Tottenham vs Watford
Saturday 8th April 2017, 12.30
Both teams enter this clash at White Hart Lane on the back of midweek victories, the hosts winning 3-1 at Swansea and the visitors winning 2-0 at home to West Brom.
Spurs left it extremely late at Swansea but picked up a massive three points. They trailed until the 88th-minute, in which Dele Alli equalised, before goals from Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen won it for Mauricio Pochettino's men.
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| It was late but great from Spurs at Swansea (Getty Images) |
Watford won their second straight league match, beating West Brom 2-0 at Vicarage Road thanks to goals from M'Baye Niang and Troy Deeney on a comfortable night for the Hornets. Walter Mazzarri will be without Miguel Britos on Saturday after he was sent off in the 65th-minute on Tuesday.
Spurs are the only team with a realistic chance of catching Chelsea, but are seven points adrift. I think they'll stay within that distance at least with a victory here.
Prediction: 3-0
Manchester City vs Hull
Saturday 8th April 2017, 15.00
Manchester City lost 2-1 at Chelsea on Wednesday, whilst Hull beat Middlesbrough 4-2 at home on the same day.
City were second best at Chelsea, as so many have been this season. They struggled to deal with Eden Hazard, who scored both Chelsea goals, and Sergio Aguero's tap in was a mere consolation.
Hull's excellent home form under Marco Silva continued thanks to goals from loanees Lazar Markovic and Oumar Niasse, alongside strikes from Abel Hernandez and Harry Maguire. It was a thoroughly entertaining bottom-of-the-table clash at the KCOM, and a deserved win for Hull sees them rise to 17th and out of the relegation zone for now.
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| Marco Silva has really impressed me (Getty Images) |
Marco Silva has given Hull a real chance of staying up, but you can't expect them to get anything at the Etihad despite a midweek loss for Pep Guardiola's team.
Prediction: 4-1
Middlesbrough vs Burnley
Saturday 8th April 2017, 15.00
Middlesbrough lost 4-2 in that game at Hull, whilst Burnley won 1-0 at home to Stoke on Tuesday.
Boro took an early lead at Hull through Alvaro Negredo but found themselves 3-1 down in the 33rd-minute in an unusually weak defensive display. Marten de Roon made it 3-2 on the stroke of half-time but Hull added a fourth in the second period to leave Steve Agnew's side 19th.
Burnley edged a tight encounter with Stoke, courtesy of George Boyd's 58th-minute goal. It was another impressive home display from Sean Dyche's team at Turf Moor.
Middlesbrough have to win on Saturday and I think they will. Burnley's away form has been the only negative from an impressive campaign, and I fancy Boro to win a close game at the Riverside.
Prediction: 2-1
Stoke vs Liverpool
Saturday 8th April 2017, 15.00
Stoke lost 1-0 at Burnley on Tuesday night, whilst Liverpool drew 2-2 with Bournemouth at Anfield on Wednesday.
Stoke didn't offer too much at Turf Moor and they have now lost their last three in a row. Mark Hughes will fancy his team's chances against a Liverpool side who struggle in these types of game, however.
Liverpool came from a goal behind thanks to Phillipe Coutinho and Divock Origi, but surrendered their lead in the dying minutes in a disappointing 2-2 draw with the Cherries. Jurgen Klopp needs to add much more resilience to his side in the summer, but they need to show character for the rest of the season if they want to finish in the top four.
This is a tough game for Liverpool, who face West Brom away after this. The next two game's are Liverpool's toughest remaining fixtures of the season, but I see them dropping more points at Stoke on Saturday.
Prediction: 1-1
West Brom vs Southampton
Saturday 8th April 2017, 15.00
West Brom lost 2-0 at Waford on Tuesday night and Southampton won 3-1 at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Tony Pulis will be disappointed after a weak showing at Vicarage Road and the fact that his side couldn't get themselves back into the game despite playing against ten men for 25 minutes. He relies on his form at the Hawthorns, though, and will be looking forward to this game.
Southampton ended Palace's good run with a fine 3-1 thanks to goals from Nathan Redmond, Maya Yoshida and James Ward-Prowse. Claude Puel's men showed great desire to score twice in the last five minutes to win the game.
