West Ham vs Tottenham
Friday 5th May 2017, 20.00
West Ham drew their third successive league game last weekend, 0-0 at Stoke. Tottenham kept the pressure on Chelsea with a ninth consecutive Premier League victory, beating rivals Arsenal 2-0 at White Hart Lane.
West Ham are one of those sides with little to play for going into their final three matches. They are seven points clear of the bottom three and could guarantee safety this weekend. It has been reported that Slaven Bilic's position will be reviewed at the end of the season, but I think he's done ok at West Ham considering the stadium change this season.
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| Slaven Bilic will be hoping to relieve some of the pressure he has been under this week (Getty Images) |
Tottenham won the North London derby to stay within four points of Chelsea, and they're still in the title race with four left to play. Dele Alli and Harry Kane (p) did the business again for Mauricio Pochettino, and he'll be confident of winning another London derby on Friday night.
West Ham aren't convincing at the London Stadium and face the form team in the league on Friday. Spurs are refusing to give Chelsea any more breathing space, and they could go a point behind them by winning Gameweek 36's first match.
Prediction: 1-3
Manchester City vs Crystal Palace
Saturday 6th May 2017, 12.30
Manchester City suffered a second straight league draw last weekend, 2-2 at strugglers Middlesbrough. Crystal Palace have now lost their last two after suffering a 2-0 home defeat to Burnley last time out.
Pep Guardiola will be a disappointed man after dropping points at the league's 19th-placed club. They had to come from behind twice, Sergio Aguero cancelling out former teammate Alvaro Negredo's opener, before Gabriel Jesus snatched a point with five minutes left to play. A top four finish is still in City's own hands, but they can't afford many more performances like the one at the Riverside.
Crystal Palace have suffered a little dip in form and will have been disappointed to allow Burnley to claim their first away win of the campaign. Burnley were the better side throughout and deserved the three points, and Big Sam knows his side aren't completely safe yet with this fixture approaching.
Manchester City will be looking to return to winning ways this weekend and they have to be favourites at the Etihad. Pep will be pleased to have Gabriel Jesus back, and I fancy them to win comfortably on Saturday.
Prediction: 2-0
Bournemouth vs Stoke
Saturday 6th May 2017, 15.00
Bournemouth are on a two-game winning run after a 1-0 victory at Sunderland in their last fixture. Stoke are without a win in two after drawing 0-0 at home to West Ham.
The Cherries went 10th at the weekend thanks to three points at the Stadium of Light, but they left it late to do so. Josh King netted an 88th-minute winner to snatch the three points and relegate Sunderland in the process.
Stoke had the majority of the ball against West Ham but the match finished goalless after they failed to convert their chances. They've lacked a clinical finisher this season, and that was obvious from the fact that out of 19 attempts, only 4 were on target.
Bournemouth are enjoying a strong finish to the season and are a very good team at the Vitality Stadium. Stoke are struggling for goals and I fancy Bournemouth to win this one.
Prediction: 2-1
Burnley vs West Brom
Saturday 6th May 2017, 15.00
Burnley finally won their first away game of the season, 2-0 at Crystal Palace. West Brom lost 1-0 at home to Leicester as their losing run extended to four straight matches.
Watching Burnley at Selhurst Park, it is amazing that they hadn't registered an away win before that match. Sean Dyche got his tactics spot on as the Clarets defended brilliantly and scored both early and late goals, thanks to goals from Ashley Barnes and Andre Gray. Burnley sit 14th and have enjoyed a solid first season back in the top flight.
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| Sean Dyche finally oversaw Burnley's first away win of the campaign (Getty Images) |
West Brom's end-of-season slump continued, and they are without a win in five thanks to a 1-0 home defeat to Leicester. They have failed to score in any of those five matches, and Tony Pulis is another manager who will surely be on the hunt for a clinical striker in the summer.
Burnley will be confident after a fine win at Crystal Palace and are usually good at home anyway. West Brom are out of sorts, and I think they'll lose again here.
Prediction: 1-0
Hull vs Sunderland
Saturday 6th May 2017, 15.00
Hull are unbeaten in two after a 0-0 draw at Southampton a week ago. Sunderland became the first side to be relegated from the Premier League this season after suffering a 1-0 home defeat to Bournemouth.
Eldin Jakupovic was Hull's hero at St Mary's, saving a stoppage time penalty to earn Hull a precious point last Saturday. He kept out Dusan Tadic and it proved to be an important point, with relegation rivals Swansea picking up an impressive point of their own at Manchester United.
Sunderland's ten-year stay in the Premier League is over after a 23rd defeat of the season against Bournemouth. It has been a torrid campaign for David Moyes, in which his players have simply failed to perform. Only Jordan Pickford and Jermain Defoe have impressed me, and I'm sure they'll generate lots of interest in the summer.
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| Sunderland will be playing in the Championship next season (Getty Images) |
Hull have been excellent at home under Marco Silva and know they have a massive opportunity here against an already-relegated side. I can't see them slipping up here.
Prediction: 2-0
Leicester vs Watford
Saturday 6th May 2017, 15.00
Leicester ended a run of three games without a victory thanks to a 1-0 win at West Brom. Watford lost by the same scoreline, at home to Liverpool on Monday night.
