Soccer-Bullet point previews of Premier League matches

Dec 14 (Reuters) - Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of round 18 of the Premier League on Dec. 16-Dec. 18 (games at 1500 GMT unless stated):

Saturday, Dec. 16

Leicester City v Crystal Palace (1230)

*Leicester have not lost to Palace in their last four Premier League games, winning three and drawing one.

*The Foxes are on a four-game winning run and have taken 17 points out of a possible 24 after Claude Puel was named manager.

*Palace striker Christian Benteke has had 24 shots at goal in 12 league games but is yet to open his account this season.

*Palace are unbeaten in six games and are 18th in the table while Leicester are eighth.

*Leicester top-scorer Jamie Vardy has two goals and an assist in his last three league starts against Palace.

Arsenal v Newcastle United

*Arsenal are without a league victory in three games and are seventh in the table.

*The Gunners, who were defeated 3-1 by Manchester United in their last home clash, have not lost back-to-back games in the same season at the Emirates Stadium since 2010.

*Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez has not tasted success at Arsenal in the league in six previous attempts, drawing four and losing twice.

*The Magpies have one point from their last eight league games and are 16th in the table.

*Arsenal's Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez has managed only four goals from 14 league games this season.

Brighton and Hove Albion v Burnley

*Brighton and Burnley will meet for the first time in the Premier League but have played each other 29 times previously.

*Burnley have won six of their last eight league matches and are sixth in the table behind Liverpool and ahead of Arsenal, while Brighton are 13th.

*Burnley have posted nine victories this season with six of those games ending 1-0.

*Brighton are unbeaten in six games against Burnley, winning three and drawing three since losing 1-0 in the Championship in 2012.

*Burnley have conceded 12 goals this season, behind leaders Manchester City and Manchester United who have both let in 11.

Chelsea v Southampton

*Chelsea have lost only once in the last nine league games and are third in the table.

*Southampton are 11th and a return of 18 points is their lowest in five years after 17 games. They had 15 points at this stage in the 2012-13 campaign.

*Chelsea and Southampton have played each other 36 times in the league, with the Londoners winning 20 games to Southampton's eight.

*The Saints have not kept a clean sheet in eight games since beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 on Oct. 21.

*Southampton forward Charlie Austin has scored four goals in his last five league games.

Stoke City v West Ham United

*Stoke have lost four out of the last seven league games and are 15th in the table.

*Mark Hughes' Stoke have kept two clean sheets this season, the fewest alongside Crystal Palace, and have let in 36 goals.

*West Ham boss David Moyes is looking to go three games unbeaten in the league for the first time since 2014, after guiding them to a win over Chelsea and a draw with Arsenal.

*West Ham striker Javier Hernandez has scored five league goals against Stoke.

*The two teams have played each other on 16 occasions in the Premier League, with Stoke winning five games to West Ham's four.

Watford v Huddersfield Town

*Huddersfield have lost five out of their last six league games and are 12th in the table.

*Ninth-placed Watford are winless in four games and lost 2-1 to relegation-threatened Crystal Palace in their last outing.

*Marco Silva's Watford have dropped 13 points from leading positions in the league this season.

*Watford forward Richarlison has scored five goals and provided four assists this season.

*This is the first meeting between the two teams since 2015 when Huddersfield beat Watford 3-1 at home in the Championship.

Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur (1730)

*Leaders City are on a record-breaking 15-game winning streak in the league and 18 points ahead of Tottenham.

*Tottenham are fourth in the league with 31 points after back-to-back wins against Stoke and Brighton.

*The two teams have played each other 40 times in the league with Spurs winning 23 games while City have 11 wins.

*Tottenham striker Harry Kane has scored 12 league goals this season, with seven coming away from home.

*City's all-time top-scorer Sergio Aguero has scored 99 goals at the Etihad Stadium in 133 appearances across all competitions.

Sunday, Dec. 17

West Bromwich Albion v Manchester United (1415)

*West Brom are winless in 15 games after starting the season with consecutive victories.

*The West Midlands club is 17th in the league with 14 points and drew 0-0 with Liverpool in their last outing.

*Second-placed United have beaten West Brom 14 times in 22 Premier League meetings.

*Striker Romelu Lukaku has scored nine goals this season and headed in United's winner against Bournemouth on Wednesday.

*United goalkeeper David de Gea has kept 10 clean sheets this season, the highest ahead of Arsenal's Petr Cech (8) and Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois (7).

Bournemouth v Liverpool (1630)

*Bournemouth have beaten Liverpool once in four previous league meetings, a thrilling 4-3 victory last season.

*Liverpool are unbeaten in eight league games, winning five and drawing three and are fifth in the table with 31 points.

*Striker Mohamed Salah leads the league's scoring charts with 13 goals.

*With 65 changes to his starting XI so far this season, Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp has tinkered with his squad more than any other manager.

*Bournemouth have not won in the league since their 4-0 victory over Huddersfield in November, collecting three points from the next five games to sit in 14th.

Monday, Dec. 18

Everton v Swansea City (2000)

*Tenth-placed Everton are on a four-game unbeaten run in the league and beat Newcastle United 1-0 in their last outing.

*Bottom side Swansea have lost seven of their last nine games and have collected 12 points this season.

*The Welsh side have scored nine goals in 17 matches, the lowest among all teams.

*In 14 previous visits to Goodison Park, Swansea have posted one victory in all competitions.

*In-form Everton striker Wayne Rooney has notched five goals and an assist in their last four league games. (Compiled by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)