Good day everyone,
I hope you are all well and having a great weekend, welcome to CryptoGod-1's blog on all things sports. Today we will be looking at the upcoming games in the Premier League after a thrilling FA Cup Final between Liverpool and Chelsea which saw Liverpool win on penalties once again. For this round of games City have the chance to move clear and be one point off sealing the title, while Arsenal and Spurs battle it out for fourth place. Burnley, Leeds, and Everton will all hope for wins in their battle against the drop as games are running out for all clubs.
Fixtures - Times are shown as U.K. Time
This weekends round of fixtures take place over 3 days, from Sunday lunchtime until Tuesday evening.
Sunday 7th May
Tottenham - Burnley 12pm KO (Kick Off)
Aston Villa - Crystal Palace 2pm KO
Leeds - Brighton 2pm KO
Watford - Leicester 2pm KO
West Ham - Manchester City 2pm KO
Wolves - Norwich 2pm KO
Everton - Brentford 4.30pm KO
Monday 7th May
Newcastle - Arsenal 8pm KO
Tuesday 8th May
Southampton - Liverpool 7.45pm 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.
Tottenham - Burnley
Only goal difference has Burnley out of the relegation zone as they face a difficult task in visiting London to face a Spurs side chasing down Arsenal for fourth place after their thrilling North London Derby during the week. Spurs were excellent in that game and will need more of the same here as they look to extend their run of five wins in their last six league games, where they scored at least three in each of those fixtures. Burnley will put up a good fight in this game, knowing a win could prove vital in their survival, especially as their relegation rivals both play at home in this round. Having won three of their last four, and finding the net in five consecutive top-flight games, although they have only won twice away from home all season. Spurs will be without Skipp, Reguilon, Romero, Tanganga, and Doherty for this one, while Burnley will be sweating over the fitness of Tarkowski. They will also be without Vydra, Rodriguerz, Gudmundsson, and Westwood. Conte will certainly have his side up for this one with a win seeing them go ahead of Arsenal who play the next evening, and therefore I can only see one winner. Spurs should emerge with the three points with a 3-1 victory at home.
Aston Villa - Crystal Palace
Palace head to Villa Park looking to make it three wins in a row as they face off against Gerrard's team who recently confirmed the permanent signing of Coutinho. One point separates these sides, with Villa in 12th just behind Palace. Villa managed two wins and a draw before their defeat to Liverpool on Tuesday, but have only picked up 21 points from their 17 home matches this season. With both sides safe from the drop and having a possibility of a top half finish, Palace will need to improve their away form to get anything from this match. They are on a three game unbeaten run but have only collected 18 points from their 17 away Premier League games this season. Gerrard will head into this match without Hause and Bailey, but should have Ramsey back available. Ferguson is out for Palace, while late checks will need to be made on Guehi and Guaita. Withboth of these sides on good runs of form recently it should be a close game, and although neither has much to play for, a strong finish to the season would be excellent for both. Therefore I am going to back a 1-1 draw in this one.
Leeds - Brighton
Games are running out for Leeds to secure their survival in the Premier League as they welcome 9th place Brighton to Elland Road. The Seagulls have had a week to prepare after their trashing of United, while Leeds lost to Chelsea during the week. Marsch had a bright start to life at Elland Road but things have not gone to plan, with their survival destiny out of their own hands while sitting in 18th. Their discipline has let them down of late, and conceding nine in their last three games has dented their hopes of staying in the league. Potter will hope his side continue their ruthless form that they displayed against United and continue their run of four victories from their last six league games. Brighton are on a run of three wins in their last four away games and have yet to concede a goal against Leeds since they returned to the top flight in 2020. James and Ayling are both suspended for Leeds, while Summerville, Roberts, Dallas, and Forshaw are all out injured. Bamford has an outside chance of appearing from the bench for this one. As for Brighton, Sarmiento and Moder are both ruled out with injuries, while Mwepu is not fully fit after returning to light training. Momentum and morale is on Brighton's side heading into this one and given they will be fresher I cannot see Leeds getting a win here. They will fight for it with everything they have but Brighton should prove too much and emerge with 1-3 victory.
Watford - Leicester
Neither of these sides has anything to play for heading into this match, with Watford already relegated and Leicester unable to qualify for Europe. The relegated hosts held Everton to a goalless draw in midweek to end their dismal home loosing form, while the Foxes stormed to a 3-0 win over Norwich City who are also already relegated. Hodgson's side have only managed to pick up eight points at home so far this season, meaning they are the only side in the division yet to break the double-figure mark on their home soil. Rodgers side have overcome their Europa Conference League disappointment by bringing a seven-game winless run in all competition to an end and will hope for another big result against another relegated side here. Their record of one away win in their last twelve needs to be improved on and Rodgers will see this as the perfect opportunity. Kamara will be back for Watford after his recent ban, while Sarr and Dennis will need fitness checks. They will be without Louza, Cleverley, Nkoulou, Kucka, and Hernandez however. As for the Foxes, both Ndidi and Bertrand are out injured along with Pereria. With both sides only playing for pride I don't expect this to be a game for the ages, however I do think that Leicester will have plenty of well-rested attacking stars ready to make an impact and therefore should secure a 0-2 away win.
