As the Premier League rolls into its final 10 weeks, Mikey Godsmark previews a huge weekend for the title, with a north London derby where the winner could become the leading challenger.
Tottenham v
Arsenal
A
hugely disappointing Wednesday for both teams meant that the North London
rivals failed to gain ground on Leicester, both will be keen to bounce back
strongly after a short turnaround. Arsenal will know that a win for Tottenham
could all but end their title challenge and an injury to Petr Cech will not
help their cause. Before Tottenham’s loss to West Ham they had won six games in
a row and the potential return of Dele Alli to their starting line-up will only
help their cause. Tottenham look to be Leicester’s biggest challengers and I
back them to beat an out of form Arsenal
Prediction: Tottenham 3-1
Arsenal
Score: Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal
Score: Tottenham 2-2 Arsenal
Chelsea v
Stoke
A
midweek win over Norwich means that Chelsea still haven’t lost in the league
under Hiddink with the Blues playing a lot more confidently. However they face
a midweek clash against PSG as they look to overturn a 2-1 deficit, the squad
that plays will be a good indication of what Hiddink thinks about any lingering
whispers of Champions League next season. Stoke have now won their last for
games as they battle for a Europa League place, something that they would
cherish a lot more than others. I think that Stoke will beat a Chelsea side
with one eye on Wednesday night.
Prediction: Chelsea 0-1
Stoke
Score: Chelsea 1-1 Stoke
Score: Chelsea 1-1 Stoke
Everton v
West Ham
What
a season it’s been for so far with Champions League football now a real
possibility. Wednesday’s win meant that the Hammers are now just won point of
Man City with both City and Arsenal looking liable to slide down the table.
Everton however have seen another season of mid table mediocrity but will be
encouraged with the return of Leighton Baines to the starting line-up. The key
for West ham will be keeping Romelu Lukaku quiet and if they do this I think
they’ll win.
Prediction: Everton 1-2 West
Ham
Score: Everton 2-3 West Ham
Score: Everton 2-3 West Ham
Man City v
Aston Villa
An
emphatic loss to Liverpool marred City’s League Cup triumph of just a few days
earlier. They do still remain in a position to challenge for the title and need
to defend their Champions League spot, to do so games such as this must be won.
The 19-year-old Kelechi Iheanacho may start in what may be a slightly
experimental side. Simply put, Villa have been so poor recently I don’t expect
them to put up much of a fight. The Yaya Toure may feature put probably off the
bench.
Prediction and Score: Man City 4-0
Aston Villa
Newcastle v
Bournemouth
After
three points at home to Southampton of Tuesday night a win on Saturday for
Bournemouth would leave then just five points clear of the magic mark.
Newcastle’s dismal away form continued at Stoke midweek and they have lost four
of their last five. However their home form has been good and they have not
lost at St James’ yet this year. The importance of this will not be lost on
either managers and I expect a tight and scrappy affair.
Prediction: Newcastle 1-1
Bournemouth
Score: Newcastle 1-3 Bournemouth
Score: Newcastle 1-3 Bournemouth
Southampton
v Sunderland
After
a loss against rivals Bournemouth, Southampton’s lingering hopes of European
football next season look to have been extinguished despite the words of
defiance from Ronald Koeman. A late Borini strike at Crystal Palace will have
given the Black Cats renewed hope of avoiding the drop as well as taking them
out of the bottom three and the type of fight that they showed on Tuesday is
reminiscent of two seasons ago when they miraculously avoided the drop. Similar
fight will be required on Saturday to overcome a Southampton side not lacking
in quality.
Swansea v
Norwich
Yet
another relegation scrap to look forward to from South Wales. Both teams will
have been happy with their performances in the midweek fixtures but Swansea
were able to pick up a bonus three points against Arsenal, whilst Norwich were
left bemoaning Diego Costa’s offside goal. That win for the Swans has ripped
open a six point gap between 16th and 17th that will be
hard for any team to bridge. With Sigurdsson and Ayew choosing the perfect time
to string some decent performances together, Swansea will be confident of
extending their gap on Norwich to a surely unreachable nine points but it will
not be easy.
Prediction: Swansea 3-2
Norwich
Score: Swansea 1-0 Norwich
Score: Swansea 1-0 Norwich
Watford v
Leicester
What
to think of Leicester. After looking unbeatable for so long, all of a sudden
they have picked up just two points out of the last possible nine and Jamie
Vardy hasn’t scored from open play for a month. That being said they remain
Leicester and have overcome every hiccup that has come their way this season
and the way that Andy king came into their squad on Tuesday suggests a depth
that has often been questioned. However Watford has been hard to beat this
season and have never looked in danger of relegation, a great achievement for a
newly promoted side. Deeney and Ighalo have goals in them and I think that
Leicester are in for a tough evening at Vicarage Road.
Prediction: Watford 2-2
Leicester
Crystal
Palace v Liverpool
What
a bizarre team Liverpool are at the moment. One moment they are struggling to
beat Ausburg and Sunderland and the next they’ve scored nine goals in their
last two Premier League games. Daniel Sturridge’s return to the team has
produced just one goal so far and he will be keen to improve on this. Connor Wickham
will pose the main threat to a Liverpool defence who never tend to inspire too
much confidence. Palace still haven’t won in ten and I don’t think that this
will change on Sunday.
Prediction: Crystal Palace
1-3 Liverpool
West Brom v
Man United
One
dive seems to have made Louis van Gaal a significantly more popular man and
there is now a sense of positivity around United which can only be generated by
youngsters’ performances. West Brom’s draw at Leicester seems to demonstrate
the new found resolve they have to avoid the drop which they should now do.
However, a Man United team will not be looking to let their foot of the
accelerator as they draw up to their Manchester rivals and prepare to take them
over.
Prediction: West Brom 0-3
Man United
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