Good day everyone,

I hope you are all well and having a great start to the weekend, welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things sports. Today we will be looking at the upcoming weekend games in the Premier League after an exciting European Quarter Finals week. With a top of the table clash and some relegation six pointers, expect this to be a very interesting weekend for the league table.

 

Fixtures - Times are shown as U.K. Time

This weekends round of fixtures take place over 3 days, from Friday evening until Sunday evening.

 

Friday 8th April

Newcastle - Wolves 8pm KO (Kick Off)

 

Saturday 9th April

Everton - Manchester United 12.30pm KO

Arsenal - Brighton 3pm KO

Southampton - Chelsea 3pm KO

Watford - Leeds 3pm KO

Aston Villa - Tottenham 5.30pm KO

 

Sunday 10th April

Brentford - West Ham United 2pm KO

Leicester - Crystal Palace - 2pm KO

Norwich - Burnley - 2pm KO

Manchester City - Liverpool 4.30pm KO

 

 

Predictions

Now for the most exciting part, as I go through the latest info regarding each team to make an attempt at predicting the results for this weekends matches. Remember this is just my fun analysis and should not be taken as advice or a guarantee. 

 

Newcastle - Wolves

This weekend starts with a big one, as Newcastle are on a loosing streak of three straight defeats and come up against a Wolves side who will still believe they can challenge for European places. The recent loss of form should not be too be of a concern to Newcastle, after they managed to win six of their league games between January 22 and March 10. They have dropped to 15th but have a 9 point cushion from the relegation zone, and have three home games including this one to Wolves. The visitors are five points off fourth and will still believe they can challenge for Champions League football, or at the very least secure a European spot for next season. Their away record is only better than the top two, and will have belief heading into this fixture. Newcastle will be without Hayden, Wilson, Trippier, and Lewis, while Almiron and Fernandez will need assessment. Wolves meanwhile will be without Jimenez, Hoever, and Neves. This will be a tough game for both sides, as they both very much have it all to play for. Five of the last six between these sides have ended in a 1-1 draw, which could be a very likely result again and therefore I will back this to end as a 1-1 draw.

 

Everton - Manchester United

Two teams meet here who are desperate for points and a change in fortunes. Everton suffered another defeat during the week, this time to relegation rivals Burnley. With the same amount of games played, there is one point between Everton in 17th and Burnley in 18th. Questions must surely be asked of whether or not Lampard was the right man to appoint seeing as they are worse off under him than they were with Rafa. Watford in 19th are only three points behind the Toffees, although have played a game more. United meanwhile are in 7th and three points off Spurs in 4th with the same amount of games played. Coming into the business end of the season the Red Devils know their current form of one win in six in all competitions will not be good enough to secure fourth place. They have however only lost once to Everton in all competitions since April 2015. Everton will be missing Mina, Gomes, Davies, Townsend, and Patterson. United will be hoping to Ronaldo back after illness caused him to miss the draw at Leicester, but Cavani and Greenwood will both be out. The interesting thing about Everton is they are alright at home under Lampard, but United wont be taking this game lightly. I think the midweek defeat will have crushed Everton's spirits, and United will take advantage and secure a 0-2 away win.

 

Arsenal - Brighton

The Gunners were brought back down to earth in their challenge for top four as they were outclassed in a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Monday night. As noted by Arteta, Arsenal were unacceptable against Palace, but they remain level with Spurs and have a game in hand. While there are questions on their away from, Arsenal have won 10 of their 14 home league games this season. Brighton meanwhile sit 13th and ten points above relegation. Their early good form has been replaced by endless draws and the fans are not afraid to voice their discontent. Their latest draw with Norwich shows how bad their form has gotten, with the Seagulls failing to score in their last three league games. Arsenal will be without Tierney and Tomiyasu for this match, while Brighton only have Webster as a confirmed injury concern. With Arsenal under pressure and Arteta surely to fire them up, I can see them winning by a decent margin here, securing a win at home against Brighton by a score of 3-0.

 

Southampton - Chelsea

The Blues are on an awful run, having lost to Brentford and Madrid while conceding seven goals in those two games. Southampton are sitting pretty in 12th mostly thanks to the sublime technical ability of Ward-Prowse. He scored another beautiful free kick against Leeds in their 1-1 draw last weekend, and the Saints will be hoping for more of the same here. They have issues at the back, having conceded nine goals in their previous four league games. Hasenhuttl's side have scored in each of their last 12 home league games and will hope to continue that against a porous Chelsea side. The Blues are third and five points clear of Spurs and Arsenal beneath them, but doubts will begin to creep in if they don't shore up the backline. They have managed to win in each of their last six games away from home in all competitions, which should encourage them heading into this game. Broja will be restricted from playing in this game for Southampton due to being on loan from Chelsea, with Lyanco their only real injury concern. Hudson-Odoi and Chillwell are the only injuries for Chelsea, who will have to make a decision on whether to rest players ahead of their second leg in Madrid next week. With Chelsea in a shambles at the back, I wouldn't be surprised for this to be a very high scoring game. The final result could be anything, but I will go for a 2-3 away win for Chelsea.

 

Watford - Leeds

This is a huge fixture in the relegation battle, with Watford sitting in 19th and Leeds in 16th with 8 points more but having played a game extra. The Hornets have picked up just 22 points from their 30 Premier League matches this season but they are three points off safety and have played a game more than Everton in 17th. Their home form is awful though, having lost their previous 8 home league games. Leeds are on an upbounce in form, having picked up 7 points from their last three league fixtures. They have won two, drawn one and lost two since Marsch was appointed but have the fourth worst away record in the league this season. Watford should have a fully fit squad to select from for this match, while Leeds will be without Roberts, Bamford, Firpo, and Shackleton. With both sides at the wrong end of the table and in real threat of relegation, expect a cautious but explosive match. Leeds will be going for it while Watford will be solid at the back and hoping to counter, which leads me to expect a draw as the final result, with the score being 2-2.

