Premier League Matchweek 30: Preview, Betting tips and Predictions
It’s never going to be the same for Liverpool and everyone that is affiliated to the Merseyside club. They had just one job, beat Everton and maintain their one point lead at the summit, they settled for a goalless draw, and the Citizens didn’t fail to grind out the needed win against a different Bournemouth side; Many would look at City and wonder if they have what it takes to go on and win the title, considering they only managed a scrappy 1-0 win in their last two games, forgetting those gritty results often become necessary at this stage, and the ability to grind out results when you’re playing gladly makes the difference between the champions and the chasing pack.
Liverpool will have that believe in the title run-in, they play Burnley next and still have the duo of Chelsea and Spurs to negotiate while City also have it to do against Manchester United and Spurs, they don’t play each other anymore so it’s down to what they both do with other sides.
Spurs are still in the mix, Manchester United can believe too, long shots but never say never! With just nine games to go, points to fight for and positions to swap, there is so much ground to be covered and so much pride to salvage, Liverpool will look at the Manchester Derby and hope United’s rampaging form continues into that fixture while City only have to keep winning and pay no attention to whatever Liverpool decides to do, afterall, it’s in their own hands.
Crystal Palace look set to be certain to beat the drop, they now comfortably win anywhere regardless of the quality of the opposition, the form of Wilfried Zaha coincides with the loan signing of Mitchy Batshuayi, the Belgian is lighting up Selhurst with timely goals and will be fans favourite in no time; Brighton halted the rot last weekend, scoring a late goal to heap more misery on Huddersfield, the Eagles and Seagulls’ battle at Selhurst will be quite interesting, three points separate them with the visitors having a game in hand.
Brendan Rodgers will start his reign at home with the visit of Fulham to the KP Stadium, nothing but a win will do for either side for different reasons, the Foxes are under threat in the race for seventh with Wolves and Watford already the clear favourites, they can still catch up but they will have to start winning and consistently too.
Fulham will be condemned to give up if they don’t get a result at Leicester, they are ten points from safety and nothing is pointing in a direction that they will come good, they sacked Claudio Ranieri and Scott Parker took over, their playing style didn’t differ in the former Chelsea and Spurs’ midfielder’s debut but some few personalities swapped places.
City hosts Watford late on Saturday, they could be four points better off than their nearest rivals at the end of that fixture, putting more pressure on Liverpool, should the Hornets spring a surprise like Crystal Palace and Leicester did earlier in the season, Liverpool won’t have any excuses when they face the Clarets on Sunday.
Chelsea hosts Wolves, Nuno Espirito Santo hasn’t particularly enjoyed 2019 in charge, the fear factor they generated earlier in the season isn’t there anymore and the away form they were highly regarded for has paled into defeats and uninspiring displays; Chelsea blew Dynamo Kiev away in Europa, they are in good lights now and can put Wolves to the sword to usurp any of Arsenal and United who face each other on Sunday.
The match of the weekend is at the Emirates where Arsenal will look to put the horrible Europa result at Rennes behind them, they were largely unlucky to leave Wembley without a win with Pierre Emerick Aubameyang losing from six yards out at the death, the result left them in fifth and in danger of missing out on top four with the Blues having a game in hand.
Manchester United will be boosted by the big win at Parc De Princes, the Red Devils turned things around against PSG to dump the French side out of the elite competition, the form of Romelu Lukaku and the work rate of Marcus Rashford will test the Arsenal backline all afternoon.
From the Emirates to Stamford Bridge and the Etihad, we bring you premier league predictions, it’s getting increasingly difficult and teams are getting increasingly edgy, as fans of the beautiful game, we follow with passion, and lot’s of a sense of decency… Gamble Responsibly.
Fixtures
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Verdict
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Player to watch
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Palace vs Brighton
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Palace to win or draw
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Wilfried Zaha
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Cardiff vs Westham
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Westham to win or draw
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Sol Bamba
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Huddersfield vs Bournemouth
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Bournemouth to win or draw
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Ryan Fraiser
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Leicester vs Fulham
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Leicester to win
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Jamie Vardy
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Newcastle vs Everton
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Both teams to score
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Miguel Almiron
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Southampton vs Spurs
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Spurs to win or draw
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Harry Kane
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City vs Watford
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City to win
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David Silva
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Liverpool vs Burnley
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Liverpool to win
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Mo Salah
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Chelsea vs Wolves
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Chelsea to win
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Gonzalo Higuain
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Arsenal vs United
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Both teams to score
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Marcus Rashford
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Strictly the writer’s opinion
