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| So fast, we're reaching the end... |
Much drama are still going on at the final gameweek of the season, this includes:
- Race for third / Champions League direct qualification (Man City v Arsenal)
- Race for fifth / Europa League qualification (Tottenham v Liverpool)
- Survival battle (Blackburn v Birmingham v Blackpool v Wolves v Wigan, three spots for five)
- Golden boot battle (Carlos Tevez v Dimitar Berbatov)
These will guarantee excitements and goals galore during this weekend. Invest more on the front!
PART I: PRE-MATCH ANALYSES
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| Tevez and Van Persie Photoshop makes the impossible possible. |
Battle for Third (Man City v Arsenal)
Both sides will travel as the Gunners make a visit to Craven's Cottage whilst the new FA Cup champions make their way to Bolton.
Arsenal's form recently has been very dismal, managing to win only twice since March. Terrible defence and mentality has caused the team to suffer heavy slip-ups despite stunning form of Robin van Persie. That is also the reason why Manchester City has gone one point ahead of the London giants despite falling far far behind them for a major part of the season.
Speaking of their opponent, Fulham have been enjoying steady form recently. Barring the 2-5 defeat to Liverpool, the Cottagers have only conceded two league goals at home this year. Not a good news for Wenger.
Arsenal will desperately need three points to avoid cancellation of their pre-season revenue-generating tours, but with the current squad morale, I am very negative about that.
On the other hand, the Manchester Blues are on G6 currently after adding another trophy to their cabinet since 35 years ago. Coupled with Carlos Tevez's equaliser against Berbatov on the Golden Boot race, City are certainly high on morale to finish their season in style. More importantly, City's defence are more solid than the Gunners.
Bolton have good results at home just like Fulham, but defensive wise I'd say City should get at least the same point(s) from Bolton as Arsenal get from Fulham.
Prediction:
Fulham 2-1 Arsenal
Bolton 1-1 Man City
Man City secures third place.
Battle for Fifth (Tottenham v Liverpool)
Europa League seems pretty slim for the Reds as they travel to Villa Park for a hard battle when Tottenham will sit comfortably at home playing against Birmingham.
Kenny Dalglish's legendary return was spoilt last week with a defeat at Anfield to Tottenham. The result has effectively give way for the latter to fifth, which means that Liverpool will need to pray that Tottenham will drop points in order for them to progress to the Europa.
Needless to say, Aston Villa is always a tough team to beat. Houllier will continue to absent, but still with the likes such as Ashley Young and Darren Bent, there will be great pressure for Liverpool's defenders.
On the other hand, Birmingham are well known for their stunningly poor away form, and it is quite a humiliation should Tottenham fail to bag three points on the closing game at White Hart Lane.
Prediction:
Aston Villa 1-1 Liverpool
Tottenham 3-0 Birmingham
Tottenham through to Europa.
Battle for Survival
Wolves v Blackburn: Head to head fight for survival. The victor will surely stay, while a draw will most probably make at least one of them stays. The Rovers have problems to score, so I think Wolves will have a very positive chance to stay.
Birmingham: As written above, the Brums are stunningly poor on the road. Pretty negative on their survival, unless the two clubs just below them suffer defeats.
Blackpool: It's one of the club that I wouldn't want them to relegate. Blackpool has been showing some pretty attractive football with their offence. People like Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell give Premier League some fresh breath. Unfortunately, their sluggish defence won't help them. Their opponent, Manchester United may have already won the league title, but the Red Devils still have reason to play their best. The starters want to warm up for Champions League final; the benchwarmers want to prove something to Sir Alex Ferguson. Goodbye Blackpool.
Wigan: Tide changes pretty quick. The comeback victory against West Ham has given them some momentum this week, and given Stoke's collapse in the recent showdown against Manchester City, Wigan will have quite a chance to sneak away with at least one point for survival. Don't be too confident though, as Stoke rarely give points to their visitors.
Prediction:
Wolves 2-1 Blackburn
Tottenham 3-0 Birmingham
Man Utd 2-1 Blackpool
Stoke City 1-1 Wigan
Blackpool and Birmingham relegates.
Wolves, Blackburn and Wigan stays.
The Rest
Prediction:
Everton 2-2 Chelsea
Newcastle 1-2 West Brom
West Ham 2-1 Sunderland
Golden Boot Battle
There might be two golden boots this season, and that's interesting.
Carlos Tevez plays on the road, but his home-away goal of 13-8 shows that his away goal efficiency is only slightly lower compared to home. And given City's determination to protect their third position, Tevez should score at least one.
Dimitar Berbatov plays at Old Trafford. He picked 17 of his 21 league goals here - obvious home advantage. But he rarely plays since April, losing his place to Chicharito - a major doubt. However, he's very prolific in bullying the weak - one of the good captain this week. The Bulgarian should definitely get a starting position this time, but whether or not he will get quality support from second string players remains a question.
Pretty unpredictable in my opinion, I give up on predicting this and it's up to you guys.
