After a packed midweek Premier League programme we return for another weekend edition.

Crystal Palace and Chelsea kick off this weekend's fixtures, with Palace looking to end Chelsea's run of 10 consecutive wins.

Palace put in an excellent performance against Manchester United but still found themselves on the losing side thanks to Ibrahimovic and Pogba.

Chelsea have recently made 1-0 wins top of their agenda, with narrow wins against both West Brom and Sunderland.

Crystal Palace vs Chelsea – Saturday 17th December 2016 – 12:30 - Sky Sports 1   

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace welcome Chelsea to Selhurst Park on Wednesday evening, with Palace enjoying a recent upturn in fortunes.

Palace come into this fixture on the back of a narrow 2-1 defeat against Manchester United on Wednesday night.

Paul Pogba (45+2) opened the scoring for United just before half-time, with the ball appearing to come off Ibrahimovic's arm in the process.

James McArthur (66) levelled for the Eagles, with an excellent backheel from Delaney carving open the United defence.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (88) left it late to secure the win, with a brilliant ball from Paul Pogba slotted cooly past Wayne Hennessey to make it 2-1 to United.

The match was marred by a string of poor decisions by referee Craig Pawson, there was also another appalling challenge from Marcus Rojo.

Palace Looking For Run

Crystal Palace still come into this match in better form, despite losing the home game against United.

Alan Pardew will be looking to secure a second win in four matches, they find themselves 16th in the Premier League, 3 points above the relegation zone.

The Eagles have conceded 15 goals in their last six matches, with their defence proving to be fragile yet again.

Eagles Underdogs

Crystal Palace come into this match as underdogs, with Chelsea's excellent form and recent wins informing those odds.

This will be a tough fixture for Alan Pardew's side, with Chelsea the form side in the Premier League at the moment.

Their overall record against Chelsea is poor, with the Eagles winning four, drawing nine and losing 16 of 29 meetings overall.

Crystal Palace are 19/4 with Christian Benteke at 15/2 to score first. 

Crystal Palace

Conte's Chelsea Continue

The hosts Chelsea come into this match on the back of another win, this time away against Sunderland.

It was another dogged performance from the Blues, with Sunderland proving to be resolute in defence.

Cesc Fabregas (40) scored the only goal of the game for Chelsea, with Conte's side grounding out another crucial win, it is the hallmark of champions.

Win Number Ten

That result will have delighted manager Antonio Conte, as Chelsea have won their last ten successive Premier League matches.

Diego Costa and Eden Hazard have been rejuvenated under the Italian, with the striker scoring 13 goals this season.

The move to a back three had seen them record seven wins without conceding, they now sit six points clear at the top of the table, with 13 wins overall.

Blues Favourites

Chelsea head into this fixture as the favourites, with their incredible recent form taken into account, they are the form team in the Premier League.

They will be looking to register their fourteenth win of the season, the recent wins giving them incredible confidence.

Antonio Conte's men will be looking to better their recent record against Palace, they have won one and lost one of their last two encounters.

Chelsea are 8/15 with Diego Costa at 3/1 to open the scoring.

 

The second fixture sees Middlesbrough take on Swansea at the Riverside.

Middlesbrough come into this match on the back of a 3-0 defeat against Liverpool at the Riverside in midweek.

It's a result that Karanka's side will want to put right, losing at home in that manner is unacceptable regardless of the high class of the opponents.

Swansea continued their inconsistent form with another defeat against West Brom at the Hawthorns.

The 3-1 result means that Bob Bradley's side have won, lost, won and lost their last four fixtures.

Middlesbrough vs Swansea – Saturday 17th December 2016 – 15:00

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough welcome Swansea to the Riverside Stadium on Saturday afternoon, with Boro looking to respond to their miserable midweek defeat.

Boro come into this match in poor form, with back to back defeats against Liverpool and Southampton.

They were defeated 3-0 by Liverpool on Wednesday evening, a thoroughly miserable performance from the home side.A Lallana (29,

Adam Lallana continued his fine season with a double (29, 68), with Belgian Divock Origi (60) scoring in between, with Lallana getting an assist.

More Wins Needed

That result will have disappointed manager Aitor Karanka, with Middlesbrough suffering their seventh defeat of the season.

It means that Aitor Karanka's side come into this match in poor form, having won one, lost three and drawn two of their last six.

They are in the bottom four for wins this season, with the six draws and seven defeats completing their results.

Aitor Karanka's side find themselves just three points above Swansea in 18th, with Boro now needing wins to remain out of the relegation zone.

Boro Favourites

Middlesbrough come into this match as favourites, with home advantage and Swansea's poor season contributing.

Boro have now conceded eight goals in their last six matches, they will have to discover the art of scoring more goals to win matches.

Middlesbrough will be looking to better their recent record against Swansea, they have lost the last three fixtures against the Swans.

