Arsenal still have one battle they could win: North London
IT MAY NOT be a Premier League title but Arsenal can still claim local bragging rights come the end of the season.
They’re four points behind Tottenham currently but have a game in hand. Their North London rivals could potentially slip up in difficult-looking assignments against Manchester United, Stoke (away), Chelsea (away) and at a Newcastle side trying desperately to stay in the top-flight.
Of course, you can predict nothing with this Gunners side and as much as their run-in looks decidedly easier, you can never be sure of what they’ll conjure up.
PA WIRE
PA WIRE
Just like last August, when they hosted West Ham at the Emirates. Tipped as potential league champions, they succumbed to a 2-0 loss amid a high-profile Petr Cech error. It was all very Arsenal.
That result, and the form of Dimitri Payet, will provide the main headlines pre-game though dig deeper and find West Ham struggling to keep clean sheets and Arsenal doing the complete opposite.
Pardew’s Palace are free-falling as Norwich find some form
Aston Villa are the worst team in the Premier League, right? Well, it can be argued that Crystal Palace are right there with them going by their form over the last four months.
You have to go back to the 19th of December to find Palace’s last league win. It really has been a Jekyll and Hyde campaign for Alan Pardew’s side.
PA WIRE
PA WIRE
I was one of the many who sang their praises as they racked up five wins from their first eight games. It was good enough to push them into third place and with plenty of depth to call upon and the likes of Yohan Cabaye and Yannick Bolasie impressing, anything seemed possible.
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But they hit a massive post-Christmas slump and couldn’t find the net. There were five straight league games where they were held scoreless and even though the strike-rate has improved, results haven’t.
What it means is that over the space of twelve games, they’ve dropped nine places and sit in a worrying 16th.
Their Saturday opponents, Norwich, are three points behind having played a game more. The goal difference is too huge for them to overtake with a victory but it would turn the screw and drop Pardew in the middle of a real crisis.
As rumours swirl, Martinez badly needs a big finish from his Everton side
Everton is a strange place to be these days. If Roberto Martinez isn’t careful, the atmosphere that’s rapidly engulfing everyone and everything at Goodison Park may become too toxic and he may very well lose his job.
There was another silly, unnecessary story this week with Leighton Baines offering up a pretty genuine and honest assessment of why the side has struggled so much this term. The left-back was made to apologise for the comments with Martinez keen to stress the words were taken out of context.
Peter Byrne / PA Wire/Press Association Images
Peter Byrne / PA Wire/Press Association Images / PA Wire/Press Association Images
It was a storm in a teacup but Martinez tried to desperately put a positive spin on what Baines was really getting at: that there’s something wrong. Martinez is free to disagree with the finer points but what would’ve been refreshing is an admission that the team are indeed struggling. For many Everton supporters, his positivity – essentially what Brendan Rodgers became synonymous with in his final days at Liverpool – is gnawing.
They’ve lost four of their last five league games and are in no-man’s land. Martinez needs three points away to Watford on Saturday and a big finish (they could still win an FA Cup, of course) if he wants to keep his job.
United could practically hand Leicester City the title with victory on Sunday
Louis van Gaal is due a setback, isn’t he? United have won two games and kept two clean sheets. Sir Alex Ferguson has urged the club’s fans to back him. And despite an horrendous season, they’re one point off a Champions League spot.
They head to White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon looking to win three successive league games for the first time since September.
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP/Press Association Images
Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP/Press Association Images / AP/Press Association Images
Recent history says the game will end in a draw. The last time there was a victor in the fixture March 2012 when Ashley Young scored twice in a 3-1 United win.
The ideal situation is for United to finish in the top-four and win the FA Cup. As much as its been a terribly under-inspiring campaign, that’s a solid return. So, a big few days then.
Midweek, they face West Ham in the Cup semi-final replay.
They can destroy Spurs’ title aspirations with a win on Sunday. It could move Leicester ten points clear with seven games left.
Jamie Vardy is losing ground on Harry Kane in Golden Boot race
Leicester are motoring but, right now, it’s all about the sum of its parts because Jamie Vardy can’t find the net lately.
It means nothing should the club finish as champions, of course, but it may have an effect on his Euro 2016 aspirations.
Tim Goode
Tim Goode
By finishing as the Premier League’s top goalscorer, it would surely make it next to impossible for Roy Hodgson to keep him on the bench for this summer’s tournament.
He hasn’t scored for his club since Valentine’s Day and it means Harry Kane has moved three clear of him in the race for the Golden Boot.
Away to Sunderland on Sunday though, he’s got a decent chance of getting back among the goals.
