I simply cannot comprehend the fact that we’ve already arrived at Week 30 of the Premier League season and only now, is Liverpool destroying their chances of lifting the trophy.
In seasons gone by, they’d have already been 10 points off the pace after leading at Christmas but here we are, and the Manchester City leapfrog has only just taken place.
There are ten matches to preview this week so do be sure to scroll down and check out our Premier League tips.
Both clubs will carry winning form into this match and that is a bit of a pain in the backside, because one losing last weekend really would have made this an easier match to tip. Palace ended up making really light work of Burnley and while that doesn’t strike the ear as particularly impressive, it was a solid all-round performance against a club that’s been reasonable at home recently. Brighton absolutely needed the win last week, but this is another step up in class and they’ll have their hands full.
The Toffees have probably single-handedly ruined Liverpool’s chances of winning the league, so it’s job done and they can now afford to go to sleep. A draw was all that they needed, and they did it. Scenes. Typically, Newcastle couldn’t be trusted to get the job done when they played West Ham last week. They win when they shouldn’t, lose when they shouldn’t and are generally terrible to watch. By that reasoning, they’ll be winning this.
Three-consecutive losses is the tale of the tape for the Bluebirds again and an immediate return to the Championship is looking more and more likely. They are still less than a win below Southampton and safety, but it’s tough seeing where they’re going to get the necessary wins. Enter West Ham, another club that is more up and down than a new bride’s nighty and who surely will not frank last week’s win over Newcastle here.
Leicester City have been anything but good since Christmas but in a stroke of luck, they strike an even worse team on Saturday night. Fulham are on the straight and narrow towards the Championship and they simply need to win matches to stay afloat, which is something I just do not think that they can do. Last week’s performance against Chelsea actually wasn’t all bad, but they still took absolutely nothing for their troubles, and they’ve been pretty bloody bad on the road.
The five-word preview that I gave for Southampton’s match versus United last weekend didn’t deliver the correct tip, but I think this week’s 30-word one will. Spurs win.
Yawn. Unsurprisingly, Huddersfield were unable to go on with the job when they lost to Brighton last week and I really cannot make a case for them against Bournemouth, even at home. The Cherries themselves haven’t won in a while, but they kept now league-leaders City to only one goal last week and a repeat of that performance would see them comfortably winning this one. They’ve over at anything more than even money, so more than happy to have a play.
I haven’t been this impressed with Manchester City since I heard their fans chant “The baby’s not yours, the baby’s not yours, oh Wayne Rooney, it’s Adebayor’s” at a derby 10 years ago. This is a club that built a legacy on bottling their chances of winning matches, surviving demotion and impressing their fans, but on top of last season’s record-breaking premiership, their ability to fight back into the lead this time around after falling off the pace has been outstanding. Obviously, they win this match and make it harder for Liverpool.
For everyone except the Liverpool fans, Monday morning’s draw with Everton was the most satisfying result of the season. Perhaps the decade. I said it above and I’ll say it again – SCENES. They’ve surely tossed away their chances now, even if they still only trail by one point, history suggests that they’ve blown it. Back to the match at hand though, Burnley will find this extremely difficult. Imagine if they won, though.
08/09: Liverpool lead the competition at Christmas, go on to finish 2nd
13/14: Liverpool lead the competition at Christmas, go on to finish 2nd
18/19 Liverpool lead the competition at Christmas…
Only team to give up top position after Christmas in the past 10 years! #EVELIV #PL pic.twitter.com/k6gSJePCo0— NedsAU (@NedsAus) 4 March 2019
For one of the league’s bigger clubs, I really don’t rate Chelsea this season. Obviously by their standards, a campaign in which they aren’t competing for silverware is a failure, but even the matches that they have been winning have been rubbish. Case in point; last week’s 2-1 win over 19th-placed Fulham. They couldn’t even do us a service and stem the league’s worst attack. Wolves are a legitimately decent team on their day, and they are going to be my roughie of the week.
This is clearly the match of the round and kudos to the competition organisers for making us wait until ungodly a.m. on Monday to view it. Even if we weren’t in Australia, just have it in one of the Saturday slots so everyone can get involved. There’s been a few goal fests when these teams have squared off and as someone who has nothing invested in either of these clubs, other than a win bet on United, I’m really hoping that’s what happens here. There’s value around both clubs so whatever side of the fence you stand, it’s all happening.