Premier League, Week 12: Southampton only manage draw at Aston Villa

Southampton are still in second place, but their position is about to come under fire after they dropped points at the worst possible time. Aston Villa were able to snag a point in a 1-1 draw against the Saints, who face a murderer’s row of fixtures over the next two weeks.

It looked like Southampton were well in control and the much more likely side to score until the 30th minute, when their goalkeeper Fraser Forster made a terrible decision to come off his line and try to beat Gabriel Agbonlahor to a loose ball. Predictably, he lost the race, and Agbonlahor passed the ball into an empty net after going around him.

Key player - Dušan Tadić (Southampton)

Italian international Graziano Pellè has adapted to the rigours of the Premier League with surprising ease; his big frame an physical style ensuring he’s been able to impose himself in a pretty tough division. Aston Villa’s defence -- which could be without its two regular centre-backs -- could well struggle to keep the former Feyenoord man out of the game.

Tottenham Hotspur struggled to start another match Sunday, but they were bailed out by a silly sending off. Hull City turned in a great performance, but a rush of blood to the head by Gaston Ramirez cost them, and Spurs walked away from the KC Stadium with a 2-1 win.

But even though Spurs were the better side from then until the end of the match, they struggled to find a second goal. Soldado had another very poor miss in the 66th minute and Kane headed wide a couple minutes later. After that, Hull settled in, and it appeared they’d be able to hold on for a point.

Liverpool scored within two minutes at Selhurst Park, but the hosts had equalized by the time 20 minutes were up. But it was the second half that proved the death of the Reds, with Crystal Palace scoring two goals in three minutes, finishing the game with a 3-1 victory.

With Mario Balotelli out with injury, Brendan Rodgers gave a rare league start to Rickie Lambert. Fellow ex-Southampton man Adam Lallana was in the starting lineup as well, and before three minutes were up, the two had combined as though they’d never left St. Mary’s.

Tottenham Hotspur travel to face Hull City on Sunday in a battle of two teams stuck in the bottom half of the table. Hull are in 15th, just a point above the drop zone while Spurs are struggling in 12th.

The Danish attacking midfielder is easily Spurs best and most dangerous player. The better he plays, the better Spurs play. When he scores goals, Spurs tend to get positive results. Hull looked really bad in the last game before the international break so they’re every reason to believe that Eriksen could have a big day. If he does, Spurs have a good shot at full points.

Crystal Palace injuries and suspensions

Out: None. In doubt: James McArthur (calf).

When it comes to Juventus moments, United have their own: that ludicrous, lunatic, Keane-covering-every-blade-of-grass performance by in the 1999 Champions League semi-final. This United team, compared to that one, are a miserable rabble. Yet it is to that level that van Gaal is charged with returning United: to the top of the table, to the sharp end of Europe, to the relentless, remorseless machine. The path from one Juventus moment to another still looks like a long one, but United will be feeling that after this victory — strange confection of spirit and luck and oh, Arsenal though it was — it might not be completely unnavigable.

It was Arsenal who almost took a blow next, when several minutes later Wilshere clashed with Marouane Fellaini. Wilshere seemed to be frustrated after being whistled for fouling Fellaini, and after barking at the referee appeared to try to headbutt Fellaini. Given the height difference between the two, though, Wilshere just kind of bumped Fellaini’s chest and Mike Dean was too busy laughing under his breath to send Wilshere off.

The rest of the half bogged down in to mediocrity, though there was one moment of minor comedy when Chris Smalling completely whiffed on a try at a volley. The second half started strongly in Arsenal’s favor, with Sanchez, Welbeck, and Wilshere terrorizing Manchester’s back line. It took another good save from De Gea and a bunch of blocked shots for United to hold ARsenal off, but it also wasn’t long before the entire face of the match changed.

Arsenal dominated the first 50 minutes of their match with Manchester United before a horrible, horrible sequence. Shortly after Jack Wilshere picked up an injury that necessitated his substitution, United got on the board through an own goal. And during that own goal sequence, Kieran Gibbs clattered into Wojciech Szczesny, who picked up an injury bad enough that he couldn’t continue.

Szczesny took his time exiting the match and made every attempt to continue, but was eventually removed after a few minutes down on the pitch. His replacement is Emiliano Martinez, an Argentine youth international and Arsenal’s third-choice keeper.

1. Ruin a clearance by clashing with your own goalkeeper.

2. Score an own goal from the ground.

Pro-tip: Don’t step to the guy who’s got eight inches and 50 pounds on you.

You learn that lesson when you become a big boy.

Swansea may have kicked off the scoring, but it was Manchester City that walked away with the 2-1 win. Goals from Stevan Jovetić and Yaya Touré mean City stay third in the Premier League table, still eight points back of Chelsea thanks to the Blues’ win over West Brom.

The first half of the match finished all square, but the game was marked more by feistiness amongst the players than a plethora of chances. It was the hosts that got things started, exposing Manchester City’s rather fragile defense. Nathan Dyer held off the City players with ease before flicking over to Wilfried Bony, who was completely unmarked. The Ivorian, perhaps eager to celebrate his new contract, chested the ball down before firing past Joe Hart.

Foster was determined not to let his side, which was bitterly disappointing on the day, get blown out, as the momentum of the match suggested was possible. He played brilliantly in the first half, stopping a multitude of Chelsea shots and preventing several others from even happening with good defensive work.

West Brom were able to see out the rest of the half without surrendering a goal, but only thanks to more top-notch play from Foster. The second half started much the same, with Foster making a pair of huge stops in the first five minutes to keep the scoreline reasonable, even if West Brom couldn’t hold any kind of possession against Chelsea’s onslaught.

It’s not often that a match between Arsenal and Manchester United is a 6th place vs. 7th place match in the Premier League, but such is the case on Saturday. Neither team has been performing up to hopes or standards so far this season and they now find themselves scrambling to get back in the race for a top-four spot.

Key Matchup: The battle of the defenses

That makes their game at home to Swansea City on Saturday all the more important, though the Citizens certainly shouldn’t be expecting a walk in the park. Garry Monk’s side have been one of the division’s big overachievers so far this season, and would move level on points with City with a win away at the Etihad on Saturday. Such a victory could have costly consequences for Pellegrini.

Key player -- Sergio Agüero (Manchester City)

Diego Costa has made a lightning start to his Premier League career, finding the net 10 times in his opening nine matches. His mixture of blistering pace and battling strength has seen him adapt perfectly to English football, and the variation inherent in Chelsea’s build-up play. Whether it’s from a long ball played in behind the defence, or a cross from deep, Costa has every chance of getting on the end of it.

With West Brom having hired an unproven manager in Irvine over the summer, many expected them to be sucked into a relegation battle. Instead, they’ve made a pretty solid mid-table start, in no small part thanks to the exploits of their young striker Saido Berahino, whose pace has made him a fantastic outlet on the counter for the Baggies. He could well cause problems for Chelsea’s defence.

Manchester United and Arsenal sit below the top four, already out of the title race, resigned to a fight for Champions League places. Either would be seriously damaged by a loss in their big Saturday clash, but the Gunners might need to avoid a loss even more than Louis van Gaal’s side.

Instead, all three of those teams are just three points behind Arsenal and two behind United, who have been almost as bad, even if their table positions are a bit less nauseating for their supporters. And if either team loses on Saturday, their fans are going to start panicking, especially if one, two or all of the aforementioned trailing top four contenders looks convincing in a win this week.