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Will Manchester United do Leicester a massive favour and more Premier League talking points
Arsenal still have one battle they could win: North London
IT MAY NOT be a Premier League title but Arsenal can still claim local bragging rights come the end of the season.
They’re four points behind Tottenham currently but have a game in hand. Their North London rivals could potentially slip up in difficult-looking assignments against Manchester United, Stoke (away), Chelsea (away) and at a Newcastle side trying desperately to stay in the top-flight.
Of course, you can predict nothing with this Gunners side and as much as their run-in looks decidedly easier, you can never be sure of what they’ll conjure up.
Just like last August, when they hosted West Ham at the Emirates. Tipped as potential league champions, they succumbed to a 2-0 loss amid a high-profile Petr Cech error. It was all very Arsenal.
That result, and the form of Dimitri Payet, will provide the main headlines pre-game though dig deeper and find West Ham struggling to keep clean sheets and Arsenal doing the complete opposite.
Pardew’s Palace are free-falling as Norwich find some form
Aston Villa are the worst team in the Premier League, right? Well, it can be argued that Crystal Palace are right there with them going by their form over the last four months.
You have to go back to the 19th of December to find Palace’s last league win. It really has been a Jekyll and Hyde campaign for Alan Pardew’s side.
I was one of the many who sang their praises as they racked up five wins from their first eight games. It was good enough to push them into third place and with plenty of depth to call upon and the likes of Yohan Cabaye and Yannick Bolasie impressing, anything seemed possible.
But they hit a massive post-Christmas slump and couldn’t find the net. There were five straight league games where they were held scoreless and even though the strike-rate has improved, results haven’t.
What it means is that over the space of twelve games, they’ve dropped nine places and sit in a worrying 16th.
Their Saturday opponents, Norwich, are three points behind having played a game more. The goal difference is too huge for them to overtake with a victory but it would turn the screw and drop Pardew in the middle of a real crisis.
As rumours swirl, Martinez badly needs a big finish from his Everton side
Everton is a strange place to be these days. If Roberto Martinez isn’t careful, the atmosphere that’s rapidly engulfing everyone and everything at Goodison Park may become too toxic and he may very well lose his job.
There was another silly, unnecessary story this week with Leighton Baines offering up a pretty genuine and honest assessment of why the side has struggled so much this term. The left-back was made to apologise for the comments with Martinez keen to stress the words were taken out of context.
It was a storm in a teacup but Martinez tried to desperately put a positive spin on what Baines was really getting at: that there’s something wrong. Martinez is free to disagree with the finer points but what would’ve been refreshing is an admission that the team are indeed struggling. For many Everton supporters, his positivity – essentially what Brendan Rodgers became synonymous with in his final days at Liverpool – is gnawing.
They’ve lost four of their last five league games and are in no-man’s land. Martinez needs three points away to Watford on Saturday and a big finish (they could still win an FA Cup, of course) if he wants to keep his job.
United could practically hand Leicester City the title with victory on Sunday
Louis van Gaal is due a setback, isn’t he? United have won two games and kept two clean sheets. Sir Alex Ferguson has urged the club’s fans to back him. And despite an horrendous season, they’re one point off a Champions League spot.
They head to White Hart Lane on Sunday afternoon looking to win three successive league games for the first time since September.
Recent history says the game will end in a draw. The last time there was a victor in the fixture March 2012 when Ashley Young scored twice in a 3-1 United win.
The ideal situation is for United to finish in the top-four and win the FA Cup. As much as its been a terribly under-inspiring campaign, that’s a solid return. So, a big few days then.
Midweek, they face West Ham in the Cup semi-final replay.
They can destroy Spurs’ title aspirations with a win on Sunday. It could move Leicester ten points clear with seven games left.
Jamie Vardy is losing ground on Harry Kane in Golden Boot race
Leicester are motoring but, right now, it’s all about the sum of its parts because Jamie Vardy can’t find the net lately.
It means nothing should the club finish as champions, of course, but it may have an effect on his Euro 2016 aspirations.
By finishing as the Premier League’s top goalscorer, it would surely make it next to impossible for Roy Hodgson to keep him on the bench for this summer’s tournament.
He hasn’t scored for his club since Valentine’s Day and it means Harry Kane has moved three clear of him in the race for the Golden Boot.
Away to Sunderland on Sunday though, he’s got a decent chance of getting back among the goals.
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Alan Pardew Analysis Barclays Premier League Dimitri Payet Harry Kane jamie vardy Louis van Gaal Roberto Martinez Talking Points