Bournemouth vs Middlesbrough
Saturday 22nd April 2017, 15.00
Bournemouth lost their second successive league game last weekend, 4-0 at Tottenham. Middlesbrough lost 2-1 at home to Arsenal on Monday night and are the only side in the country not to have won a league game in 2017.
Bournemouth came up against the league's form side at White Hart Lane, and it showed. Spurs were 2-0 up inside twenty minutes courtesy of some shoddy defending, and doubled that score-line in the second half. Eddie Howe's week got even worse this week with the news that Jack Wilshere has fractured his leg and will be out for the rest of the season. That could mean that the on-loan Arsenal midfielder has played his last game at the Vitality Stadium.
Middlesbrough gave Arsenal a decent game at the Riverside on Monday but another defeat leaves them 19th in the league, six points from safety albeit with one game in hand. Steve Agnew knows he has a mountain to climb if he wants to keep Boro in the Premier League, and they really need to find a win here. Alvaro Negredo scored the goal against Arsenal, and without him Middlesbrough would already be relegated.
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| Wilshere's season is over (Getty Images) |
Middlesbrough gave Arsenal a decent game at the Riverside on Monday but another defeat leaves them 19th in the league, six points from safety albeit with one game in hand. Steve Agnew knows he has a mountain to climb if he wants to keep Boro in the Premier League, and they really need to find a win here. Alvaro Negredo scored the goal against Arsenal, and without him Middlesbrough would already be relegated.
This is exactly the sort of game that Bournemouth need after facing Chelsea and Tottenham in the last two Gameweeks. Boro are completely out of sorts and I can only see a home win on Saturday.
Prediction: 2-0
Hull vs Watford
Saturday 22nd April 2017, 15.00
Hull enter this one on the back of two straight 3-1 defeats, the most recent of which coming at Stoke last Saturday. Watford beat Swansea 1-0 and are sitting comfortably 10th in the table.
Marco Silva's Hull fought from a goal down to draw level at Stoke early in the second half, scored by Harry Maguire, but a double substitution from Stoke proved to be the turning point in the game. Jon Walters and Peter Crouch both entered the field, and Walters crossed for Crouch to restore the hosts lead. Stoke made it 3-1 late in the game, leaving Hull 17th, just two points above the bottom three.
Watford enjoyed another win at Vicarage Road, beating Swansea 1-0 courtesy of Etienne Capoue's goal. It was a third win from the Hornets' last four league games, and saw them reach the magic 40 points total for the season.
Hull are fighting for their lives and will have highlighted this game as a massive chance to record three points. Watford are safe in mid-table but Walter Mazzarri's men will be competitive as always and I think they'll leave Hull with a point.
Prediction: 1-1
Swansea vs Stoke
Saturday 22nd April 2017, 15.00
Swansea remain in the relegation zone after that 1-0 defeat at Watford last weekend. Stoke beat Hull 3-1 at home to end a run of four straight league defeats.
Swansea's defeat at Vicarage Road means they are now without a Premier League victory in six, losing five of those matches. After a bright start under Paul Clement the form has dipped again but the Welsh club will be optimistic that they have the players to survive. They are just two points adrift of Hull in 17th, and will be desperate to put in a match-winning performance at home on Saturday.
Mark Hughes' double substitution proved to be a brilliant piece of management against Hull. Marko Arnautovic had given the Potters an early lead but the Tigers fought back and got themselves an equaliser. Cue Jon Walters and Peter Crouch, who combined for Crouch to nod home Stoke's second before a sensational Xherdan Shaqiri goal capped off the win.
This is a massive game for Swansea who, like Hull, need to be winning these sorts of games at home if they want to survive. Stoke will be bolstered after their win over Hull, though, and I fancy them to snatch an away win.
Prediction: 1-2
West Ham vs Everton
Saturday 22nd April 2017, 15.00
West Ham are unbeaten in two after a 2-2 draw at Sunderland last weekend. Everton beat Burnley 3-1 at Goodison Park, their eighth straight home league victory.
West Ham led twice at the Stadium of Light, and Slaven Bilic will have been devastated to have conceded so late to squander victory. Andre Ayew and James Collins twice gave the Hammers the lead, but Fabio Borini struck late to snatch a point for Sunderland and things got worse for West Ham when Sam Byram was sent off in the 95th-minute of the match.
Everton's remarkable home form continued thanks to goals from Phil Jagielka (who has scored in each of his last three), a Ben Mee own-goal after good work from Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku, who has scored in nine straight Goodison matches and was this week named in the PFA Team of the Season.
I think this will be a really good game in which both teams will have a go at each other. That should play into Everton's hand with the in-form Lukaku at the top of the pitch, and I think this will be a comfortable away victory.