West Ham - Manchester City
Moyes will be hoping to do Liverpool a favour while propelling his side into Europa League places when he welcomes Pep's side to London. The heartache of Europa League semi final defeat should spur the Hammers on, as they demonstrated in the victory over Norwich. Sitting in 7th, three points and a game in hand over sixth placed United, a win would get them ahead of their rivals thanks to their vastly superior goal difference. They are however winless in four games at the London Stadium and welcome a City side on top form. The Citizens can break the 90 point barrier and open up a six point lead at the top of the table if they win here. They have won their last five league games and managed to score at least three in each of those encounters. The Hammers did manage to beat City in the Carabao Cup this season, but City have won 10 of the last 11 league encounters between these sides. Benhrama will add to Moyes injury woes after coming off injured last weekend and will join Ogbonna in the treatment room. Antonio and Dawson also came off injured but should be alright for this game. City have their own injury woes as Walker, Stone, and Dias out for the season while Laporte and Fernandinho came off injured during the week and will need assessment. West Ham's streak of scoring in every home game this season is bound to continue against a make shift City defence which should see Aké back in it, but whether or not they can overcome the reigning champions is another thing. Bowen could be key to West Ham getting something from this game but I think at most a draw is all West Ham can hope for, and therefore I will back a 2-2 result.
Wolves - Norwich
With Wolves all but out of European contention and Norwich already relegated, I don't think this will be anything other than a one sided affair as Wolves bounce back from their defeat to City last time out. Lage's side were torn apart by Kevin De Bruyne during the week as the Belgian scored four, meaning they cannot finish in the top six but have an outside hope of getting Conference League football for next season if they can sneak into seventh spot. They have only picked up 23 points from their 18 league matches at Molineux this season as their away form was the stronger throughout the campaign. The Canaries meanwhile are already relegated and unless they pick up a win somewhere will most likely finish bottom of the pile. They have the worst away record in the league having managed just nine points from their 18 matches away from Carrow Road. Wolves will be without Kilman and Semedo, while Podence and Saiss are both doubts. Norwich will be missing Idah, Omobamidele, Zimmermann, McLean, Sargent, Kabak, and Normann for this one. With Norwich clearly already planning for next season their performances have shown that, as they will give Wolves the confidence boost Lage's side need. A resounding 3-0 home victory is on the cards for this one.
Everton - Brentford
The Toffees have managed to pull themselves up to 16th in the table and have a game in hand on the two teams below they battling for survival. They will be disappointed with only a point last time out against Watford, but could secure their survival if they win here and other results go their way. Lampard has galvanised his side by taking ten from the last twelve on offer at Goodison Park while managing three clean sheets in the process. The Bees will be no pushovers however, as Brentford have assured themselves of a second successive season of Premier League football with their win over Southampton last weekend. They have managed six wins from nine in the league and sit in 13th place in the table. They have however conceded in all of their 15 league games away from home since September. Everton will be without Delph who will join Mina, Townsend, and Patterson in the treatment room. They will also be sweating over the fitness of van de Beek and Godfrey. Brentford will be without Pinnock and Ghoddos but will be hopeful Canos is fit in time for this one. While Brentford have been very impressive of late, I think the fact they have secured their survival compared to Everton who are fighting for their place in the league will be the big difference. A 3-2 home victory is likely as Everton just manage to get over the line and take another step closer to survival.
Newcastle - Arsenal
Arsenal will look to pick themselves up and maintain their grip on fourth place as they visit Howe's side who recently lost 5-0 to Man City. Newcastle have done excellent to get themselves into a position where they have no fear of relegation at this stage of the season. Howe has overseen a stellar period of progression at St James' Park thanks to his January signings. The Magpies have been very dominant at home this campaign and Arsenal should not expect a warm welcome or an easy encounter. With games running out Arsenal know they have their destiny in their own hands with this one. A point ahead of Spurs means two wins will guarantee their Champions League place but they have now gone eight games without a clean sheet in the league. Newcastle have Trippier and Wilson back available in their squad, while Fraser is also back in training. They do however have Shelvey, Willock, Hayden, Lewis, and Fernandez out with injuries. Arteta meanwhile will be without Tierney and Partey for this must win match, but will hope White is fit enough to start. With Arsenal leaking goals compared to their strong backline earlier in the campaign I am certain Newcastle will smell blood in this one. The Magpies are touch and go at times also so it could go either way, therefore I am backing a draw with a score of 1-1.
Southampton - Liverpool
Postponed from the weekend due to Liverpool playing in the FA Cup final, the Reds will travel to St. Mary's in excellent spirits although likely tired from their victorious exploits in the FA Cup where they overcame Chelsea on penalties. The Saints have managed to win just once in their last ten games but will be the fresher of the two sides heading into this. They are safe for another season in the league but the fans will demand so much more from this side. Liverpool meanwhile might decide to rest key stars depending on how the Man City result goes. They are assured of a top two finish and having seen Mo Salah and Virgil van Djik go off in the Cup final, nobody will want to risk further injuries with the Champions League final in Paris to come. If City do slip up expect Liverpool to be rampant and looking to score as many as possible here, which is always possible against Southampton. The Saints will be without McCarthy, Tella, and Livramento for this one, while Liverpool managed to welcome back Firmino but will be sweating over Fabinho, van Djik and Salah. With nothing to play for I dont expect Southampton to put up much of a challenge, and therefor I can only see one winner. It will all depend on how the Man City game goes but I will back Liverpool for a 0-4 away win here.
Have a great day, I hope you enjoyed the preview of the matches and get to see the league games.
Peace. CryptoGod-1.
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