Captain Picks
Both sides will travel as the Gunners make a visit to Craven's Cottage whilst the new FA Cup champions make their way to Bolton.
Arsenal's form recently has been very dismal, managing to win only twice since March. Terrible defence and mentality has caused the team to suffer heavy slip-ups despite stunning form of Robin van Persie. That is also the reason why Manchester City has gone one point ahead of the London giants despite falling far far behind them for a major part of the season.
Speaking of their opponent, Fulham have been enjoying steady form recently. Barring the 2-5 defeat to Liverpool, the Cottagers have only conceded two league goals at home this year. Not a good news for Wenger.
Arsenal will desperately need three points to avoid cancellation of their pre-season revenue-generating tours, but with the current squad morale, I am very negative about that.
On the other hand, the Manchester Blues are on G6 currently after adding another trophy to their cabinet since 35 years ago. Coupled with Carlos Tevez's equaliser against Berbatov on the Golden Boot race, City are certainly high on morale to finish their season in style. More importantly, City's defence are more solid than the Gunners.
Bolton have good results at home just like Fulham, but defensive wise I'd say City should get at least the same point(s) from Bolton as Arsenal get from Fulham.
Prediction:
Fulham 2-1 Arsenal
Bolton 1-1 Man City
Man City secures third place.
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| Liverpool are outnumbered in terms of league points. |
Europa League seems pretty slim for the Reds as they travel to Villa Park for a hard battle when Tottenham will sit comfortably at home playing against Birmingham.
Kenny Dalglish's legendary return was spoilt last week with a defeat at Anfield to Tottenham. The result has effectively give way for the latter to fifth, which means that Liverpool will need to pray that Tottenham will drop points in order for them to progress to the Europa.
Needless to say, Aston Villa is always a tough team to beat. Houllier will continue to absent, but still with the likes such as Ashley Young and Darren Bent, there will be great pressure for Liverpool's defenders.
On the other hand, Birmingham are well known for their stunningly poor away form, and it is quite a humiliation should Tottenham fail to bag three points on the closing game at White Hart Lane.
Prediction:
Aston Villa 1-1 Liverpool
Tottenham 3-0 Birmingham
Tottenham through to Europa.
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| Mick McCarthy Looks forward to stay for another year. |
Wolves v Blackburn: Head to head fight for survival. The victor will surely stay, while a draw will most probably make at least one of them stays. The Rovers have problems to score, so I think Wolves will have a very positive chance to stay.
Birmingham: As written above, the Brums are stunningly poor on the road. Pretty negative on their survival, unless the two clubs just below them suffer defeats.
Blackpool: It's one of the club that I wouldn't want them to relegate. Blackpool has been showing some pretty attractive football with their offence. People like Charlie Adam and DJ Campbell give Premier League some fresh breath. Unfortunately, their sluggish defence won't help them. Their opponent, Manchester United may have already won the league title, but the Red Devils still have reason to play their best. The starters want to warm up for Champions League final; the benchwarmers want to prove something to Sir Alex Ferguson. Goodbye Blackpool.
Wigan: Tide changes pretty quick. The comeback victory against West Ham has given them some momentum this week, and given Stoke's collapse in the recent showdown against Manchester City, Wigan will have quite a chance to sneak away with at least one point for survival. Don't be too confident though, as Stoke rarely give points to their visitors.
Prediction:
Wolves 2-1 Blackburn
Tottenham 3-0 Birmingham
Man Utd 2-1 Blackpool
Stoke City 1-1 Wigan
Blackpool and Birmingham relegates.
Wolves, Blackburn and Wigan stays.
The Rest
Prediction:
Everton 2-2 Chelsea
Newcastle 1-2 West Brom
West Ham 2-1 Sunderland
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| Dimitar Berbatov Desperately needs a start to fight for golden boot. |
There might be two golden boots this season, and that's interesting.
Carlos Tevez plays on the road, but his home-away goal of 13-8 shows that his away goal efficiency is only slightly lower compared to home. And given City's determination to protect their third position, Tevez should score at least one.
Dimitar Berbatov plays at Old Trafford. He picked 17 of his 21 league goals here - obvious home advantage. But he rarely plays since April, losing his place to Chicharito - a major doubt. However, he's very prolific in bullying the weak - one of the good captain this week. The Bulgarian should definitely get a starting position this time, but whether or not he will get quality support from second string players remains a question.
Pretty unpredictable in my opinion, I give up on predicting this and it's up to you guys.
PART II: SQUAD SELECTIONS
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| Carlos Tevez Just goals away to enjoy his best Premier League season. |
- Berbatov, Tevez - Fights for golden boot.
Buys-In
- Berbatov - Flies high.
Squad of XV
GK: Gomes
DF: Dawson, Hangeland, Fabio
MF: Modric, Dempsey, Malouda, N'Zogbia
F: Berbatov, Tevez, Odemwingie
Subs (in order): Begovic, Adam, Huth, Walker
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