By Mikey Godsmark
Watford fans would have been breathing a sigh of relief in
some ways on Tuesday night as they faced a short trip to Arsenal rather than a
trek to Hull. However, the Hornets face a stern test from Arsenal and are
unlikely to progress. That being said, Arsene Wenger may look to rest players
ahead of a trip to the Nou Camp and mission impossible. Aaron Ramsey will miss
out through injury though Wenger may wish to play Gabriel or Mertesacker to
test this fitness before Wednesday. Watford have hit a poor patch recently with
both Ighalo and Deeney struggling for goals, they haven’t scored in three.
Watford will be hoping to turn this around on Sunday but at home, Arsenal
should be too strong for them.
Last week saw me get 70 points if we use Lawro’s prediction
system and it could have been 40 more if Sunderland had held on at St Mary’s.
This week the FA Cup returns as I look to preview the weekend’s matches.
FA Cup
Reading v
Crystal Palace
Reading are the only Championship side remaining in the
competition and will be hoping to reach the semi-final for just the 3rd
time in their history and for the second year in a row. Matej Vydra is the
competition’s top scorer but has recently been injured and his participation is
in doubt. Ola John has been in fine form recently and Reading will be hoping
for him to make a big impact. Palace lost again at the weekend and look to be
trying their hardest to get dragged into a relegation scrap, Pardew will look
to be able to use Friday night as a way of getting his teams form up,
especially considering the circumstances that they lost on Sunday. Palace will
be up for this and I expect them to beat a Reading side that have been inconsistent
all season.
Prediction: Reading
1-3 Crystal Palace
Everton v
Chelsea
Fresh from Champions League disappointment on Wednesday
night, Chelsea now that their only chance of saving this season will be in the
FA Cup. It’s unlikely that Diego Costa will feature at Goodison Park after
picking up an injury in midweek and Loic Remy will probably start in his place.
A full strength team will almost certainly play. The same should be true for
Everton whose largely poor season continued on Saturday as they managed to lose
3-2 to West Ham after being 2-0 up. Cleverley should return to the side on
Saturday evening but Aaron Lennon will most likely miss out in a match which
could see the end of a meaningful season for either side. Full strength Chelsea
side will be too strong for Everton.
Prediction: Everton
1-2 Chelsea
Arsenal v
Watford
Watford fans would have been breathing a sigh of relief in
some ways on Tuesday night as they faced a short trip to Arsenal rather than a
trek to Hull. However, the Hornets face a stern test from Arsenal and are
unlikely to progress. That being said, Arsene Wenger may look to rest players
ahead of a trip to the Nou Camp and mission impossible. Aaron Ramsey will miss
out through injury though Wenger may wish to play Gabriel or Mertesacker to
test this fitness before Wednesday. Watford have hit a poor patch recently with
both Ighalo and Deeney struggling for goals, they haven’t scored in three.
Watford will be hoping to turn this around on Sunday but at home, Arsenal
should be too strong for them.
Prediction: Arsenal
3-0 Watford
Man United v West Ham
Whilst
some teams have very little to play for this is certainly not the case for
Manchester United. They have an uphill battle to progress in the Europa League
after a gutting loss to their arch-rivals Liverpool on Thursday. On top of this
they face a battle for Champions League spots, a battle to be fought with West
Ham, and (most pressingly) an FA Cup run to continue. West Ham could cap off an
excellent season with a first FA Cup since 1980. United may rest players which
West Ham won’t and I think that this will go down to a magical night at Upton
Park.
Prediction: Man United 1-1
West Ham
Premier League
Norwich v Man City
Man
City will be looking to string consecutive wins and clean sheets together
before their midweek clash against Dynamo Kiev in which they have the
advantage. Pellegrini is unlikely to rotate his side too much but it may be a
chance for the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho to get 90 minutes. Norwich remained
in the relegation zone after a dispiriting loss to relegation rivals Swansea.
They have now lost three on the bounce and must find a way to stop the rot as
the only team that it looks like they could catch is Sunderland, who look
revitalised under Sam Allardyce. However, Man City are not the type of team you
want to play in that type of situation and unfortunately I can’t see anything
but a City win.
Prediction: Norwich 0-2 Man
City
Bournemouth v Swansea
The
opportunity to all but extinguish fears of relegation is on offer on the South
Coast on Saturday with both teams looking most improved in recent weeks. Both
sides won at the weekend and a meaningless last couple of weeks will be quite
appealing to fans as both clubs creep towards the magic 40 points. Francesco
Guidolin remains in hospital with a chest infection, I’m not sure whether three
consecutive wins is a cure but it will certainly boost the Italian’s morale.
Eddie Howe continues to do a fantastic job for the Cherries whilst still being
in a season long injury crisis. Both teams will probably cancel each other out in
what should be an entertaining affair.
Prediction: Bournemouth 2-2
Swansea
Stoke v Southampton
Both
teams will still hold faint hopes of an elusive Europa League place, especially
Stoke who are potentially just a place
below already, depending on the winners of the FA Cup. Both teams should look
to attack and play freely as a reward for their consistency which has meant
that they have not been in danger of relegation all season. Stoke have been
strong at home all season and their cause will be helped by the potential
return of Ryan Shawcross to the side. Koeman revealed that Shane Long is set to
return which will boost Southampton’s attack which has scored just three in
their last four. The quality of Stoke
will see them through.
Prediction: Stoke 2-1
Southampton
Aston Villa v Tottenham
Villa’s
slow and painful exit from the Premier League will continue on Sunday at home
against a Tottenham side with title ambitions. The comparative fortunes of
these two teams is amazing as it wasn’t that much more than ten years ago that
Villa were challenging for Champions League and Tottenham were battling
relegation. Spurs fans won’t be dwelling in the past though, they will need to
pick themselves up from a mauling against Borussia Dortmund and no better place
to do this than at Villa Park against a team who has lost their last four.
Prediction: Aston Villa 0-3
Tottenham
Leicester v Newcastle
Claudio
Ranieri was complaining about the long gap between fixtures after the Foxes
beat Watford on Saturday as he said it would break up the form of his side. In
contrast Steve McClaren is still being strung along by Newcastle at the time of
writing but Rafael Benítez is close to agreeing a deal. If Benitez does sign on
Friday then he may be relieved that the game is on a Monday to give him time to
take over properly. However, Leicester are on fire and Mahrez seems absolutely
unstoppable and who beat Chelsea in their only other Monday night fixture.
Prediction: Newcastle 0-1
Leicester
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