English Premier League Week 35 Tips

For the thirtieth time in the last fortnight, City and Spurs will lock horns and for the second time in the space for four days, there is s**t loads on the line. Given that I am writing this a couple of days prior to the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, the insight obviously isn’t as good as it will be on Thursday, but with everything to play for I think that it’s safe to say that City will be extremely difficult to beat here. They haven’t been missed in the market, but when have the been in the last eighteen months? Both clubs love to score and that’s where I’m looking for Saturday’s value.

Not the best time to fall out of form when you’re sitting seventeenth but that is exactly that Brighton have done, and they face another task in breaking the drought away to Wolves on Saturday night. Losing to a credible Southampton side and a big club like Chelsea is understandable, but fancy letting five in against a club like Bournemouth in front of your own fans. Even after losing themselves in Week 34, Wolves are a noticeably tougher task for the Seagulls, and I’d be surprised if they even get one on the board.

A great time to preview Bournemouth given the natural, totally unplanned segue from the last tip and another great opportunity for them to win. Understandably they weren’t able to maintain their early season form, but the Cherries have still returned several pleasing performances in between the dribble that can be expected of a Premier League minnow. Last week’s win over the Seagulls was comprehensive and they’ll be confident of making it two in a row when they host the already-relegated Fulham. A consolation win for the Cottagers over Everton last week means nothing and I doubt they have the stones to notch another.

Any club that comes up against Huddersfield in the last few weeks should be absolute specials, but Watford will need to do it without Troy Deeney, who was sent only ten minutes into the match against Arsenal earlier this week in typically weak circumstances. Luckily for the Hornets, an A-League side would probably compete effectively against this Huddersfield group and they will probably claim the win that they need to confirm a top ten finish. More than happy to take the $1.80 that is currently on offer for them to win.

Betting suggests that this will be one of the better matches of the week and I can’t believe that I am saying this, but I tend to agree. I hate trying to line up the form and tip anything anywhere near a West Ham match, but at their best both of these clubs are pretty on par. The Hammers have lost their last three, but they’ve been against big clubs and they strike a Leicester side that has had a reasonably easy run of late. There’s only a handful of matches left this season, so bugger it – West Ham to win.

Southampton are pretty much safe, but they can assure another season in the Premier League by beating the up and down Newcastle in England’s north this weekend; and I think that they will. The Saints have won three of their last four which included a 2-1 triumph over Spurs, and their only loss came at the hands of Liverpool. They’re flying after another comfortable win over Wolves and meet a Newcastle side who were better in last week’s win over Leicester, but who are impossible to trust. This could be the value of the week.

Looked like being one of the matches of the round and probably still will be, but very hard to make a case for the Toffees after they lost to bloody Fulham. I simply could not have given them a bigger wrap heading into that game and typically, I’ve been made to look like a patsy. With nothing on the line for the scousers and plenty still to play for in the red half of Manchester, I think that the Wayne Rooney Derby looks a pretty open and shut case this time around.

This probably isn’t the most highly anticipated London Derby of the season, but geography dictates that it is one and I’m going to attempt to pump up the rivalry. Not really, I don’t actually have anything to say at all. There’s clearly a class difference between these two clubs and at the Emirates, there really should only be one possible. Arsenal didn’t look great against a ten-man Watford earlier in the week, but they do face a similar task in Palace and surely, they’ll prove too good.

It’s first versus relegation-in-waiting when Cardiff City host Liverpool in Week 34’s penultimate fixture. While I am confident that Liverpool have one more, title-ending loss in them, I certainly do not think that it’s here. The Bluebirds simply have not had the tools to compete consistently in England’s top league and don’t stand a chance here.

If the previous match turns out to be a flogging, then surely this one… will also. Burnley have ultimately been saved by a few clubs sucking more than they have, but they’ve also done themselves a few favours by winning their last three league matches. Clearly, Chelsea are a little bit more of a winning chance than Wolves, Bournemouth and Cardiff respectively, and it’s tough imagining a result other than Chelsea winning materialising.