NBCSN's First Premier League Weekend Coverage Begins this Week

Third-place Manchester United host fourth-place Southampton this Sunday, Jan. 11, at 11 a.m. ET on NBCSN, highlighting NBC Sports Group's Premier League coverage for the first weekend action of 2015. NBC Sports Group's lead Premier League play-by-play announcer Arlo White calls the match, joined by former Manchester United player and assistant coach Phil Neville, at Old Trafford. Former English footballer and BBC MATCH OF THE DAY presenter Gary Lineker and analyst Graeme Le Saux host on-site studio coverage.

Just over halfway through the 2014-15 Premier League season, Premier League Live's Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle, Kyle Martino and Robbie Mustoe look back on the first half of the season and what to expect going forward:

Rebecca Lowe: "The first half of this season has been, as it always is, riddled with storylines: Liverpool's poor start; Chelsea's moment of appearing invincible and Tottenham's hard-to-decipher progression; whilst lower down it's been about which club held its nerve long enough before firing their manager. Now that the managerial merry-go-round is going into top gear, expect plenty more drama as the clubs trying to stave off relegation get desperate. At the top, it had looked a done deal for Chelsea, but they've stumbled, and Jose Mourinho is as grumpy as I've seen him! Impossible to call from here on in...and that's why we're all addicted to the Premier League!"

Robbie Earle: "Once again, the league is proving to be the most challenging in the world. Manchester United now have, supposedly, one of the best managers in game, yet he's had to use all of his strengths to get them back into the top four. It's always laced with unique interest when you get two teams like West Ham and Southampton in and around the top four, knocking out some of the usual suspects. The biggest thing is less than six weeks ago, people were suggesting Chelsea were going to run away with the title. Manchester City closed a nine-point gap, and now the two teams are only separated by alphabetical order - same wins, draws, losses and goals. I can't remember a time when that's happened in the past. Looking down the league, there's probably seven or eight teams that all believe they can stay up, but all have a fear of possibly going down. Usually, at this stage you'll have one team that are almost away from the rest - one gone, two more places for relegation - we're not in that situation."

Kyle Martino: "2014 was a year of surprise. Not the Chelsea-Manchester City two-horse race, but most things below them. Manchester United and Southampton breaking into the top four, and in Merseyside, both Liverpool and Everton well below their high-water mark from this time last year, have been a head scratchers for most. Fortunately, 2015 will answer a lot of our pending questions."

Robbie Mustoe: "A famous British TV series 'Tales of the Unexpected' could have been written for what we've seen in the Premier League so far this season. From disappointing and underachieving Arsenal, Liverpool, and Everton to the fantastically overachieving Southampton and West Ham, this season has illustrated what an unpredictable league it can be. Don't expect a late twist in the plot though, the main characters will shine through for the season finale."

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