Jamie Vardy scored the only goal at the Hawthorns as Leicester reached the 'magic' 40-point mark. Craig Shakespeare has done a great job at steadying the ship at the King Power and he'll be eyeing up the job permanently in the summer I'm sure.
Watford lost their second league match on the bounce, but could do little to keep out Emre Can's stunning winner. Like Leicester they are on 40 points and have had a decent season despite a slightly negative of football under Walter Mazzarri.
As the league table suggests, this should be a close game. Both sides are safe and have little to play for, so I'm going for Leicester based solely on home advantage.
Prediction: 2-1
Swansea vs Everton
Saturday 6th May 2017, 17.30
Swansea picked up an impressive point at Old Trafford in a 1-1 draw on Sunday. Everton lost their first home league match since December, 3-0 to Chelsea.
Swansea were very good at Manchester United and Paul Clement will have left feeling that his side could have actually won the game. They came from behind after a controversial penalty was awarded against them, but a fine Gyfli Sigurdsson free-kick drew them level. Sigurdsson then delivered a wonderful cross for Fernando Llorente to win the game, but he fluffed his lines and Swansea ended up drawing the game.
Everton were well-beaten by Chelsea as their excellent recent run at Goodison Park came to an end. Ronald Koeman will be very frustrated at his side's second-half performance in particular, as all three of the league leaders' goals came after half-time. Everton remain 7th, and it looks like that will be there final position this season.
Swansea play after relegation rivals Hull but this is a difficult game no matter how the Tigers get on against Sunderland. Everton are not as good away from home but should have enough about them to take a point back to Merseyside.
Prediction: 2-2
Liverpool vs Southampton
Sunday 7th May 2017, 13.30
Liverpool won 1-0 at Watford on Monday night, whilst Southampton drew 0-0 at home to Hull on Saturday.
Liverpool had to battle at Watford, but a moment of brilliance from Emre Can saw them win their third straight away league match and put a top four finish back within their grasp thanks to other results. Can scored one of the goals of the season, acrobatically volleying home Lucas Leiva's lofted pass, and Liverpool know that if they win their last three league games they will finish inside the top four.
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| Emre Can scored one of the goals of the season (Getty Images) |
Dusan Tadic will be ruing his missed penalty against Hull, a result which saw the Saints fail to win for the third successive league match. They did well at Liverpool in the League Cup earlier in the year, and Claude Puel knows he needs a similar performance form his side if they are to leave Anfield with anything.
Liverpool should be bolstered at the fact that a spot in next season's Champions League is back in their own hands, and I fancy them to win against a Southampton side whose season has petered out a little recently.
Prediction: 2-1
Arsenal vs Manchester United
Sunday 7th May 2017, 16.00
Arsenal lost 2-0 at bitter rivals Tottenham a week ago, whilst Manchester United suffered another disappointing home draw, tying 1-1 with Swansea.
Arsenal's defeat at Spurs means they will definitely finish below their rivals in the Premier League for the first time since 1995. There is a lack of resilience about the Gunners at the moment, and Arsene Wenger's future has again been called into question after that devastating defeat. A top four finish looks a massive ask for Arsenal now, but the FA Cup final represents a chance of silverware.
Manchester United dropped points again at Old Trafford against another struggling side, Swansea the visitors last Sunday. Marcus Rashford won a highly debatable penalty which Wayne Rooney duly converted, but a fine free-kick drew Swansea level and United were lucky not to lose the game with the Swans missing a great late chance. United play this one just three days after a Europa League fixture in Spain, winning 1-0 at Celta Vigo courtesy of a spectacular Marcus Rashford free-kick.
Arsenal have struggled against the bigger sides this season and I don't see them winning this one, but I think they will get a draw against the Red Devils who will probably be a little jaded after their European exploits.
Prediction: 1-1
Chelsea vs Middlesbrough
Monday 8th May 2017, 20.00
Chelsea enjoyed a fantastic 3-0 win at Everton which saw them keep hold of their four-point lead at the top of the table. Middlesbrough picked up a brilliant home point in an unexpected 2-2 draw against Manchester City.
Chelsea were in a game at Goodison Park until Pedro's stunning 66th-minute strike. It was comfortable from there for Antonio Conte's men, Gary Cahill and Willian adding goals of their own to take the Blues a step closer to clinching the title.
Middlesbrough surprised everybody last week, holding Manchester City at the Riverside. Twice they led but failed to protect those advantages, Alvaro Negredo scoring against his former side and Calum Chambers scoring the second. It was an impressive performance from Steve Agnew's team nonetheless, but they could still be relegated at Stamford Bridge if other results go against them this weekend.
This should be a routine victory for the league leaders despite an improved Boro display last weekend. Chelsea are on track to deservedly win the Premier League, and I think they'll put on a show here.
Prediction: 4-0
Southampton vs Arsenal
Wednesday 10th May 2017, 19.45
This is a second appearance in Gameweek 36 for both of these teams, catching up on fixtures due to Arsenal's recent participation in the FA Cup semi-finals.
Southampton play at Anfield earlier this Gameweek, a match that I have predicted them to lose 2-1.
Arsenal host Manchester United earlier this Gameweek, a match that I have predicted them to draw 1-1.
I'm basing my prediction for this match on the predictions for both team's first matches in Gameweek 36. If both go the way I think they will it should mean this is a close game at St Mary's. Southampton are better at home than they are away, and I think this could be a draw.
Prediction: 1-1
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