Ahead of another breath taking weekend courtesy of the English Premier League and League Cup, here are 9 things we expect to happen this weekend
Big Sam has to get going
The weekend of football kicks off with a relegation dogfight in London pitting Crystal Palace against Riverside faithful Middlesbrough. The recently embarrassed England manager, Sam Allardyce has struggled to get this talented Palace side going with only one win in their last 5 games (in all competitions). Middlesbrough are still hoping for some luck in front of goal, but can boast of one of the meanest defences in the division. Palace’s wealth of attacking talent, especially the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke may help them nick this game 1-0. I expect this to be a tightly contested game that will end 1-1.
The return of Paul Clement to the Bridge
Antonio Conte’s men will welcome relegation battlers Swansea and their to Stamford Bridge this Sunday. The Welsh side’s fortunes have improved since the arrival of former assistant coach, Paul Clement. Swansea have taken 12 points from a possible 18 in 2017, one more than the league leaders Chelsea. We can expect the Welsh side to cause the Blues problems, especially through Gylfi Sigurdsson but Chelsea should edge this.
David Moyes returns to Merseyside
The Everton – Sunderland fixture marks a return to Merseyside for the Black Cats boss, David Moyes. The Scotsman made his name in England as the Everton manager before unsuccessful bids at Old Trafford and Real Sociedad. Now, he leads perennial strugglers Sunderland (how do they manage to stay up every year?!) to an Everton side in very good form. Ronald Koeman’s side should win this tie comfortably with Romelu Lukaku in among the goals.
Marco Silva vs The Ginger Mourinho
Hull resume their relegation battle against fellow promoted side Burnley at the KCOM stadium. Portuguese coach Marco Silva has improved performances at Hull since his appointment with wins over Manchester United and Liverpool. Burnley are still yet to master playing at away grounds in the Premier League with all their joy coming at Turf Moor. This will be a very interesting fixture with a high scoring result, maybe 3-2 to Hull.
The Old Dog to teach some tricks
The Baggies face off with Bournemouth who are winless in 5 games. Tony Pulis’ West Bromwich Albion has been pushing above its weight all season and their current (8th) position on the table is testament to that. Bournemouth have struggled of late, but gave their fans a spirited showing against Manchester City last time round. Pulis who cut his teeth at Bournemouth back in the day is the highest placed homegrown manager in the British football pyramid while Eddie Howe is regarded as the next pretty young thing for what is viewed as his progressive take on the game. Expect West Brom to win 2-0 with goals from Nacer Chadli and Matt Philips.
Watford vs West Ham
Saturday’s later kickoff is Watford versus West Ham. Their previous meeting this season was one of the most exciting games this season with Watford grabbing a 4-2 away win. Slaven Bilic’s West Ham side has much improved since that fixture and go into this one slight favourites. New signing Mbaye Niang will be very key for the Hornets and much of their attacking moves will come from him. West Ham, having dealt well with Dimitri Payet’s exit will snatch a 2-1 victory from this game.
Tottenham vs Stoke
The solitary Premier League game on Sunday sees title challengers Tottenham Hotspur battle with Stoke City at White Hart Lane. The midweek European fixture may have an effect on the London side and we can expect a leggy second half from the Spurs players. Pochettino’s team will be desperate to cover ground on leaders Chelsea and Stoke will be seeking revenge for the 4-0 humbling at the Bet365 Stadium. This game has 2-2 written all over it and may represent the final nail in the coffin of Spurs’ title challenge.
The League Cup Final
Sunday also the marks the final of the English Football League Cup. Manchester United up against Southampton at Wembley. Manchester United go into this fixture on the back of a convincing victory over French Side Saint-Etienne and 14 wins in their last 16 cup games. This is Southampton’s first trip to Wembley since 2010 and Claude Puel’s second major domestic cup final. His counterpart Jose Mourinho, has never lost an English domestic cup final with 3 league cup victories and 1 FA cup victory to his name. Manchester United will be without star man Henrikh Mkhitaryan and experienced midfield controller Michael Carrick. This may mean a place for either Jesse Lingard or Marouane Fellaini in the starting eleven. Southampton new signing, Martin Caceres is in line to make his debut at the heart of defence. The Saints had the tougher route to the final with an impressive victory over Liverpool and an upset is definitely not off the cards. However, expect the game to end 2-0 in the Red Devils favour as the players enjoy their third Wembley triumph in the last year.
Life for Leicester post Ranieri
On Monday, champions turned relegation scramblers Leicester face Liverpool. Both teams have really struggled of late but each of them will take confidence from their last fixture. Jamie Vardy was able to grab an away goal in Seville and Liverpool put Spurs to the sword at Anfield. Leicester currently lie 1 point above the drop zone and will be desperate to open up a gap between them and the bottom three however after the sacking of coach, Claudio Ranieri last night, I expect confusion in the Leicester camp as they struggle to find their form. Liverpool’s title challenge has faded away in recent games, but an 11-point gap is not insurmountable. Even if we are treated to a Mahrez and Vardy masterpiece, Liverpool will win 3-1.