Whether you’re in the title picture or battling for survival, with six weeks remaining before a new Premier League champion is crowned, the margin for error is zero.
A mere four points separate the league leaders Liverpool and third-place Manchester City, while there are a cluster of eight teams fighting it out in the relegation battle.
Here are five matches to watch this weekend.
Sunday programming alert: Watch West Ham United vs. Liverpool (on Sportsnet 360 and Sportsnet World, 10:30 am ET). | Sportsnet World Online. | TV schedule
West Ham United vs. Liverpool
Liverpool tops the table by two points over Chelsea, having extended their unbeaten run to 13 matches with the 4-0 victory over Tottenham last weekend. It also helped that Chelsea dropped their last two league fixtures to relinquish their position at the top-flight summit. However, the threat of Manchester City lurking in the weeds—four points adrift but with two games in hand—is virtually impossible to ignore. It would be incredibly foolish to make assumptions, even down the final stretch, but most would agree that the title will be hoisted by one of three teams. Therefore, all eyes are focused on Anfield for the visits of Manchester City (April 13) and Chelsea (April 27).
West Ham may be only one point shy of Sam Allardyce’s targeted 38 points haul that will guarantee his club’s top-flight status, but that doesn’t seem to be enough to appease disgruntled Hammers fans. A chorus of boos rained down on the players throughout their last fixture at Upton Park—a 2-1 win over Hull City—and it will be interesting to see what the atmosphere will be on Sunday. It’s difficult to envision Liverpool slipping up at Upton Park, though weirder things have happened this season.
Everton vs. Arsenal
Four points back of fourth-place Arsenal with a game in hand, the Toffees are in a great position to cause a seismic wave in the top-four debate on Sunday when the Gunners arrive at Goodison Park. It’s remarkable how quickly Arsenal have fallen out of the title picture. Everton are unbeaten in their last six home fixtures, and should they win all of their remaining games, Roberto Martinez will have clinched a top-four place on his first attempt as Everton manager—nine years after the club last accomplished the feat. The news of Ross Barkley possibly recovering in time from a calf stain has only helped boost morale. The reverse fixture ended 1-1, with Gerard Deulofeu scoring a late equalizer to cancel out Mesut Ozil’s opener.
Arsenal have won just three of their last 10 league fixtures, taking just 13 points from the 30 available. Despite beginning with so much promise, it’s been another disappointing season for Arsene Wenger, culminating with the usual consolation speech of Champions League qualification. I’m sure Gunners fans have grown long tired of these notoriously low expectations for a club of their stature. The good news is that Arsenal can take confidence from the 4-1 FA Cup quarterfinal trouncing of the Toffees, and secure the vital three points needed to effectively confirm another fourth place finish.
Saturday programming alert: Watch Manchester City vs. Southampton (on Sportsnet, 7:30 am ET), Hull City vs. Swansea City (on Sportsnet, 9:30 am ET), Norwich City vs. West Bromwich Albion (on Sportsnet World, 9:30 am ET) and Chelsea vs. Stoke City (on Sportsnet 360, noon ET). | Sportsnet World Online. | TV schedule
Manchester City vs. Southampton
Sergio Aguero is hoping to win his fitness race ahead of Saturday’s match, having last played in the 2-1 defeat to Barcelona just under a month ago when he limped off with a hamstring injury. The Argentine is confident that his teammates have the ability and mental strength to clinch their second title in three years—possibly in similar dramatic circumstances if need be. “Obviously no one expects to be level on points going into the last game of the season, but we know we have the mentality to repeat 2012,” Aguero said. Lightning rarely strikes the same place twice, thus it’s imperative that City avoid leaving it late.
Southampton have won five and lost three of their last 10 Premier League tilts with Man City, though their last two visits to the Etihad Stadium have resulted in defeats. Jay Rodriguez has been instrumental in Southampton collecting nine points from their last four fixtures overall, scoring five goals and making a strong claim to be included on Roy Hodgson’s England squad this summer. These two teams played out a 1-1 draw at St. Mary’s in December.
Chelsea vs. Stoke City
The first barrage of criticism by Jose Mourinho towards a small contingent of his players was thinly veiled in anonymity following last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Crystal Palace. “Clearly we have some players, because of their profile, who find it difficult to perform in some profile matches.” For the most part, we all knew who those comments were intended for, even though Mourinho refrained from pointing the finger. After yet another poor result, losing 3-1 away to PSG in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal—the third defeat in as many matches—Mourinho was unable to hold his punches any further. “I’m not happy with my strikers’ performances, so I have to try things.”
The recent forced experiment referenced his decision to start Andre Schurrle instead of Fernando Torres vs. PSG. “With Andre at least I know we have one more player to have the ball, one more player to associate with the other players.” With regards to playing Schurrle out of position, Mourinho had a final parting shot at Torres. “Even if (Schurrle) is not dangerous because he’s not a striker, he can associate and the team can have control of the ball possession like we had. But football is not just about that. It’s also about scoring goals, getting behind, and that is for strikers. Real strikers.” Ouch!
Newcastle United vs. Manchester United
After going 18 Premier League games without a win against Manchester United (with 13 losses), Newcastle have won two of the last four meetings (with two draws). The most recent of those victories came in December at Old Trafford—Yohan Cabaye scoring the only goal—which ended a 41 year drought for the Magpies in Manchester, and also handed United back-to-back home defeats for the first time since 2002. Unfortunately, Newcastle have only collected 20 points in the 17 games since. Alan Pardew apologized to travelling supporters for the 4-0 humiliation last weekend at Southampton.
Since signing his lucrative £300,000 a-week contract extension, Wayne Rooney has scored six goals in his last six league appearances. It’s safe to assume he has embraced his impending captaincy and the responsibility of leading the historic club into a new era. Through all the turbulence, David Moyes can be admired for not succumbing to the unrelenting criticism. Everyone seems keen to take a shot at the Scotsman. Results have been far below the usual standards, but Moyes might be accurate in his assessment that any manager would have suffered the same fate he has in the current campaign. “I actually think if Sir Alex was here this year it would be difficult for Sir Alex as well and I’m sure he would be aware of it.”
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