EPL 2019/20 - Game Week 26

Game Week 25 brought some quite pulsating matches to the fore with every team fighting for something and for their own  respective cause. Leicester and Chelsea started with a 2-2 draw maintaining their 3rd (49 points) and 4th position (41 points). Bournemouth (16th) bounced back with a 2-1 home win over Aston Villa (17th) with 26 points and 35 points respectively - both just one or two points above relegation zone. Sheffield United' 1-0 away win at Crystal Palace pushed them to 6th leaving Palace dropping to 14th. Leaders Liverpool romped to a 4-0 win over Southampton at Anfield after an insipid 0-0 first  half for a superb win and now have a massive 22 point lead!

Norwich fought for their life at Newcastle to draw 0-0 and left Newcastle in 12th and themselves at the bottom with only 18 points , 95 below 19th Watford who fought tooth and nail against Everton but still lost 2-3 from a 90th minute goal from Theo Walcott. West Ham (18th) were same old Hammers when their 3-1 lead over Brighton (15th) ended a tense 3-3. Manchester United (7th) were held 0-0 by Wolves (8th) at Old Trafford with both level at 35 points. Burnley (11th) held Arsenal (10th) 0-0 at Turf Moor with both at 31 points. Arsenal have thus make history for having the lowest tally after 25 matches in 107 years! The Gunners have just 6 wins,  drawing 13 and losing 6 and are 10 points behind 4th placed Chelsea. Manchester City were stunned 0-2 at Tottenham. It means Liverpool will have to lose 7 and draw a match to catch them provided they win every match from now on with only 13 matches to go. 

Pep Guardiola admitted that the race is over as the gap of 22 points is a record gap for any team in the history of the English League. With 13 matches left and If City were to win all of them that will add 39 points to their current 51 for a total of 90 points. Liverpool have 73 points and need to win 6 league matches to get 18 more points and reach 91 points to win the title. Liverpool's next 6 matches are: Norwich (A), West Ham (H), Watford (A), Bournemouth (H), Everton (A) and Crystal Palace (H on 22 Mar). It would be Manchester City (A) next where the result does not matter anymore if they tore up the history books but between Norwich and West Ham they have to visit Atletico Madrid for the Champions League Round of 16 with the return leg at Anfield between Bournemouth and Everton. 

After City, Liverpool host Aston Villa, make a short visit to Brighton, Burnley visit Anfield, travel to Arsenal, welcome Chelsea and take a trip to Newcastle to banish their 30 years of hurt. Game week 26 will see 10 matches split over two weekends. This is the inaugural winter break. 

Everton v Crystal Palace - Everton were trailing 0-2 at Watford and have they big defender Yerry Mina to thank for two goals to level up before Theo Walcott got the winner in the 90th minute to win 3-2. Palace so good for many months have been free falling and have not won in 7 matches drawing 3 of them. The Toffees are now unbeaten in four matches having won two of them. Carlo Ancelotti is a highly experience and great coach and he will improve Everton. The Eagles are going through a lull and lies in 14th with 30 points, just two losses away from relegation suddenly. It is a concern as they have fired blanks in their last two games both at home. I would expect Everton to win this at Goodison Park and Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison to score.  2-1. 

Brighton v Watford - Brighton's fight back at West Ham was impressive. They were 0-2 down, clawed back to 1-2, went farther to 1-3  but hit back to draw 3-3. Watford let slip a 2-0 lead over Everton but finally slipped to a 2-3 defeat. The Seagulls are 15th and just two points above relegation but this is not the first time as they have been in this for some years now. The Hornets are similar too so this is going to be a hard fought match with both teams giving their all. It shall be an even game with goals. Having seen how Brighton came back to hit two goals against West Ham in the 75th and 79th minute made me think they are going to win this one. Watford were unbeaten for 7 matches where they have played so well winning foru of them and then lost three in a row including the F.A. Cup match. Draw. 2-2.

Sheffield United v Bournemouth - Sheffield United had only 39% of the ball at Crystal Palace and yet won 1-0. This is why they are such a good team and deserved to be 6th. Equally, Bournemouth surprised with a 2-1 win at home over Villa despite only having 40% of the ball. Before that they had beaten Brighton 3-1 which is not a simple feat. They are back to getting goals. The Blades often win by 1-0 or 2-0 and are capable of keeping clean sheets. They will work their socks off, hang on and knock you off with one or two goals. They have added previously reported Liverpool target giant Norwegian midfielder Sander Berge for a club record signing from Belgian club Genk. Prior to this, John Lundstram was their key player but has recently been on the bench. The Cherries have not kept a clean sheet since shocking Chelsea in December. Sheffield United will win this one at Bramall Lane. 2-1.

Manchester City v West Ham - City could have a comfortable lead at Spurs during the first half alone but nothing they do could get the ball in. It could be a Mourinho master stroke as that was exactly how Spurs need to play and have a chance against City if they survived the first half. West Ham will bemoan conceding 2 late goals. It was two crucial points lost against Brighton. West Ham may be encouraged by the fact that City have now won only once in their last league 3 matches and have not scored a single goal in 2 matches if you include the the Carabao Cup defeat. City are now only 2 points ahead of 3rd placed Leicester. Unfortunately the Hammers have the third worst defence. They need a huge result to try to stay up. How will David Moyes cope as Guardiola and CIty are hurt and angry now? 3-1.

