Wolves have the luxury of playing with freedom because they have accepted that they are getting relegated. That makes this a banana skin for Villa because they are playing a Midlands derby, yet all the pressure is on them and not the home side.
Unai Emery might feel that his team has dropped silly points recently, which has made them start to look over their shoulder. They will never admit this publicly, but they might prefer at the moment playing away from Villa Park.
Cherries 3-0 Sunderland
Xhaka was back on the bench last weekend. Anyone who still needs convincing about how huge his influence has been on Sunderland only needs to see how their form has dipped since his ankle injury.
This fixture, though, is another example of how football fans are not cared about. The south coast is one of the longest trips a Mackem supporter has to make, so who chooses that this fixture to kick off at midday?
It’s not like broadcasters would lose ratings if they changed the timeslot.
Burnley 1-2 Brentford
Like Wolves, Burnley have benefited from knowing they are relegated, being able to play with more freedom. Yet a win gives the Clarets an outside chance of survival, meaning they have to chase a game, which is where they lack quality.
Brentford should have too much.
Liverpool 2 – 1 West Ham
The Hammers have a first opportunity in a while to get out of the bottom three. The only problem is that the opportunity is at Anfield. The fear is, have the Irons left it too late? They will feel that in their last two home games, they should have taken away more than 2 points.
Forest goes to the Etihad on Wednesday. If you offered West Ham the gap between them and Forest not growing this weekend, they would take that.
Newcastle 2-0 Everton
The cup competitions should lift the mood around Tyneside. 11th in the league, it’s crucial that the Toon Army still have something to dream about, such as the FA Cup and Champions League.
Everton doesn’t have that and might be going through the motions.
Leeds 0-1 Man City
I trust Leeds to make this physically difficult for Man City and the atmosphere at Elland Road to be intimidating. Ultimately, the visitors will have that extra bit of quality.
I’ve never seen Haaland work as hard as he did last Saturday. He was on his knees at the final whistle because of the number of times he got back to help his defence. It was a message that the city is willing to fight for the title. That’s what a cold Saturday night in Yorkshire will be …a battle.
Brighton 2- 2 Forest
Because of their small squad, Forest often struggles playing directly after a European tie.
Yet I think they will get the boost of watching West Ham drop points on the Saturday, meaning both these two teams would take a draw on the Sunday.
Fulham 1-1 Spurs
The NLD was an example of why I think Spurs missed a trick with their interim appointment of a new manager.
If you’re only hiring someone till you get your main target, in the summer, why not bring in someone for the short term who will at least lift the mood around the club? No disrespect to Igor Tudor; he’s not going to capture the imagination.
A Harry Redknapp in the dugout last Sunday would have at least kept fans believing for longer.
It’s the second season running where Tottenham might stay up simply based on those below them being so poor.
If West Ham don’t get a result at Anfield, it takes the pressure off the visitors at the Cottage.
Man United 2-0 Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner will privately think he could have dealt with things differently this season, but I disagree with Sam Allardyce that, long term, the Austrian’s reputation will be impacted at Selhurst Park.
I think most Eagles feel in a lot of departments that the club have missed a chance by standing still this campaign, yet their current manager is still the man who won their first ever trophy, and domestic form was always going to be compromised for the sake of a European adventure.
Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea
I’m hoping Liam Rosenoir plays the same tactics he did in the 2nd leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
It’s hard enough beating Chelsea simply because they have players who can produce a moment of magic out of nowhere. It becomes more difficult if we kick off with Man City only 2 points behind us.
In many ways, Arsenal’s biggest threat in our remaining Prem fixtures is us. That’s why the NLD was such a vital victory, but it was the first time this year in 5 attempts we managed to win playing after the Sky Blues. That stat tells me playing a day after Pep Guardiola’s team is a mental struggle.
I just picture the Emirates growing anxious really quickly, and if we are not ahead after an hour, the whole ground grows tense.
We need to fix this if we want to be champions.