TUESDAY:
CHELSEA V BRIGHTON
Chelsea have a great chance to move back into the top four in this one following West Ham's defeat at Newcastle on Saturday which did the blues a massive favour. A win in this one will take them up to 3rd until at least Thursday because that is when Leicester play West Brom and the blues are just two points behind Leicester in the table. If they win this one, they could have the advantage in the race for the top four. Especially if Leicester don't beat West Brom as well as West Ham losing to Newcastle.
Thomas Tuchel's side have an FA Cup final to look forward to at the end of the season following their win over Man City in the semi finals on Saturday where they were without a doubt the better side. They looked dangerous on the attack with Hakim Ziyech being a threat throughout the game and defensively they were solid throughout. With a Champions League semi final against Real Madrid coming up in a couple of weeks, it could be a successful season in what has been an up and down season for the blues because they're in with a chance of wining a double. No one saw that coming a few months ago and the same could've been said at the start of the season.
Brighton should be pretty much safe now as they're six points clear of the drop which should give them plenty of breathing space between themselves and the teams in the relegation zone. They picked up a good point last time out against Everton and they will be looking to get another good result in this one to push themselves further towards another season in the Premier League.
Their game last game against Everton was them summed up. A lot of chances but no goals. That's been the case for them for most of the season and it happened again against Everton. They play some good football at times and have a good manager at the helm in Graham Potter, they just need that cutting edge on a more consistent basis.
I'm going for a Chelsea win because they're in good form and should have more than enough to win this game. With the quality that they have, they should win this game without too many problems.
PREDICTION: 2-0
WEDNESDAY:
TOTTENHAM V SOUTHAMPTON
Spurs will have to cope without Harry Kane once again after their talisman picked up another ankle injury in their draw with Everton on Friday night. Spurs have coped well without him in the past but this season, they've struggled without him. He's missed two games in the league this season and Spurs lost them both against Brighton and Chelsea around the end of January beginning of February. They're not the same team without him because of what he offers in goals and assists which makes Spurs a dangerous opposition for the other teams in the league.
I was very surprised that Spurs decided to sack Mourinho now instead of at the end of the season because they have a cup final coming up this weekend and April isn't the right time to sack a manager. I'm not surprised they did it because of how poor Spurs have been over the last few months but I am surprised that they did at this stage of the season. It will be interesting to see how Spurs react to this because some teams can show a reaction when their manager has been sacked. But at the same time some teams don't. A reaction is what Spurs need to show in this one because they'll want to end the season strongly with not much to play for other than pride.
Southampton can now focus on ending their season strongly having gone out of the FA Cup to Leicester ion their semi final clash on Sunday. The FA Cup has been a welcome distraction for the Saints over the last three months because their league form has been poor with just three wins since the turn of the year. Injuries to key players and a small squad have contributed to their slump in the second half of the season because of the amount of games played in a short space of time along with their high intensity pressing game. With the FA Cup now done, the saints will hopefully get a run of results together so they can end the season strongly.
The Saints don't have a great record in this fixture with their last success at Spurs coming in 2016 under Ronald Koeman. They have had some wins at St Mary's against them in recent seasons but not away from St Mary's. But with Spurs without their best player through injury, the Saints might give themselves a chance because they have their best player in Danny Ings available along with James Ward Prowse. With those two on the pitch, Southampton have every chance of getting a result.
I'm going for a Southampton win because Spurs are without their best player in Harry Kane. Spurs are not the same without him and because of that and Southampton having their best player in Danny Ings available, I can see the Saints pull off a shock.
PREDICTION: 1-2
ASTON VILLA V MAN CITY
Aston Villa really could do with Jack Grealish in this one because he usually delivers in these kind of games against the big teams. Villa have missed their talisman massively since he's been out injured and they'll want him back before the end of the season because of how important he is to the team. Villa would've had a great chance of getting something in this one if Grealish was available because of the kind of player he is. But as he's not available, Villa will once again struggle without him.
Villa were beaten 6-1 in this fixture last season which feels like a very long time ago because of everything that has happened since then. There is no chance that they'll lose by that much again in this one because they're a lot tighter at the back and have a good team balance overall. City may be the most ruthless team in the league on their day, but Villa's improved defence should hopefully keep the score down unlike last season.
Man City will go 11 points clear if they win this one which will move them to within four wins from the title unless United drop points in their next few games. They some very winnable games between now and the end of the season and they'll be expected to win pretty all of them because of the quality they have and the team they are. They might be without Kevin De Bruyne for most of those games through injury, but they should still have enough in them to win those games because of how strong their squad is.
Their quadruple hopes came to an end at the weekend as they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea in their semi final clash on Saturday. I was surprised that Pep started Zack Steffen over Ederson in goal because in a cup semi final against a team like Chelsea, you should play your best keeper. Steffen looked lost when Chelsea scored their goal as he moved forward but then moved back as Chelsea moved towards his penalty area which lead to the goal being scored. Ederson might've approached the situation better than Steffen did if he started between the sticks on the day instead of the American.
I'm going for a City win because they'll have more than enough to win this game and Villa are of course without Jack Grealish. They may be without Kevin De Bruyne, but they should still have enough in them to win the game because of the squad they have.
PREDICTION: 0-2
THURSDAY:
LEICESTER V WEST BROM
Leicester have an FA Cup final to look forward to at the end of the season after beating Southampton in their semi final at Wembley on Sunday. The club and the players will be without a doubt excited because they're in a cup final which doesn't happen very often for a club like Leicester. But they need to make sure that their league form doesn't tail off like it did last season because clubs outside the big six who have reached a cup final have seen their domestic form tail off towards the end. Wigan were relegated from the Premier League when they won the FA Cup back in 2013 and Crystal Palace fell from 5th at Christmas to 15th at the end of the season when they reached the FA Cup final back in 2016. Leicester must be wary of that or their league season could fizzle out like it did last year.
Having looked comfortable in the top four for a couple of months, the Foxes now find themselves in a battle to stay there as they're now just two points clear of 5th placed Chelsea. They need to win this game if they're to finish in those Champions League spots at the end of the season because the teams behind them are catching up with them.
West Brom's great escape could well be on after back to back wins over Chelsea and Southampton where they looked a threat going forward in both. Scoring goals has been a problem for the Baggies all season and Sam Allardyce has appeared to have sorted out with 8 goals scored in both of those games combined. They're full of confidence after those two wins and because of that they should fancy themselves in this game. If they can beat Chelsea and Southampton, they can definitely get something against Leicester.
Despite their recent results, it may be to little too late for the Baggies because they're nine points from safety and the teams outside the relegation zone look good as safe. They'll need the teams above them to drop a lot of points if they're to stay up because they still look a long way off safety.
I'm going for a West Brom win because they're full off confidence after their last two results. With Leicester beginning to tail off and the Baggies winning their last two games in the way they did, I think they'll cause another shock in this one.
PREDICTION: 0-2
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