Gameweek 29

Here we go again...

Crystal Palace v. QPR

Frankly, this is a big battle of "who cares," although QPR will need to try and salvage every point they can get for the rest of the season.  They have been ridiculously terrible in away games this season, so it will be a battle to see if their effort can overcome their lack of skill.  I think it will this week, especially since they have a really talented striker in Charlie Austin.  I'll pick them to take a draw away from this match.

Arsenal v. West Ham United

Arsenal have played absolutely lights out lately, and are on a massively successful run in home games lately.  Contrast them with West Ham, who are slowly sliding down the table after their incredible start, and I can see this only going one way, with a win (and possibly a big one) for Arsenal.

Leicester City v. Hull City

In another match of massive ineptitude, last-placed Leicester take on similarly-poor Hull.  Neither of these teams really offers much in the way of interest, although Hull have been able to score a fair number of goals since January, so I would feel pretty confident of them picking up a win here.  That being said, Leicester managed to hang in there against Manchester City for more than half of the game last week, so they may be up for the challenge against a less intimidating Hull team.

Sunderland v. Aston Villa

Aston Villa are fresh off a huge win which sends them to the FA Cup quarterfinals (one of the unrelated mid-season tournaments English teams play), which was so exciting for them that their fans rushed the field and everything.  I think I'll take that momentum and say that they'll be able to beat a very poor Sunderland team this weekend.

West Bromwich Albion v. Stoke City

This is a game between two teams who are at their best playing defensively, and only usually attack when their opponent pushes people forward.  Two teams that defend and only counterattack? This could be horribly boring or tremendously exciting; it all depends on if one team can score an early goal.  Pray for an early goal.

Burnley v. Manchester City

Both of these teams really need points right now, but for extremely different reasons.  For Man City, they need the points to keep up with Chelsea in the race for the title.  Meanwhile, Burnley are languishing in the relegation zone, and will be doing everything possible to make their way up and into the clear.  If this game gets offensive, it'll be Manchester City's for the taking, however, Burnley are more than capable of grinding out a defensive stalemate against far superior teams.  I'll still lean towards Man City for this one though.

Chelsea v. Southampton  (Sunday)

Two teams that aren't in great form at the moment.  Chelsea just collapsed on themselves in their Champions League game this week and haven't been playing their best for quite awhile.  Meanwhile, Southampton are continuing to slide down the table,  as their form has gone missing lately too.  In my opinion, if two teams aren't playing well, I think the pure talent advantage that one team has will prevail.  For this reason, I'll go with Chelsea for this one, but honestly, anything could happen when disappointing teams play each other.

Everton v. Newcastle (Sunday)

Speaking of disappointing teams, here's two teams that most people would have expected more from this season, especially Everton.  There's really not a lot to say about this one, except that it should be interesting in that poor teams playing each other can be entertaining.  I'll take a boring draw as my safe choice for this one, though.

Manchester United v. Tottenham (Sunday)

This one should be a fun one.  You have two teams that are loaded with underperforming talent, and are at similar spots in the table (4th and 6th, respectively).  You have the hottest young striker in the league facing one of the most suspect defenses in the league in Tottenham's Harry Kane and Manchester United's defense.  Mix that with Man U's unbelievably talented attacking players, and Tottenham's similarly-suspect defense, and you could have an absolutely must-watch game.  I'll take a close victory for Tottenham in this one.

Swansea v. Liverpool (Monday)

The extra day of soccer this weekend features possibly the hottest team in the Premier League (Liverpool) against a team that is full of surprises each week (Swansea).  While I like to think that Swansea can hang in there and give Liverpool a tight game, I think Liverpool has been too good lately and will win again, and possibly quite easily now that star striker Daniel Sturridge is nearing full health after spending most of the season out with various injuries.