The Premier League enters Game Week 36 with four competition points separating Man City in third and Aston Villa in seventh.
The action gets underway in Southampton where former champs, City look to make it five league wins on the trot.
Elsewhere, Newcastle host Chelsea in a high-stakes fixture, while the Gunners look to put their UCL exit behind them with a victory against the newly crowned champions of England.
The Offside Oracle has previewed all 10 Premier League fixtures over the weekend and provided his best betting plays below.
Manchester City have the potential to finish as high as second place in a season that has been heralded as their worst in the Pep era.
They will draw level with the Gunners for the time being with what should be a regulation win against statistically one of the Prem’s worst sides ever.
The Saints have lost 10 of their last 12 games across all competitions (2D), and seven of their last eight home games (1D).
Meanwhile, the Sky Blues are unbeaten in nine games (7W,2D), and have won five games on the trot.
Pep’s side has put four goals on the Saints in three of the pairs last five meetings in all competitions.
I’m backing Man City to win, and to win comfortably.
Wolves six game winning streak came to an end last week, going down 1-0 to Manchester City, they’ll look to bounce back this weekend against Brighton.
The Seagulls draw against Newcastle in GW35 was the sixth time they’ve dropped points across their last seven league fixtures (3D,3L).
Wolverhampton are flying home with a wet sail, and I have them claiming all three points in front of a home crowd.
Fulham vs Everton is one of the less intriguing fixtures of the round, with both sides struggling with form.
The Cottagers have lost three of their last four league outings (1W), only collecting points against cellar dwellers, Southampton.
Meanwhile, the Toffees have won once in 10 starts (6D,3L), and are clearly going through the motions.
The last two meetings between this pair at Craven Cottage have finished as stalemates, and I’m backing another draw to materialise here.
Brentford are another side finishing the season with a flurry, and should dine out again this weekend with a trip to Ipswich.
The Bees are on a four game winning streak, scoring 10 goals across the trip.
Alternatively, the Tractor Boys have picked up two points across their last five games, conceding multiple goals in each of those fixtures.
I’m taking Brentford, combined with the Overs.
Villa are desperate to get themselves back into the Champions League positions as they travel to Bournemouth to take on the Cheries.
Bournemouth enters this game feeling good about themselves following a come-from-behind victory over the Gunners last week, leaving themselves with a mathematical chance of claiming a top 7 finish.
Villa’s recent away record leaves much too much to be desired, losing three of their last four road games across all competitions.
Meanwhile, the Cherries one home win across six league fixture is not much to write home about either (1D,4L).
I’m steering clear of the H2H market here, instead backing the overs in what should be a high-scoring entertaining fixture.
The Toon host the Blues in a match which could have huge repercussions on the race for European football.
Both sides have locked horns with 63 competition points a piece, with an identical goal difference of +21.
Recent history suggests this is a game for the hosts, with the home side going unbeaten in the last eight competitive matchups between this pair.
I get the feeling both side will take a conservative approach to this fixture, with the fear of losing outweighing the ambition to win by playing on the front foot.
With so much on the line, I believe this will be a edgy, but physical contest, with just one or two goals in it.
Next up we have a London Derby between two Cup hopefuls in Tottenham and Crystal Palace.
Spurs will enter this game off the back of a Europa League semi-final leg in Norway, where they’ll be placing all their energy and resources.
While they may be thriving in Europe, the Spurs are having one of their worst league seasons in 100 years, losing 19 of their 35 games to date.
Ange will likely name a bunch of kids in this fixture, and those kids will likely get spanked.
Another side having a historically s**t season are the Mighty Red Devils.
Man United are winless across their last six league outings (3D,3L), with all their eggs now sitting alongside Tottenham’s in the Europa League basket.
Ruben Amorim has already confirmed he will be giving minutes to squad players in the PL, and although West Ham are having a horrid time of it themselves, they should be good enough to scrape past the Man U academy.
The pressure is beginning to get to Nottingham Forest, who have slid from third to sixth after dropping points in four of their last five league fixtures (1W,1D,3L).
Fortunately for them, they’ll host a Leicester side whose win against the Saints last weekend was their first since GW23 in January.
The Tricky Trees better the Foxes 3-1 at King Power Stadium earlier in the season, and I’m backing them to complete the double and keep their European dreams alive.
Game Week 36 wraps up with a fixture that was highlighted halfway through the season as the match that could determine the title, but then Arsenal decided to bottle it.
Now we’re left with a Reds team completing a victory lap, and a Gunners outfit scampering to hold onto their top two spot.
Despite semi-clocking-off, the Reds still take immense pride in delivering at Anfield, and I expect them to be shocked into action following a hefty defeat against the Blues last time out.
Alternatively, the Gunners may be mentally drained following a mid-week trip to Paris, a trip which saw their dreams of a maiden European Cup go up in smoke.
I’m backing Liverpool to win combined with over 1.5 total goals.