West Brom are strong at home but I've been impressed with Saints recently and I think they'll leave with a point on Saturday.
Prediction: 1-1
West Ham vs Swansea
Saturday 8th April 2017, 15.00
Two sides who lost in Gameweek 31 meet each other here. The Hammers lost 3-0 at Arsenal and the Swans lost 3-1 at home to Tottenham.
West Ham have lost their last five league games in succession and are only five points above the drop zone. Slaven Bilic will be a nervous man after a poor performance at Arsenal and a worrying recent lack of form.
Swansea surrendered a goal advantage, scored by Wayne Routledge, as they conceded three late Spurs goals. Paul Clement will be gutted that his side couldn't hold on to the lead, or even for a draw after Dele Alli's 88th-minute leveller.
Both sides are in need of points here. Swansea have dropped back into an ever-changing bottom three and West Ham aren't far ahead of them. I fancy the Hammers to end their losing run here though, with home advantage a factor.
Prediction: 2-0
Bournemouth vs Chelsea
Saturday 8th April 2017, 17.30
Bournemouth picked up a very good point at Liverpool in a 2-2 draw, whilst Chelsea beat Manchester City 2-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Eddie Howe will be thrilled after Josh King's late equaliser at Anfield secured a point for the Cherries. They took an early lead through Benik Afobe, but Liverpool turned the game around and seemed to be heading for all three points before King's finish.
Eden Hazard was the star-of-the-show as Chelsea became the first ever team to do a league double over a team managed by Pep Guardiola. It was a deserved victory for the Blues, who maintained their seven-point lead at the top.
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| This man is back to his brilliant best (Getty Images) |
Bournemouth will be buoyed after a positive result at Anfield but Chelsea look to be in a league of their own despite a blip against Palace last weekend. I can't see anything other than an away victory.
Prediction: 0-2
Sunderland vs Manchester United
Sunday 9th April 2017, 13.30
Sunderland lost 2-0 at Leicester on Tuesday, whilst Manchester United drew 1-1 with Everton at Old Trafford the same evening.
Sunderland offered nothing at Leicester and are now a massive ten points from safety with just seven games remaining. The fixtures don't get any easier for David Moyes, who faces his old side on Sunday.
United looked to be heading to defeat at home to Everton, but Ashley Williams handled Luke Shaw's strike deep into injury-time, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic duly converted the penalty. Mourinho's men have drawn their last two, but should feel confident of victory in this one.
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| Cool from the spot (Getty Images) |
This is the perfect game for Man United after a hectic recent schedule. I fancy them for a comfortable victory against a doomed Black Cats team.
Prediction: 1-3
Everton vs Leicester
Sunday 9th April 2017, 16.00
Everton were unlucky not to win in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford. Leicester beat Sunderland 2-0 at the King Power on Tuesday.
Phil Jagielka's goal should have been enough for the Toffees in an impressive display, but Ashley Williams will be feeling a guilty man after his instinctive handball. Joel Robles couldn't get near Ibrahimovic's penalty, which was harsh on him after a string of impressive saves throughout the match.
Leicester continue to amaze under Craig Shakespeare and made light work of Sunderland thanks to goals from Islam Slimani and Jamie Vardy. The Foxes have won all six under Shakespeare in all competitions.
This should be a good game between two decent sides. I think there will be four goals in a score-draw.
Prediction: 2-2
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal
Monday 10th April 2017, 20.00
Palace lost 3-1 at Southampton on Wednesday evening, whilst Arsenal beat West Ham 3-0 at the Emirates.
Sam Allardyce's four-game winning run came to an end at Southampton in disappointing fashion. The Eagles were ahead thanks to Christian Benteke, but were pegged back just before half-time and conceded twice in the last five minutes to lose the game.
Arsenal enjoyed a comfortable night against West Ham, winning 3-0 after goals from Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud. It was an important victory that took some of the recent pressure off of Arsene Wenger.
This won't be easy for Arsenal but I think they have enough quality to win here. There will be a great atmosphere at Selhurst Park but I'm going for the away side to get the job done.
Prediction: 1-2
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