Wolves v Leicester City - Wolves could leapfrog Manchester United if they win here and United do not. They fought United to the end with a 0-0 draw. Leicester will know they are visiting a tough place at the Molineux. Wolves may be without the super fast and strong Adama Traore who was taken out. Actually they are now like a Portuguese club headed by their very well respected Nuno Espirito Santo who is Portuguese and many Portuguese players and they are very good but their form has dwindled since beating Man City in December and only won once in 6 matches. Leicester's own superb run of wins and being undefeated ended in their 1-3 defeat to City 0-4 loss to Liverpool. Since then results have been mixed. Jamie Vardy leading the top scorer chart with 17 goals has not scored since returning from injury. He needs one here. Always remember Wolves have beaten City twice and Raul Jimenez is a really good striker chasing Vardy. Expect both to score. 2-2.

Southampton v Burnley - Southampton were again very good in the F.A. Cup against Spurs even as they finally lost 2-3. They actually had 57% possession and had 15 shots versus Spurs' 9, created 12 chances. Danny Ings scored again. I rate them highly and can expect them to win at home where they will host Aston Villa next before visiting West Ham, welcome Newcastle and travel to Norwich. They should rise up the table beginning with a win here. 2-1.

Norwich v Liverpool - Once again Roberto Firmno showed he is exceptional with a hattrick of assists. He is so intelligent with is movement and link play. Mo Salah has his most complete game for some time. He scored two fine goals, one in which he flipped it in delicately after running at high speed. His other goal was another flick over. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain made sure Mane was not missed too much with a beauty of his own creation. Alisson Becker made important saves as Liverpool were subdue in the first half, kudos to Ralph Hassenhuttl and Southampton. Captain Jordan Henderson has been better than ever and better than any other this season and he is adding goals. 0-0 at first time and 4-0 all in the second half. They were unplayable. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36E1iFRgfSg (Liverpool v Southampton)

This would have been the team goal of the season for sure if not ruled offside:

https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/exbgyo/liverpool_vs_southampton_mohammed_salah/

In the past Liverpool v Norwich games tends to be high scoring affairs. Their last seven meetings were: (Liverpool first) - 4-1 (Aug 19), 5-4, 1-1, 3-2, 5-1, 5-0, 5-2. Norwich are rock bottom 5 points below the second worse team. They will need to give everything to stay up. They managed to beat Burnley away and held Newcastle away and showed they have some fight but are hosting a rampant Liverpool at the top leading the table with a massive 22 points from City. They lost 1-4 at Anfield in the season's opener. Norwich have a league low of only 4 wins and conceded 47 goals scoring only 24. Liverpool have scored 60 and conceded 15. Go do the figures but Norwich stunned Man City 3-2 here at Carrow Road. The Canaries can make the Reds swear if Liverpool play like their first half against the Saints but once they turn up a gear there is no stopping them. Chamberlain, Salah, Henderson and Firmino are among the goals. They are unstoppable and they are legion. 0-3.

Aston Villa v Spurs - Villa lost at Bournemouth after two wins and are just one point above relegation zone. This is a home again in which they must go for a win. Tottenham have struggled for results but are still fifth and 4 points below 4th placed Chelsea. There is cause for optimism especially with that rousing 2-0 win over City. Had City converted their so many chances the end would have been very different. 19 shots, 12 chances and no goal for City while Spurs had 3 shots and scored 2. Jose Mourinho was born for such a game, absorbing all that City threw at them and break at pace. Debutant Steven Bergwijn scored a brilliant goal when he chested the ball and let fly an unstoppable shot into the net. Son Heung-Min hammered the final nail to despatch City. Spurs have regained some composure and belief and had also just beaten a good Southampton side 3-2 in the F. A. Cup where Son scored the winning goal again. So since losing to Liverpool they have not lost in 6 matches (4 league and 2 FA Cup). 2-3.

Arsenal v Newcastle - Arsenal are left in 10th place and a historical low in their history has been made. Arteta is finding it hard to improve the lot. The Gunners have not won since beating Man Utd 2-0 in early January and drew all four matches after - 1-1, 1-1, 2-2, 0-0 and are 10 points adrift of 4th place Chelsea. Newcastle aren't too bad and will pose a challenge here. They held Wolves away, beaten Chelsea, drew Everton away and were held at home by Norwich before beating Oxford 3-2 away in the F.A. Cup. So the Magpies will be difficult to beat even more so considering the form Arsenal are in now. Arsenal have won only 6 matches , lost 6 and drew 13 and that sums up their performance this season. Allan Saint-Maximin is back with the winning goal in the F.A. Cup with a MOTM performance. The Gunners are in a difficult situation now and have been lacking  in confidence. 2-2.

Chelsea v Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes is a fine player thrown into the deep end to help a cause. History is a bit kinder to United who seldom lose to Chelsea. This is a crucial battle in the race for top four but both sides are not in form. Chelsea have only one win in 5 matches. Manchester United have matched Chelsea for the same record - one win in 5. The Red Devils have only one point from their last three league matches. Chelsea had two. Between them a six point gap. So this could be epic. Ironically, Chelsea are better away than home and Manchester United vice versa. While this could probably play to a draw, I am picking Chelsea to win because their record is better and they are a slightly better team. 2-1.