihad until season's end are understandable given the security he offers in midfield.

A more surprising 1-0 win came at Turf Moor, though, where Burnley clinched their third win in six matches with a beating of Southampton, whom Squawka attests are enduring a downward spiral in form of late:

Ronald Koeman's outfit now sit in fifth, 13 points off leaders Chelsea and with their chances at European football diminishing by the fixture.

Burnley, on the other hand, are out of the relegation zone and looking for bigger and better things, having lost just once in their last six outings.

Sean Dyche finally has his side performing in a manner that makes top-flight survival looking like a plausible target, a drastic improvement on the team that took just four points from its first 10 games of the season.

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Crystal Palace and Sunderland will have been left content overall with their home draws against Stoke City and West Ham, respectively, both fixtures ending 1-1 on Saturday.

James McArthur gave the Eagles an advantage in the 11th minute at Selhurst Park, but Peter Crouch levelled matters after just two minutes as the two teams saw out a predictably even encounter.

West Ham star Stewart Downing pulled one back for his side after Jordi Gomez pegged back the Stadium of Light visitors early on, but Hammers chief Sam Allardyce clearly felt his outfit deserved more:

Nevertheless, Southampton's defeat is good news for West Ham, who still sit among the top four and maintain a record of just one defeat in their last 10 league outings.

Minnows of all shapes and sizes continue to seek their clear breaks across the division, while Chelsea's rise back to silverware goes another week uninterrupted—for now.