Is the title race back on? Chelsea’s shock defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend has given the chasing pack a glimmer of hope.
The Blues now face a critical clash at home to Manchester City on Wednesday. Elsewhere, Tottenham host Swansea, Everton travel to Manchester United and Liverpool welcome Bournemouth to Anfield.
CHELSEA: Chelsea’s surprise defeat to Crystal Palace has suddenly added a certain pressure on the meeting with Manchester City. Antonio Conte will be hoping that Diego Costa can rediscover his early season form after losing his edge of late and that his defence keeps a close watch on City’s increasingly impressive Leroy Sane.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 Manchester City — Phil Lythell
MAN CITY: Pep Guardiola has seen his Manchester City side draw the last three in the Premier League and, with the chance to capitalise on Chelsea’s slip against Crystal Palace, they stumbled themselves at Arsenal. City’s shot at the title is now pretty much over — but a win would do wonders for securing a position in the top four. But Chelsea don’t drop that many points this season, so maybe a draw is the best the visitors could be hoping for.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-2 Manchester City — David Mooney
TOTTENHAM: Despite the efforts of ex-Spurs midfielders Gylfi Sigurdsson and Tom Carroll, Swansea seem to have lost momentum, only picking up one point from their last three games against Hull, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough. On the other hand, Spurs are on a five-match winning run and have been given hope they could still challenge for the title.
Prediction: Tottenham 2-0 Swansea — Ben Pearce
SWANSEA: Facing Spurs, Swansea will rue the points they’ve dropped in each of their last three fixtures. Tottenham have only lost once this calendar year, and have not been beaten by a team outside the top six all season. Will a side that took only one point in total from games against Hull, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough come up with anything against the league’s second best outfit? No, no they won’t.
Prediction: Tottenham 3-1 Swansea — Max Hicks
MAN UNITED: Manchester United’s home form continues to be poor and Everton, who will be smarting from their derby capitulation against Liverpool, can frustrate their hosts. While Romelu Lukaku is the most obvious threat, United must also be concerned by their own consistent failure to build decisive attacks.
Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Everton — Musa Okwonga
EVERTON: After failing to learn from previous games away to top six teams, Everton require a more proactive approach after too much focus on the opposition at the expense of their own strengths. A win would leapfrog the Blues above their hosts into fifth place but
Prediction: Manchester United 2-2 Everton — Luke O’Farrell
ARSENAL: Arsene Wenger said that Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Man City would help restore some confidence to his beleaguered side. Wednesday night’s game against West Ham will be the true test of that. Like Arsenal, the Hammers are going through a bad period, and come into this fixture on the back of four straight defeats. If ever there was a time for Wenger’s men to take advantage this is it, but the Gunners’ form has been unpredictable to say the least. They should have enough to win this, but it’d be a surprise if it was a particularly convincing victory.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 West Ham — Andrew Mangan
WEST HAM: Without a win in six games, It’s hard to see how West Ham can get anything at the Emirates. The Hammers are certainly under pressure, but they deserve a break and, who knows, it may come on a ground where they have had unexpected success in the past.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 West Ham — Peter Thorne
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool’s recent win against Burnley led some to believe their problems against bottom 10 teams were over but there was still plenty of anxiety at Anfield that day. The Reds’ challenge for a Champions League spot may be gaining momentum but still expect a tense, narrow victory.
Prediction: Liverpool 2-1 Bournemouth — Steven Kelly
BOURNEMOUTH: The Cherries may be in a run of good form at the moment having not lost in their past four games but Liverpool at Anfield are likely to be too much. If Josh King can find some form then Bournemouth might have a chance, but that’s a big if.
Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 Bournemouth — Will Kent
HULL CITY: The weekend win over West Ham should ensure Hull City are full of confidence and their home record under Marco Silva demands respect. It is now 13 points from a possible 15 at the KCOM Stadium, returns that keep City firmly in the hunt for survival. It might not be pretty but they ought to have enough to beat Boro.
Prediction: Hull 2-0 Middlesbrough — Phil Buckingham
MIDDLESBROUGH: It’s hard for Boro to feel anything but down and out after yet another lacklustre showing in the 0-0 draw at Swansea on Sunday. Hull will look to make home advantage count against their relegation rivals.
Prediction: Hull 1-0 Middlesbrough — Catherine Wilson
LEICESTER: Leicester are firm favourites to continue their winning streak at home to Sunderland on Tuesday and in doing so make it six wins out of six under Craig Shakespeare. The Foxes secured safety at the Stadium of Light in 2014-15 and three points at the King Power Stadium will virtually ensure the same feat and allow City to focus firmly on their Champions League quarterfinal with Atletico Madrid. Momentum is on the Foxes’ side and Sunderland surely won’t bring them down to earth with a bump, especially not on their travels.
Prediction: Leicester 4-0 Sunderland — Ben Jacobs
SUNDERLAND: Exactly two years after Leicester grabbed the first of seven wins from nine games to ensure survival, Sunderland desperately need the same sort of revival avoid the drop. With the Foxes on form, and David Moyes’ side unable to score let alone win, the outcome seems certain.
Prediction: Leicester 2-0 Sunderland — Colin Randall
SOUTHAMPTON: This could be a tough night for Southampton given Palace’s recent improvement and the continued absence of Manolo Gabbiadini. Claude Puel would be happy to pick up another home point.
Prediction: Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace — Alex Crook
CRYSTAL PALACE: Sam Allardyce’s side will go into this one with the confidence they can give Southampton a difficult game. The injuries to the defensive line are a concern but Palace have enough quality to get a result at St Mary’s.
Prediction: Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace — Rob Sutherland
BURNLEY: The Clarets are winless in eight games, a run that has seen their cushion from the bottom three cut to just five points. The visit of Stoke is a prime opportunity to get vital points on the board, but with Sean Dyche opting for negative tactics the team simply do not look like scoring of late and a goalless draw could be the best they can hope for.
Prediction: Burnley 0-0 Stoke — Jamie Smith
STOKE: Breaching Burnley’s fortress is a challenge anyway but Stoke have barely competed on the road this season so hopes aren’t particularly high. The return of Geoff Cameron will bolster midfield but Mark Hughes needs to change his shape and tactics if he expects his players to score and take all three points.
Prediction: Burnley 0-0 Stoke — James Whittaker
WATFORD: Anything other than defeat will almost certainly seal Premier League survival and Watford supporters will also hope their side can build on victory vs. Sunderland after a frustrating season of inconsistency. Younes Kaboul may miss out but Walter Mazzarri faces no new injury concerns. The big question will be whether the talismanic Troy Deeney returns to lead the forward line.
Prediction: Watford 1-1 West Brom — Mike Parkin
WEST BROM: West Brom face their second consecutive away game when they face Watford at Vicarage Road. Tony Pulis will be hoping Matty Phillips can finally return from his injury to play against a side who he scored against in a 3-1 win at the Hawthorns earlier in the season.
Prediction: Watford 0-1 West Brom — Matthew Evans
Middlesbrough face a critical showdown at Hull as both teams fight for their Premier League status, while time looks to be running out for Sunderland. David Moyes’ men travel to face improving Leicester and only a win will do to keep their survival bid on track.
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