EPL 2016/17 - Game Week 27

Twelve matches left to go. Of course between now till the end of the season, a lot of things could still happen. Who could be champions is quite obvious but making the top four will be very tight. Who are going down too like the top are separated by just a couple of points. Every team looks to piling up the points now or it may be too late.

Manchester United v Bournemouth - Totally contradictory form. Seems a no brainer as United are not only unbeaten but won their last five matches and has a 100% home record against the Cherries while Bournemouth have been on a free fall having lost their last four matches. It may not be a walk in the park but they should be plucking cherries to eat at Old Trafford. What will United be without Zlatan Ibrahimovic? At 35, he is still scoring goals for fun. Saw the brace against the Saints in the League Cup final? Southampton were unfortunate as their they were denied a legitimate goal and Manolo Gabbiadini should have a hattrick instead of a brace. In a sense United were lucky on a few occasions. Kudos to Southampton and the difference between the two teams is David de Gea and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. I have always rated him one of the world's finest, a top three and maybe at three because of Messi and Ronaldo. The Red Devils could sniff a top four. 3-1.

Leicester City v Hull - No more Dilly-Ding Dilly-Dong. Speculation of player power in play was rife. Ranieri has failed after 25 matches to solve their problem so he has to go but he did not deserve it because of his achievement of epic proportion. Even much bigger clubs with top managers and players by splashing the cash could not do it. So what if Leicester went down at the end? There is no sentiment as football is now big money business. So when Jamie Vardy and Danny Drinkwater sprang to life with goals to beat Liverpool 3-1, let's see what other speculation would come forth. Hull has improved much since Marco Silva came on board but it is a great challenge. Have the Foxes finally awaken? It was the Tigers who won 2-1 at the reverse fixture giving the champions a opening game loss and the start of their crisis. What else do Leicester need for motivation? 2-1.

Stoke v Middlesborough - Stoke were completely outplayed by Tottenham last week. How serious? 0-4 by half-time. Middlesborough are hard to beat but they are the neither here nor there type of team. They could not win, sometimes draw and lose narrowly. Historically their results are close with 1-0 or 2-1 the usual score. Stoke have the advantage and they are a one goal team team often scoring just one goal while Boro lost to a previously hapless Crystal Palace. Stoke should bounce back with a win. 1-0.

Swansea v Burnley - The Swans did not play poorly but rather Chelsea were just too good. Not many scores against Chelsea but they did. When they have met in the premier league, Swansea won all three matches by 1-0 and in fact no premier league team has won with four consecutive scoreline of 1-0 against the same opponent. Burnley's recent form is not of help after the famous draw with Chelsea and the Clarets have never won at the Liberty Stadium. I am suggesting Swansea to win 2-1.

Watford v Southampton - The Saints were unbeaten by the Hornets in their last six encounters. Based on recent showing, Southampton is more than able to get a result here and Claude Puel was unfortunate to have conceded the League Cup to Manchester United. They were more than a match for United and could have scored a few more if not for the controversial disallowed goal. Manolo Gabbiadini is a top find and signing and should have his hattrick. Except for shocking Arsenal, Watford have dwindled. I feel Southampton can squeeze something here. 1-2.

WBA v Crystal Palace - The Baggies are in a good place and have remained unbeaten for awhile. Palace have been boosted by a rare win last week over Boro but WBA away is a tough nut to crack. Besides, WBA have never lost a home tie to Palace. That sums up the challenge for Sam Allardyce whose team is still hovering at the danger zone. They must at least try and hope to get a point here as Tottenham comes visiting Palace next week. 1-1.

Liverpool v Arsenal - The Reds are unbeaten at Anfield when they hosted the Gunners the last three occasions but this information is useless when you look at Liverpool's 1-3 loss to Leicester City last week, a team that have not won in 2017 and haven't scored in what seemed like ages and they put three past them. Liverpool frustrates everyone including themselves. Fantastic one moment like against Tottenham and then rotten against the Foxes but their record against the top six are still the best. Frankly, I do not see the host winning after that lame duck performance. Problem is Arsenal can be potentially lame at times too and the Gunners play an open attacking game. If Liverpool could bounce back like they did against Tottenham after the 0-2 loss to Hull then they may hound and overwhelm the visitors from the start. The last two ties at Anfield ended 2-2 and 3-3 with their last match a pulsating 4-3 win by Liverpool at the Emirates. Arsenal would want revenge for that plus they both need the points. Liverpool could still win but with Jordan Henderson out, who holds the fort at midfield. Of course they should build a team but really they should have gotten a few real quality players especially in defence and goal keeping whee none is top four material and also someone who boss the midfield. Liverpool may not even be in the top four unless there is a dramatic turnaround now. 

First, they need a commanding keeper not error prone ones to give his defence confidence. Then the back line just cannot make it, hopeless against set-pieces, so panicky when attacked. Cannot understand why they could not get decent defenders. Liverpool needs a holding midfielder who can also distribute and set the pace at the same time protecting the back line when opponents counter. Without these rectified, there is no easier team to score against than Liverpool. Every team knows better to play defensive, let them have possession and counter attack and bingo! Finally, despite their goals coming from everywhere, Liverpool lacks a real goal scorer. Every team needs one. Think Sergio Aguero at Manchester City, Diego Costa at Chelsea, Harry Kane at Tottenham and Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Manchester United. Arsenal could adopt the strategy and let Liverpool have possession and counter but knowing the Gunners' thoroughbred play they won't. If both needed inspiration, just turn around and look at Manchester United a point or two behind and smiling with a game in hand behind them. Draw. 2-2.

Tottenham v Everton - Eight times they have met and Tottenham have not lost. This sums up how tough it is for the Toffees. However, all is not lost as when they met the last three occasions, they drew - 0-0 and 1-1 (twice). While Tottenham and Harry Kane are playing like Hotspurs now, Everton are no slouch themselves which makes for an intriguing and mouth-watering encounter. It could be a potential banana skin for the host. Will free-scoring hattrick hero Harry Kane (he completed his hattrick against Stoke within 37 minutes and how many cold do?) outgun Romelu Lukaku and that could be the key. Pochettino v Koeman. Its "Pocheman" hunting, harder to hazard than Pokemon hunt as you never know what you gonna get. I pick Spurs to walk through charcoal. 2-1.

Sunderland v Manchester City - The last two meetings at the Stadium of Light were won by City. City's win percentage over the Black Cats is 68%, better than any team they have played against. With Aguero and City back in free-scoring style, it is hard to imagine that Sunderland can pull anything off. Their next game away to Boro may offer a better opportunity. Or will Sunderland pull off another miracle to stay up at the very last moment like last season? Don't stretch your luck. When you survived a tsunami it does not mean that you won't get knock down by a car. 1-3.

West Ham v Chelsea - In their last 21 meetings, Chelsea have lost to the Hammers only twice but West Ham can take heart as they had Chelsea beaten in the League Cup at London Stadium earlier in October. Matches between these two sides tended to b close with the last five encounters posting 1-0, 2-1 to 2-2 scorelines. Can any team actually stop Chelsea? Even when Chelsea were held 1-1 by Liverpool and Burnley, no one could overtake them. They ought to be and deserved to be champions for consistency. That is what a league is about. With the momentum Conte has built at Chelsea, it is hard to stop the machine. 1-2.