It was a mixed week for our teams in Europe but it’s back to Premier League action for the next couple of days at least.
Arsenal will still be on a high after thrashing Real Madrid on Tuesday and it will be interesting to see what sort of team Mikel Arteta puts out against Brentford.
Liverpool can take a step closer to the title with a win over West Ham, while the the race for Champions League qualification is hotting up.
As ever, Betfair Ambassador Alan Shearer previews the action for Metro…
Man City vs Crystal Palace
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The champions are without Erling Haaland, and they were really poor last week against Man United away. That being said, I think they’ll have too much for Crystal Palace, with it being at home.
Palace, I know, are a threat, and they’ve got some really talented players up front particularly, but I’ll say City will win. Prediction: Man City win.
Southampton vs Aston Villa
Villa have got a huge game on the following Tuesday evening, but having said that it’s been a disastrous season for Southampton, being relegated. They’ve now sacked the manager as well, so obviously they’re already planning for next season.
I can’t see Southampton getting a result, even with Villa having played on Wednesday and then again on Tuesday, not having the best results after European nights.
I still think, pushing to get into the top five and managing the workload with the FA Cup semi-final as well – having said all of that, I think that Villa will have too much for Southampton. Prediction: Aston Villa win.
Nottingham Forest vs Everton
For David Moyes, the job that he’s done has been incredible and Forest have just been a revelation this year – no one saw that coming. Even with the way that Everton defend, I still think Forest because of what they’re doing this season.
Being in the semi-final of the FA Cup and third in the league is an incredible season and I think Forest will take the points – just. Prediction: Nottingham Forest win.
Brighton vs Leicester
Leicester got battered by Newcastle, with the first-half doing the damage again. That result summed up Leicester’s season as well, very much like Southampton – they will get relegated.
I can’t see Leicester getting anything at all. Prediction: Brighton win.
Arsenal vs Brentford
Brentford are a good side – I watched them at Newcastle last week and I was impressed with them. This is going to be a tough one – Arsenal have probably given up on the title, but Liverpool slipped up last week.
Because of injuries and the mentality which both teams will have, I’m going to go for a draw. I just think that you wouldn’t be human if you weren’t thinking about Wednesday and Real Madrid. Prediction: Draw.
Chelsea vs Ipswich
I would say Chelsea win, Ipswich are very similar to the other three teams in the relegation battle. I’ve never thought at any stage that it would be anything other than those three teams going down.
It was a terrible result for Ipswich last week against Wolves – they had to win that to give themselves any chance. They didn’t and capitulated in the second-half. Prediction: Chelsea win.
Wolves vs Tottenham
It is a difficult one for Spurs. I know that they won their last game against Southampton, but I think that it’s eggs all in one basket with the Europa League for Spurs. It’s that or nothing this season for them.
They have to win that, so they’ll be concentrating on that, for that reason I’m going to go for a Wolves win. Prediction: Wolves win.
Liverpool vs West Ham
I’ve not been that impressed at all with West Ham. I know that Liverpool slipped up last week, but it’s only a matter of time before they win the league and they’ll get back to winning ways this weekend. Prediction: Liverpool win.
Newcastle vs Man Utd
Newcastle have got their game in hand and their next two games are Man Utd at home before Crystal Palace on the Wednesday, which is their game in hand.
They got a really good win at Leicester last time out and didn’t have to play that well in the second half, the damage was done at 3-0 up.
This will be a tough one, because Man Utd will sit back and that’s one of the things they are half-decent at. There’s not a lot else, but they can sit and defend to perhaps try and hit you on the break.
That’s what they’ll do, to try and frustrate Newcastle but they’ll still have too much.
Man Utd are still one of the biggest football clubs in the world, but they certainly aren’t one of the best teams in the world, they’re miles off it.
It’s been a disastrous season for them, so they’ve got to get through somehow, very much like Tottenham – their season is in the Europa League.
They have to do something in that competition and it’s in between, with them playing on the Thursday they’ll have their minds on that again. Prediction: Newcastle win.
Fulham vs Bournemouth
We’ve spoken in glowing terms about both Fulham and Bournemouth for obvious reasons this season. I’m going to go for a draw – I think Fulham had a great result against Liverpool last weekend and will be full of confidence. Prediction: Draw.
For more from Betfair Ambassador, Alan Shearer head to https://betting.betfair.com/football/alan-shearer/
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