Now we enter the latter end of the English Premier League season when everything matters. Every game can determine who wins and who is relegated. There are matches this weekend all throughout Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Tomorrow, Saturday, we get to witness seven matches, two of them being Leicester City vs Bournemouth and West Ham vs Everton, with the big one of the weekend on Sunday, between table-toppers Liverpool and third-place Tottenham.
Leicester City vs Bournemouth
Though Bournemouth’s had a bit of a dismal collapse, going from being sixth in the table at one point to now twelfth, they can still break back into the top half of the table with a win away over Leicester. Leicester, who sit in tenth, are three points ahead of Bournemouth at 41 points.
Leicester, coming into this match, are on fine form, winning three of their last four matches. However, their squad will be slightly dented due to the suspension of Harry MacGuire and the injuries of Mark Albrighton and Daniel Amartey.
But Bournemouth isn’t left in the dust. They have history on their side. In the teams’ only seven meetings, five have ended in draws with Bournemouth taking home the other two. Meaning, Leicester has never beaten The Cherries.
Bournemouth, unfortunately, are missing two big-name players in Lewis Cook and Simon Francis, who are both out due to injuries. This game will be an entertaining one for sure, though, in my opinion, this is Leicester’s best chance to get one over Bournemouth.
Prediction: Leicester City 3-2 Bournemouth
West Ham vs Everton
Just like the previous two sides, West Ham and Everton are two spots apart in the table. West Ham is ahead in ninth, holding 42 points nicely while Everton wants to top them from eleventh with 40 points.
Coming off of the international break, both teams are in form as West Ham found a nice 4-3 win against Huddersfield and Everton announced themselves with a cheeky 2-0 win over Chelsea.
West Ham still has to deal with the injuries of Carlos Sanchez, Andriy Yarmolenko and Jack Wilshire, but Miguel Lanzini could be available in Pellegrini’s team. For Everton, Yerry Mina will be missed after he injured a muscle whilst playing for Colombia against South Korea.
West Ham is on a fine run of form and has the home advantage while Everton is confident after an empathetic win against Chelsea. West Ham will want a win to have a shot at UEFA Europa League qualification while Everton needs to power back into the top ten.
Prediction: West Ham 2-2 Everton
Liverpool vs Tottenham
This match could decide who wins the Premier League later on. If Liverpool loses and Manchester City wins against Fulham (which they probably will), Liverpool will lose their first position and it’ll be very hard to retain the favorites’ spot.
Things for Tottenham, however, are quite different. Three recent draws have slowed their progress. Although still in third, Tottenham is now just one point ahead of arch-rivals Arsenal.
Luckily for Liverpool, Tottenham has a host of injury problems. Eric Dier, Serge Aurier and Harry Winks are out. For Liverpool, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Joe Gomez are out, but Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita might return to the squad.
Also a problem for Tottenham, in the last 13 times they’ve played the Reds, Tottenham has only won once. Last time around, Liverpool won 2-1, and a Liverpool win here will put Jürgen Klopp’s men at 77 points with five games to go.
Prediction: Liverpool 3-1 Tottenham
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