TUESDAY:
MAN UNITED V LEICESTER
Man United secured Champions League qualification at the weekend with their win over Aston Villa where they came from behind to win the game. Mason Greenwood once again impressed whilst Edinson Cavani kept up his fine form with another goal to seal the win. United will be delighted that they've tied the Uruguayan down for another season because of the impact he's had since joining and the experience he has which could help the younger players in the team. He's a proven goal scorer and an out and out no.9 which is what United really need if they're to challenge for the title next season.
This game will be United's second in five days as they play Liverpool in their rescheduled fixture on Thursday. This week will test the depth of their squad because they don't have a massive squad like Man City plus they have some players out injured. With a Europa League final to come at the end of the season Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will not want his side pick up any more injuries within the next few days because he'll want his best players fit for the final. It will also test the fitness of his players because of the amount of games his side need to play and the lack of recovery time between them.
Another end of season collapse could well be on the cards for Leicester as they slipped down to 4th following their defeat to Newcastle and Chelsea's win at Man City. They may be five points clear of 5th place West Ham, but that deficit could well be reduced as they have a couple of tough games to end the season with following this one in Chelsea and Spurs. They'll need to win at least one of those games in order to keep themselves in the top four.
This will be the Foxes' final game before their FA Cup clash against Chelsea on Saturday which will be a game they'll without a doubt be looking forward to. They should put this game first because it's an important match in their season and thinking about the cup final could distract them. Brendan Rodgers will hopefully be aware of that and he'll make sure that his players are to.
I'm going for a draw in this one because they're both missing key players in their backlines in Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans. With both teams likely to make changes with big games coming up for both after this one, I can't see either side winning it because they may be without their best players.
PREDICTION: 1-1
SOUTHAMPTON V CRYSTAL PALACE
It's quite hard to believe that Southampton were top of the Premier League back in November only to find themselves in 16th six months later. The season they're having reminds me of the one their opponents had back in 2015-16 season where they were 5th at Christmas but ended up in 15th at the end of the season. The Saints will need to make sure that their current slide doesn't carry on into next season otherwise Ralph Hasenhuttl will find himself under a lot of pressure in the opening months.
The Saints could have Danny Ings back for this one which would be a massive boost for them. They missed their top scorer in their defeat at Liverpool at the weekend because they missed that player at the top end of the pitch who could find the back of the net. If he makes his return in this one, Southampton have a good chance of winning the game.
Crystal Palace secured their safety in the Premier League for another season with their 2-0 win at Sheffield United on Saturday. Their safety was never in doubt as they've kept themselves a good distance away from the relegation zone all season which is what they seem to do every season. They were always going to survive and now that they're safe they can now start looking ahead to next season by sorting out the contract situation for most of the players at the club.
This is arguably the Eagles' last winnable game of the season as they face some tough opposition in Aston Villa, Arsenal and Liverpool in their final three games. A win here will hopefully give them the confidence to help them through those tough games and end the season on a good note. With their minimum objective achieved they can now look towards ending the season on a high.
I'm going for a Palace win because I can see Zaha and Eze cause Southampton all kinds of problems with their pace. With Southampton in poor form like they have been throughout 2021, I think Palace will win this one.
PREDICTION: 0-2
WEDNESDAY:
CHELSEA V ARSENAL
Chelsea now look certain to finish in the top four after their win over Man City at the weekend moved them up to 3rd. They were 9th a few months ago when Tuchel came in and the progress they've made under his management has been incredible. He's got them from mid-table into the Champions League places in a matter of months and he's also lead them to two cup finals which shows how good a job he's done since arriving in January. A win in the FA Cup final next weekend will be a reward for his good work at the football club.
The blues may make some changes in this one with the FA Cup final on Saturday in mind. They shouldn't make too many as they still have a top four place to secure but Thomas Tuchel may still want to rest a few so they can be ready for the cup final against Leicester. They should still get a result even if they do make some changes because of how strong their squad is.
No one saw Arsenal's win in the reverse fixture coming because of the form they were in at the time and the amount of pressure their manager was under. Mikel Arteta threw the youngsters in for this one and they delivered with Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith Rowe being the standouts. They've both kicked on since that result on Boxing Day as they've both grown into important players for the club which is something you don't say about two young players with Saka 19 and Smith Rowe 20.
The Gunners put their Europa League exit behind them at the weekend by beating West Brom 3-1 to keep their slim hopes of European football alive. Like their win against Chelsea at the Emirates earlier in the season, the youngsters impressed and will be key players for the club in the future as well as the present. Whenever the young players have been given the opportunity, they've taken it when the experienced players haven't. They need some good experienced players around them so they can get back to where they want to be.
I'm going for a Chelsea win because they're better and a much stronger team than Arsenal. They may make some changes ahead of the FA Cup final, but they should still have enough to win this London Derby.
PREDICTION: 2-0
THURSDAY:
ASTON VILLA V EVERTON
Aston Villa put in a good display to beat Everton when both sides met a couple of weekends ago with Ollie Watkins leading the line very well. Villa's chances of doing the double over their opponents look very slim as they're likely to be without talisman Jack Grealish once again along with Watkins who is suspended following his red card against Man United on Sunday. Without those two in the side Villa will find goals hard to come by because of what they both offer the team in attack.
Villa's defeat to United at the weekend was very unlike what they've been all season in being solid and organised at the back. The penalty conceded was a silly foul from Douglas Luiz on Paul Pogba, Ezri Konsa got a bit too close to Mason Greenwood for United's second and no one was marking Edinson Cavani for the third. Dean Smith will be hoping his defenders will perform much better in this one so they don't lose for the second consecutive game.
Everton will definitely give themselves a chance in this one because they're away from home and that is where they've been strongest this season. They never looked like scoring when they played Villa at Goodison Park a couple of weekends ago and their performance on the day wasn't good enough to win the game. With this game being away from home and Villa possibly without two of their most important players, the Toffees have a good chance of winning this game.
They showed a different side of themselves in their win over West Ham last time out as they remained defensively solid and allowed West Ham to have no shots on target. They were just happy to sit back and defend for most of the game before hitting them on the counter which is what they did at times during the game. They've improved defensively as the season has progressed and they're looking a lot more solid because of it.
I'm going for an Everton win because they're good away from home and Villa will be without Ollie Watkins and possibly Jack Grealish. As the toffees have their two best attacking players in Calvert Lewin and Richarlison available, they should have enough to win this game.
PREDICTION: 0-2
MAN UNITED V LIVERPOOL
This is the rescheduled fixture from the weekend before where the game was called off due to the Man United fans protesting on the Old Trafford pitch. If United do feel slightly tired in this one as this will be their third game in five days, they might as well blame the fans because they were responsible for this fixture being postponed in the first place.
Liverpool picked up a much need win last time out by beating Southampton which moved them to within six points of the top four. They'll be desperate to win this one because it's a game they need to win to keep their top four hopes alive and with Leicester not playing this weekend along with Chelsea, the reds could be in a good position to move into that top four if they win and the teams above them don't. It's a big game for them.
The reds don't have a good record at Old Trafford in recent seasons with their last success coming there in 2014 where they won 3-0 at David Moyes was in charge of Man United. They've lost 3 and drawn 3 in the six games since that result seven seasons ago and they'll definitely want to put an end to that hoodoo by winning this one. If they can start the game well and keep up the performance for most of the game, they could put an end to the hoodoo because of how good they can be on their day.
I'm going for a draw in this one because United may feel tired having played for the third time in five days and Liverpool have a poor record at Old Trafford. With Liverpool not being clinical as they used to be along with the other two factors, I can't see either side winning it.
PREDICTION: 0-0
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