 

Aston Villa - Tottenham

Spurs will be hoping to make it four league wins in a row as they head to Gerrard's Villa for this match. Villa sit in 11th as they welcome this Spurs side in 4th who have real hopes now of getting Champions League football for next season. Gerrard's side are one point off 9th, meaning they can really hope of pushing for a top half finish. Their form though is the opposite, having lost their previous three league games. At home this season they have managed to pick up just 18 points from their 14 league games. Spurs meanwhile have won six of their last eight league games, and might well be setting sights on Chelsea in 3rd who are five points ahead but have a game in hand. Kane has found his scoring boots after a slow first half of the season, and Tottenham will need him to continue with their push for top four. Villa are expected to have a fully fit and available squad for this weekend, while Spurs will be missing Tanganga, Sessegnon, and Skipp. When Spurs turn up under Conte then anything is possible, and dont be surprised if they put many past Villa here. Gerrard will need his side to show fight and spirit but it seems the away side have more to play for, and I will back Spurs to secure a victory of 1-3 at Villa Park.

 

Brentford - West Ham United

The Hammers drew 1-1 with Lyon in their Europa League Quarter Final game on Thursday, and will most likely have one eye on the second leg as they travel to Brentford. The Bees are no easy task, as they showed when they dismantled Chelsea last weekend, plus they will be the fresher of the two sides. They now sit 14th in the table and since Eriksen has arrived have managed to regain their positive form in the league. They have managed to score 10 goals in their last 4 league games and are 9 points clear of the relegation places. West Hama are 6th. three points off the Champions League places but have played a game more than Spurs. The Hammers are winless away from home since New Years Day and between fatigue and potentially resting players, this will be a tough task against Brentford. Brentford expect Dasilva to miss this game with a minor injury, while Jeanvier is still a long term absentee. For West Ham, there are minimal injuries but key players might be rested. Cresswell should play as he will be banned for the second leg against Lyon. With the Bees having more rest and West Ham most likely seeing European success as their best route into the Champions League at this stage, I think Frank's side will be too much for the Hammers and manage a 2-0 home win.

 

Leicester - Crystal Palace

The Foxes managed a 0-0 at home to PSV as their pursuit of Europa Conference League glory continues, with Leicester in 10th taking on a Palace side who moved into 9th after their win against Arsenal. Both these sides are in mixed form, winning and loosing but both will be comfortable with their positions in the table. Vieira will have the fresher side heading into this, with real ambitions of a top half finish in his first match in charge, with his side unbeaten in the last seven in all competitions. Leicester are also unbeaten in their last seven in all competitions, which means this should end up being a very interesting game. The Foxes will be without Ndidi, Vardy, Ward, and Bertrand, while Palace have Olise as their only confirmed injury. Most likely Leicester will rest their key players for their European fixture, and that should give Palace the advantage. Due to this, I am going to back the away side to edge a 1-2 win at the King Power.

 

Norwich - Burnley

The big game at the bottom of the table as bottom side Norwich face 18th placed Burnley. The Clarets will be sky high after their late winner against Everton, and victory here could push them out of the relegation zone depending on other results. Burnley are difficult to predict, especially when away from home. Norwich are clearly favourites to go down and the worst team in the league, but often it requires one or two Burnley players to drag their team over the line. Norwich managed a draw with Brighton last time out, but are bottom of the table and seven points from safety with games running out. The Canaries will be without Idah, Kabak, Omobamidele, and Sargent for this one. Burnley meanwhile will be missing Gudmundsson, Mee, and Pieters through injury. With Burnley looking the more likely to survive the drop and therefore more to play for, I think they will just about manage a win here. It wont be the most glamorous tie, but the away side should leave Carrow Road with a victory of 0-1.

 

Manchester City - Liverpool

The big game of the weekend, and possibly the biggest game of the season. The top two face off after victories in the Champions League during the week, where Liverpool won 3-1 away to Benfica and City managed a 1-0 home win over Atletico Madrid. This game wont decide who wins the league, but it will be a big step towards it if either side take the three points. With one points between them and the same amount of games played, things could not be closer. Liverpool have reduced that gap, which was 8 points after the same amount of games played at one point, and are setting their sights on a quadruple this season. City will be favourites with home advantage, but Southampton, Crystal Palace, and Spurs dented their hopes of running away with the league. City are on an 8 game unbeaten run in all competitions, while Liverpool have emerged victorious in 17 of their last 18 games in all competitions, the only loss being against Inter when they were already ahead from the first leg. The Reds have recorded 5 clean sheets in their last 5 league games and against the best defence in the league this is certainly going to be a tight affair. Liverpool have the better form but have not managed a clean sheet at Man City since 2010. City will be without Dias and Palmer, but Walker will be fresh after his European ban, Liverpool have no injuries and Klopp will have a fully fit squad to choose from. With so many attacking options for Liverpool, its very difficult to even guess the line ups let alone the result. While this could easily play out as a 0-0, I think if Liverpool score then City will push to attack, and that could leave them open to the counter. The pace of Salah, Mané, and now Diaz means Liverpool are a real threat, and because Ruben Dias is going to miss out I will back the away side to claim a victory and climb above City in the table with a 1-2 at the Etihad. 

 

 

 

Have a great day, I hope you enjoyed the preview of the matches and get to see the games over the weekend. 

Peace. CryptoGod-1.

 

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