Arsenal’s Downward Spiral, City’s Ruthlessness... Premier league predictions
Not many people expected a miracle when Manchester City filed out at the Emirates, identical score line, identical spineless performance from the host, same ruthlessness from Guardiola’s men, that explains why they will be champions and Arsenal won’t even get near the top four, well except they sneak in through the Europa league, tell them to have fun negotiating a resurgent AC Milan at the next round hahaha. Chelsea lost at Old Trafford to Mourinho’s tactical nous, they must for once regret the sale of Nemanja Matic after watching him run their midfield ragged, despite Willian’s sleek opener, the blues lost the plot entirely, failed to pick out the basics defensively and were even frustrated further when Morata’s strike was wrongly chalked off for offside, the loss sent Conte’s men six points adrift of the Red Devils, knocking them off the top four after Tottenham’s win against Crystal Palace, pressure on the Italian as he goes into the final ten fixtures of the season... He has to do what he has to do.
Burnley opens the day with the visit of Everton to Turf Moor, Burnley aren’t exactly what they used to be, now they concede avoidable goals, the hard work their goal keeper puts in goes down the drain every match day, Everton aren’t better either, they aren’t facing relegation any longer but if they keep losing to teams down and under, it won’t be long before they get drawn into the relegation dogfight. Sam Alardyce however knows exactly how to fight relegation, maybe he doesn’t get comfortable if he’s not involved in one, Sean Dyche is actually punching above his weight, Burnley lies 7th on the log, great positioning, they can be better considering how poor Arsenal have been, who says they can’t climb further? With the pace overload in the Everton team, Burnley would be stretched, how they contain Walcott and Niasse would tell where this swings and of course their discipline going forward, leaving behind slow defenders. Leicester are home to Bournemouth, both sides have frailties, Leicester are expected to do more than they are doing right now, while most would herald Bournemouth for staying compact to rally for a point having gone two down to Newcastle last weekend, close observers would ask how it was so easy for them to go down in that manner at first, this has excitement written all over it.
Southampton, level on points with 18th placed Swansea host Stoke, another team in shambles, the latter can even hold on to positives as things have changed under Paul Lambert, the Potters just need someone else apart from Xerdan Shaqiri to rise and perform, else they go down; Southampton don’t score goals, their weakness upfront explains why they are down and under, would be massive shame if this roundly talented side does down, Mauricio Pellegrino has it all to pull together, relegation six pointer by all standards, don’t take your eyes off this one. Swansea City must beat Westham, though just three points off the Hammers but the good work of Carlos Carvahal took a big hit last weekend when they shipped four at Brighton, they must make their home advantage count and beat Westham, the three points would take them to 30points, neck to neck with the Hammers and definitely out of the red zone, David Moyes can see the log too, he knows exactly what a loss means here, but what can he do about it? His full-backs at Liverpool were 69years old combined, poor pace and agility, always going to be marauded by a fleet-footed Liverpool side, except something drastic happens, like Mikail Antonio starting, like the boys taking responsibility in front of goal and the defenders committing bodies intelligently, they won’t enjoy their visit to Wales.
Tottenham host Huddersfield, not long after they destroyed Rochdale in FA Cup replay in the harshest of snows, a day Fernando Llorente discovered his mojo, netting a hattrick for the first time in six years, Son was at his best and could have gotten his hattrick too if his penalty wasn’t chalked off after VAR review, correctly too. Their win over Crystal Palace over the weekend had Harry Kane, once again written over it and you have to ask what they can do without him, well they would point to Rochdale, Huddersfield are enjoying life too, they went to Westbrom and heaped more pressure on Pardew and the baggies who have the drop almost turning inevitable, it’s David and Goliath in terms of everything, but this is football... Watford salvaged something when they beat Everton last weekend, what a result that was, now they negotiate Westbrom, a team in trouble, a team that must win, strange and awkward scenario, a team that must win playing one that must avoid defeat, is this a stalemate? A draw won’t save Alan Pardew, he must win, his side can score but they will concede, the way their heads drop when they ship goals is the reason they are where they are, and quite frankly, if they sack Pardew, whoever they bring in is coming to prepare them for life in the championship.
Liverpool host Newcastle, no pressure, Porto can’t possibly overturn a 5:0 deficit at Anfield, they have everything to play for here, but with a manager that is one of their own, they must tread carefully, Newcastle wouldn’t have been under pressure in this game if they didn’t cave in at the end at Bournemouth, two goals up going into the final stages and they managed to lose two points, settling for a point, Liverpool will punish every error, they will have to bring the same spirit and organization that helped them beat Manchester United if they want a result against a team that has Mohammed salah. Brighton hosts Arsenal on Sunday, they are in top form and can beat the gunners if they believe, after back to back losses to City, the gunners are low on confidence, no identity and certainly there to be beaten, no better time to beat them than now for Brighton who were destroyed in the first leg. On Monday, Crystal Palace would be thrown into the relegation fight proper if they do lose to Manchester United, the Red Devils beat Chelsea on Sunday and need just some consistency to dump a Palace of injuries, whatever happens, the league title is headed for the other side of Manchester, give it to them, because when they play Chelsea on Sunday, you won’t have many questions to ask afterwards.
Fixtures
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Verdict
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Burnley vs Everton
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Burnley to win or draw
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Leicester vs Bournemouth
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Both teams to score
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Southampton vs Stoke
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Draw
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Swansea vs Westham
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Both teams to score
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Tottenham vs Huddersfield
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Tottenham to win
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Watford vs Westbrom
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Watford to win or draw
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Liverpool vs Newcastle
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Liverpool to win
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Brighton vs Arsenal
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Arsenal to win
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Manchester City vs Chelsea
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City to win
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Crystal Palace vs Manchester United
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United to win
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Strictly the writer’s opinion