Middlesbrough are 11/10 with Alvaro Negredo at 9/2 to score first.

Middlesbrough

Swansea Continue Yoyo

The visitors Swansea come into this match on the back of a 3-1 defeat against West Brom in midweek.

They have continued their recent yo-yo form, winning a match in style, then following that up with a defeat in some style as well.

Saloman Rondon scored a second-half hat-trick to down the Swans (50, 61, 63), with the West Brom striker ensuring another emphatic win.

Swansea did register a consolation goal from Wayne Routledge late on, with the Swansea forward scoring in the 78th minute.

Swans Seek Consistency

It has been a whirlwind few results for Swansea and their new manager Bob Bradley, who have been at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Having won their epic encounter 5-4 against Palace a few weeks ago, they crashed to a 5-0 defeat against Tottenham the following week.

They have followed a similar trend, winning 3-0 in the relegation six-pointer against Sunderland, then being soundly beaten by West Brom.

This match represents another great step forward for Swansea, with a win taking them level with Middlesbrough who are outside the relegation zone.

Swans Underdogs

Swansea head into this fixture as the underdogs, with their inconsistent recent record informing those odds.

They will be looking to register their fourth win of the season, in the process securing a third win under Bradley.

Bob Bradley's men will be looking to continue their excellent overall record against Swansea, they have won 3, drawn 2 and lost 2 of their 7 meetings.

Swansea are 5/2 with Gylfi Sigurdsson at 6/1 to open the scoring.

 

The final match of this preview sees Stoke take on Leicester at the Bet365 Stadium.

Stoke come into this match on the back of a hard fought 0-0 draw at home against Southampton.

They spent much of the match with ten men after a poor challenge from Marko Arnautovic, the draw will feel like a win for them.

Leicester have again shown their inconsistency, with a 1-0 defeat against Bournemouth.

That result will have frustrated Ranieri, with the momentum gained against Manchester City all but wiped out with that defeat.

Stoke vs Leicester City – Saturday 17th December 2016 – 15:00   

Stoke

Stoke welcome Leicester to the Bet365 on Saturday afternoon, with Stoke in good form of late.

Stoke come into this fixture on the back of a 0-0 draw against Southampton, with the Potters going into the match on the back of another defeat against the Gunners.

It was a great performance from Mark Hughes' side, with the Potters playing with ten men for 67 minutes.

Marko Arnautovic's reckless challenge in the 23rd minute, with Soufiane Boufal the recipient of that particular challenge.

Luckily for Hughes' side Southampton were without Charlie Austin, with Jay Rodriguez spurning a golden chance to secure the win.

Great Set Of Results

Stoke have been in excellent recent form, with just two defeats in their last seven matches with one at home and one away.

Mark Hughes will be looking for his side to start another unbeaten run, more importantly returning to winning ways in this home match.

They go into this match four points and two places above the visitors Leicester.

After their difficult start to be in 12th place is an excellent achievement, another win will take them onto 23 points.

Potters Favourites

Stoke come into this match as favourites, with Leicester's abysmal away form informing those odds.

This will be a tough fixture for Mark Hughes's side, with Claudio Ranieri's men yet to win away from home in the Premier League.

Stoke's recent record against Leicester is mixed, with the Potters winning one, drawing one and losing one of their last three encounters.

Stoke are 11/8 with Wilfried Bony and Marko Arnautovic at 6/1 to score first.

Stoke

Leicester Still Inconsistent

Claudio Ranieri's side come into this match on the back of a narrow 1-0 defeat against Bournemouth on Tuesday.

That 1-0 defeat has completely ruined any momentum gained from the 4-2 win against Manchester City.

The Foxes have struggled for any sort of consistency this season, with the Champions League taking precedence over the Premier League.

Claudio Ranieri will have been disappointed with that defeat, especially given how emphatic the result against City was.

Consistency Needed

Leicester will be looking for the perfect response, they will be looking to end their away struggles against Stoke.

The midweek defeat has seen Leicester slip down to 14th, with the Foxes now on 16 points, just four points above the relegation zone.

The Foxes have four wins this season, they will be looking to back that result up with their first away win of the season.

Leicester Underdogs

Leicester come into this match as the underdogs, with their away record the reason behind those odds.

They will be looking to register their fifth win of the season, they have won as many games in Europe as they have in the Premier League.

Ranieri's side will be looking to improve on their overall record against Stoke, with Leicester winning 17, losing 22 and drawing 18 of 57 matches.

Leicester are 19/10 with Islam Slimani and Jamie Vardy at 11/2 to open the scoring.

 

Betting Tips

Tip 1 – Hazard to score first @ 4/1 and Chelsea to win 2-1 @ 7/1

Tip 2 – Negredo to score first @ 9/2 and a 1-1 draw @ 5/1

Tip 3 –Vardy to score first @ 6/1 and Leicester to win 2-1 @ 9/1

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