Premier League Preview & Predictions - (Final Day of the Season)
This past midweek English football was simply remarkable with a mixture of drama and passion, filled with a range of emotions, leaving fans overjoyed and others heartbroken.
We saw an exhilarating climax to the Championship season, that offered immense excitement and unpredictability across the entire table, including the race for automatic promotion, the chase for the remaining playoff spots and a relegation battle for the ages.
Meanwhile, midweek in the Premier League was historic, as Liverpool finally got their hands on the Premier League crown after 30 years, with an outstanding trophy presentation, following an epic 5-3 victory over Chelsea at Anfield.
Though its job done for Liverpool, who can turn their attention to next seasons campaign, it’s business time for many other Premier League Clubs on the final day of the season.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Leicester City will do battle for the two remaining places in the top four, where one unlucky team will miss out on the opportunity of Champions League football next season.
Team & Position
| Points
| Goal Difference
|
|---|---|---|
3rd - Manchester United
| 63
| +28
|
4th - Chelsea
| 63
| +13
|
5th - Leicester City
| 62
| +28
|
It’s a similar situation at the bottom of the table too, between Aston Villa, Watford and Bournemouth, however in this battle two out of three teams will be relegated, meaning one lucky team will have earned another season playing among English football's topflight.
Team & Position
| Points
| Goal Difference
|
|---|---|---|
17th- Aston Villa
| 34
| -26
|
18th - Watford
| 34
| -26
|
19th - Bournemouth
| 31
| -27
|
Gameweek 38 Fixtures
Arsenal vs Watford
Burnley vs Brighton
Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Crystal Palace vs Tottenham Hotspur
Everton vs Bournemouth
Leicester City vs Manchester United
Manchester City vs Norwich City
Newcastle United vs Liverpool
Southampton vs Sheffield United
West Ham United vs Aston Villa
Games to Watch
Race for Top 4
Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers - The task is clear for Chelsea, gain one point to secure Champions League football next season. Seems simple, however nothing is when playing Wolves. Today Wolves will conclude an outstanding season, which will see them finish on their highest ever Premier League points tally. Although Nuno Espirito Santo’s team will be bitterly disappointed not to be amongst the race for top 4 after such a great campaign. A win would ensure a sixth-place finish for Wolves; anything less will open the door for Spurs to overtake them.
Chelsea possess a strong mixture of youth and experience, with the addition of some of Europe’s best talents joining the Blues next season. Simply put, Frank Lampard’s team must be competing against Europe’s elite. Failure to secure top 4 today will be a major disappointment on a successful season for the Blues.
Even with defeat to Wolves, Chelsea could still finish fourth if Leicester City lose to Manchester United.
Prediction – Chelsea 2-2 Wolves
Leicester vs Manchester United – This match provides exactly what we love on the final day of the season. Two teams playing each other for the same prize, with such slim margins between them and no room for error.
Leicester have predominantly been 3rd place most of the season and were once 14 point clear of Manchester United, however the two sides have been in such contrasting form since the restart, with Leicester only picking up 9 out of 24 points, while United picked up 18 points, without losing a game.
Since the arrival of Bruno Fernandez in January, United have started to click and are somewhat looking like the side they once were, playing nice football and dominating teams.
Leicester have been plagued with injuries and suspensions at the worst possible time. Injured players include James Maddison, Ben Chilwell, Ricardo Pereira, Christan Fuches and Daniel Amartly, as well as Caglar Soyuncu completing his three-match ban.
The Foxes must win today in order to confirm a top four finish, whereas Manchester United can either win or a draw. If this match is a draw and Chelsea lose to Wolves, then Manchester United will finish 3rd and Leicester City 4th.
Prediction – Leicester City 1-3 Manchester United
Relegation Battle
Arsenal vs Watford - Arsenal did Watford no favours midweek losing to Aston Villa, and today they could put the nail in the coffin for the Hornets, as defeat would likely see them return to the Championship after a five-year stay in Premier League.
It’s been a crazy season for Watford, they’ve had three managerial casualties throughout the season, most recently sacking Nigel Pearson last week, meaning caretaker coach Hayden Mullins will see out the season in charge. His time as the boss got off to a miserable start with a poor display against West Ham, losing 3-1 at home. The highlight of Watford’s season came when pulling off one of the biggest shocks, beating Liverpool 3-0 at Vicarage Road, handing the champions their first league defeat of the season. They’ll need another famous night like that against the Gunners today.
Watford are currently joint on points with Aston Villa, however have an inferior goal difference by just one goal, so even victory today may not be enough, they’ll need to better Villa’s result.
Prediction – Arsenal 3-1 Watford
Everton vs Bournemouth - Only a win is good enough today for Bournemouth at Goodison Park to have any hopes at survival. They’d also require Watford and Aston Villa both to lose.
Bournemouth really are the outside bet to stay up, especially against an Everton team who haven’t lost a league game at home under boss Carlo Ancelotti. The Cherries did defeat the Toffee’s 3-1 earlier in the season, so Eddie Howe’s men will need more of the same today.
Goalscoring has been a major issue for Bournemouth this season, with a total of 15 games without a goal throughout the campaign. Recent form has looked a little better, including a 4-1 victory over Leicester and a hard fought 2-1 defeat to Manchester City, however a disappointing 2-0 defeat in their last outing at home to Southampton did them no favours going into the last day.
Prediction - Everton 2-0 Bournemouth
West Ham vs Aston Villa - A run of good form has secured West Ham yet another season of Premier League football, as they cruised to victory against Watford. Recently the Hammers have looked solid, with particular praise to Michail Antonio, who’s netted six goals since the restart.
Aston Villa on the other hand are not safe, however Villa gave themselves a massive boost by gaining a huge 1-0 win over Arsenal at Villa Park on Tuesday, via a goal from the in-form Trézéguet. The midweek results have put Villa in pole position against Watford and Bournemouth in the final day’s relegation battle. As previously mentioned, Villa will just need to match or better Watford’s result against Arsenal today in order to avoid dropping back down to the Championship after just one season in the topflight.
Prediction - West Ham 1-1 Aston Villa