Prediction: 1-3
Burnley vs Manchester United
Sunday 23rd April 2017, 14.15
Burnley's two-game unbeaten run came to an end in a 3-1 defeat at Everton. Manchester United enjoyed a brilliant 2-0 victory over league leaders Chelsea at Old Trafford, a second straight Premier League success.
Burnley's shocking away run continued at Everton and Sean Dyche will be disappointed at the defensive display of his side in the second period. Sam Vokes won and scored a penalty to draw the Clarets temporarily level, but Ben Mee scored an own-goal and Romelu Lukaku added a third to leave Burnley still searching for a first away victory this season.
Manchester United enjoyed a thoroughly deserved win over Chelsea in an excellent display. Ander Herrera created Marcus Rashford's opener and scored the second himself, all the while completely marking Eden Hazard out of the game. Jose Mourinho will have been delighted to get one over his old side, and his week got even better as Manchester United progressed to the Europa League semi-finals, beating Anderlecht 2-1 (AET) at Old Trafford on Thursday and 2-1 on aggregate.
Burnley are strong at Turf Moor but United are in excellent form and should win despite the fact that they'll be sweating on Zlatan Ibrahimovic's fitness after he limped out of the Europa League clash with Anderlecht. Marcus Rashford will be a more than capable replacement if the big Swede does miss out.
Prediction: 0-2
Burnley's two-game unbeaten run came to an end in a 3-1 defeat at Everton. Manchester United enjoyed a brilliant 2-0 victory over league leaders Chelsea at Old Trafford, a second straight Premier League success.
Burnley's shocking away run continued at Everton and Sean Dyche will be disappointed at the defensive display of his side in the second period. Sam Vokes won and scored a penalty to draw the Clarets temporarily level, but Ben Mee scored an own-goal and Romelu Lukaku added a third to leave Burnley still searching for a first away victory this season.
Manchester United enjoyed a thoroughly deserved win over Chelsea in an excellent display. Ander Herrera created Marcus Rashford's opener and scored the second himself, all the while completely marking Eden Hazard out of the game. Jose Mourinho will have been delighted to get one over his old side, and his week got even better as Manchester United progressed to the Europa League semi-finals, beating Anderlecht 2-1 (AET) at Old Trafford on Thursday and 2-1 on aggregate.
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| Herrera had a fine game against Chelsea (Getty Images) |
Burnley are strong at Turf Moor but United are in excellent form and should win despite the fact that they'll be sweating on Zlatan Ibrahimovic's fitness after he limped out of the Europa League clash with Anderlecht. Marcus Rashford will be a more than capable replacement if the big Swede does miss out.
Prediction: 0-2
Liverpool vs Crystal Palace
Sunday 23rd April 2017, 16.30
Liverpool are unbeaten in seven Premier League fixtures and have won their last two after winning 1-0 at West Brom a week ago. Crystal Palace fought from two goals down to draw 2-2 at home to Leicester.
Liverpool had to scrap at West Brom, but picked up a vital three points in their bid for a top-four finish thanks to Roberto Firmino's header on the stroke of half-time. Jurgen Klopp will be proud of his team after they followed up a tough game at Stoke with another victory at WBA, and his side are back on song at a crucial point in the season.
Sam Allardyce's Palace fought back from 2-0 down against Leicester at Selhurst Park to earn another important point. Yohan Cabaye scored for the second successive league match and Christian Benteke netted the all-important equaliser. Benteke will be looking forward to returning to Anfield and trying to prove a point to Jurgen Klopp, but Palace will be without the impressive Mamadou Sakho, who is on-loan at the club from Anfield.
This will be another battle for Liverpool with Crystal Palace much improved in recent weeks. The Reds are in confident mood though, and should pick up three points in front of a noisy Anfield.
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| Benteke would love a goal against his former employers (Getty Images) |
This will be another battle for Liverpool with Crystal Palace much improved in recent weeks. The Reds are in confident mood though, and should pick up three points in front of a noisy Anfield.
Prediction: 3-0
Chelsea vs Southampton
Tuesday 25th April 2017, 19.45
Chelsea lost 2-0 at Old Trafford in Gameweek 33, their second defeat in April. They also face Tottenham in their FA Cup semi-final clash at Wembley before this match. Southampton were well beaten, 3-0 at home to Manchester City, ending a run of three league matches unbeaten.
Chelsea were well beaten at Manchester United and struggled to live with the pace of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard. Ander Herrera was United's man-of-the-match though, doing a fantastic man-marking job on Eden Hazard. Chelsea couldn't get their Belgian superstar in the match, and failed to muster a single effort on target in the ninety minutes.
Southampton were well beaten by Manchester City at St Mary's after a poor second-half performance. It was 0-0 at half-time, but Vincent Kompany gave City the lead in the 55th-minute and it was effectively game over then, the visitors scoring a further two goals in the latter stages of the match.
