With four or five (depending on what club) matches left in the Premier League season, it’s a safe bet to assume a Manchester City and United one-two finish. Leicester and Chelsea look odds on to battle for third and fourth. The final two European places are still completely up for grabs. West Ham, Tottenham, Liverpool, and Everton round out the top eight in that order, and all face critical matches this weekend. Let’s take a look at the key stats and players for these clubs and who will be in a better position after the weekend:
Image Courtesy of Marca
Leeds lost 2-0 at Brighton last weekend and faced criticism for perhaps low effort due to their position in the table and not being able to move up the table before the end of the season. Despite last weekend, Leeds are still undefeated at Elland Road to the “Big Six” clubs which tried to break away from the Premier League. Spurs thrashed bottom Sheffield United 4-0 which kept interim head coach Ryan Mason undefeated in the league. Expect goals, with over 2.5 goals in six of the last seven times these clubs meet. Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha will both miss the match for Leeds, which is a huge blow considering their importance in the attack, both have combined for eight assists this year. Everyone is healthy and kicking for Tottenham, including hat-trick hero Gareth Bale.
Prediction: Leeds 1-3 Tottenham
(Photo by David Klein – Pool/Getty Images)
Liverpool sit seventh due to their last match being postponed due to fans storming the field at Old Trafford. They are five points away from a Champions League spot, and Chelsea face Manchester City, so there will be scoreboard watchers this weekend in Liverpool. Southampton managed a 1-1 draw after a questionable red card to Jannik Vestergaard in the first ten minutes. Despite that, the Saints have lost eight of nine away from St. Mary’s and they have failed to score the last four times at Anfield. Southampton will hope Liverpool’s woeful finishing continues in front of goal. No top-scorer Danny Ings for Southampton due to injury, so it’ll most likely be Che Adams hoping to get in the goals. Liverpool’s front four of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, Mo Salah and Diogo Jota will look for goals galore as Southampton has conceded at least two goals in their last three matches.
Prediction: Liverpool 3-0 Southampton
Image Courtesy of Sky Sports.
Back-to-back defeats had the hammers worrying about their top six hopes. A win at Burnley last Monday cured those fears…for now. West Ham has the second best home record and seeing Everton at the London Stadium should be a welcome sight, as they have only won once in their last seven league matches. As for Everton, they have lost just once on their travels to east London and have only one loss in their last 12 league matches on the road. West Ham will be without key defender Angelo Ogbonna and English midfielder Declan Rice. Everton may have a boosted midfield and defense with Tom Davies and England’s Michael Keane set to return from injuries. There is also a chance for James Rodriguez to play, which would add an extra layer to the Everton attack.
Prediction: West Ham 1-1 Everton
Schedule courtesy of ESPN.
