Gameweek 27

Ok, here we go again...

West Ham United v. Crystal Palace

West Ham is still having a really great season, while Crystal Palace is essentially in no man's land in the lower-mid table.  Probably a win for West Ham, as they'll be pushing to make a fight for a top 5 or top 4 finish.

Burnley v. Swansea

Having secured a shocking draw at Chelsea, Burnley might be able to carry that momentum into this match, and continue to fight their way out of the relegation zone.  Swansea will be hurting, having lost their leading goal scorer Wilfried Bony to Manchester City.  I'd say a draw for this match.

Manchester United v. Sunderland

Manchester United has been an incredibly difficult team to figure out this year, as they've been inconsistency personified.  Sunderland have also had their fair share of surprises against seemingly-superior opposition.  Now that Man U is fighting to retain their top 4 spot, I'm going to say they'll manage the victory here.

Newcastle v. Aston Villa

Newcastle got absolutely demolished 5-0 by Manchester City last weekend, and didn't even put up a fight.  Meanwhile, Aston Villa lost a heartbreaker to Stoke City in the first game for their new manager, Tim Sherwood.  I'll take Aston Villa to make up for that loss last week with a narrow win, but honestly, neither team is really good enough to have a distinct advantage.

Stoke City v. Hull City

As mentioned above, Stoke barely pulled off a victory over a poor but hungry Aston Villa side last weekend, while Hull have managed to win back-to-back games, so both sides have some momentum.  Personally, I'd say this has draw written all over it.

West Bromwich Albion v. Southampton

West Brom has gone 6 straight Premier League matches without a loss, while Southampton was beaten 2-0 by Liverpool last week.  Frankly, Southampton is still the better team, and they'll be needing points to keep themselves in the conversation for the top 4, so I'd take them as winners this weekend.

Liverpool v. Manchester City (Sunday)

This is the big one this weekend in the Premier League.  Liverpool has been surging up the table lately, and just had a big win against Southampton, while Manchester City gained 2 points on league-leading Chelsea by absolutely decimating Newcastle.  Manchester City did play terribly against Barcelona in their Champions League match last week, so perhaps the edge can go to Liverpool in this game.  Being that it's a home game for Liverpool, I'd give them the win in this matchup between last season's first and second place finishers.

Arsenal v. Everton (Sunday)

Both teams have been all over the map this season, which can make for some entertaining games.  Arsenal were massively disappointing in their Champions League game against Monaco last week, while Everton have shown some improved form recently.  I'll go with a draw, as Arsenal is better but is underperforming, while Everton has finally started to play as well as they should have been all season.

Chelsea v. Tottenham (Sunday)

First off, this match isn't a Premier League match.  This is the final of the Capital One Cup.  The English Football Association (basically the soccer government) has two tournaments it hosts during the season, the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup.  All of the rounds of the Capital One Cup have led to this final between Chelsea and Tottenham, and it should be a great match.  Chelsea certainly have a better squad, but were dominated 5-3 by Spurs (Tottenham's nickname) on January 1.  To make matters worse for Chelsea, they are missing one of their most important players in defensive midfielder Nemanja Matic, who is suspended due to a physical outburst in their game against Burnley last weekend.  For this reason, mixed with the fact that Tottenham striker Harry Kane has been on fire lately, I would pick Spurs to steal a surprise victory in this one.  Unfortunately, it will be difficult to find this match on television, so following it some other way is advised.  And I do advise that you follow it, it's a big deal!