Chelsea are now just four points clear of Spurs at the table, and can't afford any more slip-ups after a disappointing month. I think they'll get back to winning ways against Claude Puel's Southampton, though.
Prediction: 2-0
Arsenal vs Leicester
Wednesday 26th April 2017, 19.45
Arsenal ended a run of four straight away league defeats with a 2-1 win at Middlesbrough and face an FA Cup semi-final against Man City before this one. Leicester surrendered a two-goal lead at Crystal Palace in a 2-2 draw.
Alexis Sanchez, surprisingly overlooked in the PFA Team of the Year, scored a fabulous free-kick to set Arsenal on their way at the Riverside. Middlesbrough found an equaliser, but Mesut Ozil won the game for Arsenal thanks to a well-taken goal. I was surprised to see Arsene Wenger start the game with a back-three, but it was nice to see him trying something different and I'm pleased for him that it paid off.
Leicester's draw at Palace will feel like a loss for Craig Shakespeare, whose side were seemingly cruising towards victory at Selhurst Park after goals from Robert Huth and Jamie Vardy. Crystal Palace fought back to 2-2 but the Foxes defended well in the final twenty minutes to earn a point. Leicester's Champions League fairy-tale ended in midweek as they drew 1-1 at home to Atletico Madrid but exited the competition after losing 2-1 on aggregate.
Arsenal will be looking for back-to-back league wins for the first time since January, and I think they'll get it here. Leicester will be disappointed to have exited Europe but can be proud of being the last English team left in the Champions League.
Prediction: 2-1
Middlesbrough vs Sunderland
Wednesday 26th April 2017, 19.45
The Premier League's bottom two meet at the Riverside in a must-win for both Steve Agnew and David Moyes. Middlesbrough play earlier in Gameweek 34, at Bournemouth, whilst this will be Sunderland's first game since drawing 2-2 with West Ham.
Middlesbrough play Bournemouth on Saturday, a game that I've predicted them to lose 2-0.
Sunderland earned a big point in the circumstances against West Ham thanks to Fabio Borini's late goal. The Black Cats twice came from behind and were deserving of the point they finally earned. Wahbi Khazri scored Sunderland's first goal as they ended a run of three straight league defeats.
This is a tough game to call as I'm predicting it before Middlesbrough's first game of the Gameweek. I'm expecting them to lose that one, but I think that they'll beat Sunderland regardless. The Black Cats are bottom for a reason; they have been the league's worst team and I think Middlesbrough will win the three points here.
Prediction: 1-0
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham
Wednesday 26th April 2017, 20.00
Like Middlesbrough, Crystal Palace play twice this Gameweek, their first game taking place at Anfield. Tottenham enter this game after beating Bournemouth 4-0 in Gameweek 33 and will play Chelsea in an FA Cup semi-final before this match.
Crystal Palace face Liverpool on Sunday, a game that I've predicted them to lose 3-0.
Tottenham went within four points of leaders Chelsea thanks to a 4-0 rout of Bournemouth at White Hart Lane. Goals from Moussa Dembele, Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Vincent Janssen saw Spurs cruise to a seventh league win on the bounce, and Mauricio Pochettino's men will know that they are right in the title race with six games remaining.
I've predicted Palace to lose at Anfield, but even if they don't I think Spurs will have too much for them here. They're playing some fantastic football and are really putting the pressure on Antonio Conte's Chelsea.
Prediction: 0-2
Manchester City vs Manchester United
Thursday 22nd April 2017, 20.00
Manchester City beat Southampton 3-0 at St Mary's last time out in the league and face an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal before this one. United play earlier in Gameweek 34, at Burnley.
Vincent Kompany will be a delighted man after scoring at St Mary's. He showed exactly what City have missed at the back this season and I hope he's now put his injury woes behind him. Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero added further goals as City cruised to victory at Southampton.
Manchester United play Burnley on Sunday, a game that I've predicted them to win 2-0.
This should be a cracking derby game between two in-form sides. There should be bags of goals, and I think the points will be shared.
Prediction: 2-2
Manchester City beat Southampton 3-0 at St Mary's last time out in the league and face an FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal before this one. United play earlier in Gameweek 34, at Burnley.
Vincent Kompany will be a delighted man after scoring at St Mary's. He showed exactly what City have missed at the back this season and I hope he's now put his injury woes behind him. Leroy Sane and Sergio Aguero added further goals as City cruised to victory at Southampton.
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| Back with a bang (Getty Images) |
Manchester United play Burnley on Sunday, a game that I've predicted them to win 2-0.
This should be a cracking derby game between two in-form sides. There should be bags of goals, and I think the points will be shared.
Prediction: 2-2
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