Week 27 of the Premier League reaches its peak from the outset when Spurs and Arsenal do battle in London on Saturday night.
League-leaders Manchester City will take another step towards the title when they host Leicester on Sunday, while Chelsea will attempt to get their campaign back on track against West Brom on Tuesday.
Week 27 of the Premier League is underway in style on Saturday night when Spurs host Arsenal in another heated North London Derby.
Arsenal looked to be on the decline after losing Alexis Sanchez and sensationally dropping all the points to then bottom-placed Swansea a fortnight ago, but they responded with a 5-1 demolition of Everton last week and will take plenty of confidence and swagger into this match.
Spurs were held to a 2-2 draw by Liverpool last weekend and they were pretty lucky to sneak away with a point thanks for Harry Kane’s 95th minute conversion from the spot. Their form has generally been pretty faultless of late however, and they remain firmly in the hunt for a Champions League berth.
Derbies are tough to pick at any time and there is subsequently plenty of value around both teams here, but Spurs have been the more convincing side all season and they can go on with the job.
Everton will look to atone from arguably their worst performance of the season when they host Crystal Palace.
The Toffees were absolutely destroyed by Arsenal last weekend and continue to struggle in 2018. Other than a 2-1 triumph over Leicester City a fortnight ago, Everton is winless since mid-December. They have held a buffer over the bottom ten teams since the beginning of the year, but that declined to only four points and they are now in serious danger of falling back into the relegation dogfight.
Palace drew again in Week 26, but their reasonable consistency has been beneficial in wide-open bottom-half of the competition and for the time being, they are free of the relegation zone. They fought back into their match with Newcastle after conceding in the first half and are a team playing with plenty of character.
Everton are long-priced favourites here, but Palace have held better teams to draws recently and are good enough to do that again.
West Ham will host the resurgent Watford in London early on Sunday morning Australian time.
The Hammers are a team that seemingly play to the quality of their opponent – they find their best against the big clubs, but regularly drop points to teams that they probably should be beating. That was the case again last weekend when they took nothing from a trip to Brighton. They are winless in their four most-recent matches in all competitions and are another team in danger of falling into the relegation fight.
Watford produced one of their best performances of the season on Tuesday morning when they put Chelsea to the sword, to the tune of 4-1. The Hornets have lost only one of their four most-recent Premier League fixtures and will take bulk confidence into this match.
Both teams have legitimate claims and it would not be surprising to see several goals scored.
We are set for an intriguing fixture when Swansea City host Burnley at the Liberty Stadium.
Swansea successfully pulled themselves out of the relegation zone for the first time this season when they held Leicester to an away draw. There is still a big mountain to climb if they are to survive the drop, but they are a team playing with renewed confidence and are amidst a seven-game undefeated streak in all competitions.
Burnley somewhat went off the boil through January, but they appear to be lifting back up to the task and are sure to have taken plenty of confidence and benefit from a Round 26 draw with league-leaders City. What was probably most impressive about that performance was their ability to maintain composure when going a goal down and eventually, finding an equaliser.
It’s tough to line up the recent form of these two clubs, but Burnley are certainly worth consideration as outsiders.
Stoke City and Brighton square off in a match that could play a key role in this season’s relegation dogfight.
Stoke are currently sitting in eighteenth position overall on twenty-four competition points, having won just six of their twenty-six matches to date. Things aren’t a lot better for Brighton – while they are perched thirteenth in the league heading into Week 27, they are a solitary win above the drop zone.
The Potters flew the gates against Bournemouth last weekend thanks to Xherdan Shaqiri’s 5th minute strike, but they went to sleep in the second half and eventually lost the tie 2-1.
Brighton on the other hand managed to get their campaign back on track thanks to a comprehensive 3-1 victory over West Ham. The Seagulls dominated possession and treated fans to an absolute flurry of attempts on goal, highlighted by Jose Izquirdo’s 59th minute conversion.
There is no way that Stoke deserve their clear favouritism and this seems like one of those matches that will finish a low-scoring draw.
Manchester City are set for a return to winning form when they host Leicester City early on Sunday morning.
City have not experienced anything of a slump in form this season, but they have drawn the occasional match that they probably should have just won, including last weekend’s 1-1 trip to Burnley. The Sky Blues were their own worst enemy in that match and squandered several good chances on goal.
The Foxes’ form resurgence has steadied a little through of late and they were held to a draw at home by Swansea last weekend. They are comfortably entrenched in the top 10 however, and they have probably already done enough to survive the drop.
Realistically, City will win this and win well. It is impossible to tip against them again.
This match looms as an ideal opportunity for both Huddersfield and Bournemouth, for different reasons.
The Terriers have gone completely off the boil in 2018 and they are now firmly entrenched in the bottom three. This has coincided with the form of Aussie Aaron Mooy, who appears to be running on tired legs and who started last weekend’s loss to Manchester United on the bench. Huddersfield need to start making a move back up the ladder now if they are to survive.
Bournemouth have steadily built to the task and they find themselves in a position to finish in the top ten. The Cherries have been simply outstanding recently and added a win over Stoke City last weekend to an ever-growing list of scalps that also includes Everton, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Bournemouth are over the odds in this match and I am happy to continue riding their streak.
Manchester United are on the road again when they head north for Sunday’s meeting with Newcastle United.
Newcastle are a team that boast plenty of ability and depth on paper, but they have really failed to make much of an impression again this time and will need plenty of luck to remain in England’s top flight come season’s end.
Alexis Sanchez has made an immediate impact at Old Trafford and netted his first goal for the Red Devils in last weekend’s 2-0 win over Huddersfield. United as a whole have not been as convincing since mid-December, but they remain second in overall standings and look likely to finish in that position.
United look to be slightly over the odds here and they represent particularly good value as a fold in a multibet.
Southampton and Liverpool will do battle at St Marys in the penultimate match of Week 26 of the EPL.
St Marys has not been the cauldron of seasons gone by in 2017/18 and Southampton as a whole have not been as convincing. They enter this match fifteenth in overall standings, but they did notch a 3-2 win over West Brom on the road last weekend.
Liverpool have accounted for the loss of Coutinho fairly and are in striking distance of bitter rivals United in overall standings. Mo Salah leads the way in the race to the Golden Boot and the prolific Egyptian will be key to his side’s performance and success again this weekend.
Liverpool probably have too much firepower for Southampton this weekend and look likely to secure another comfortable win.
Chelsea are back in action at home on Tuesday morning and are offered a good opportunity to get the campaign back on track with a win over strugglers West Bromwich Albion.
Chelsea have had plenty of issues off the field recently and that has showed on the park, with losses to Bournemouth and Watford at their two most-recent appearances. Having drawn level in the 83rd minute last weekend, Chelsea weathered ten minutes from hell as Watford put on three quick goals to complete an absolute rout.
The Baggies are anchored to the bottom of the table and it looks as though they will finally be relegated come season’s end.
Chelsea surely cannot lose to another lowly opponent this weekend, but at any rate they are under the odds and are tough to trust at this point.