Liverpool travel to the Etihad this weekend fourth in the league and could go as high as second with a win. After recent wins the side seem to have turned around their poor form and given Liverpool’s performances this season against the sides from the top seven, they will be looking for another strong performance. Manchester City have the league’s best form over the last five games with four wins and a draw. After their mid week exit from the Champions League they will be looking to push for qualification next season. In their last five home games City have won three by just a one goal margin and they looked rather blunt against a solid Stoke side last time out.
Chelsea travel to Stoke on Saturday afternoon with the chance to extend their lead at the top to 13 points. They are looking the most likely to take the title this season but there is still some distance to run and Stoke is not an easy place to travel to. The home side have not lost in the last five at the Bet365 Stadium and conceded just two goals. Chelsea on the other hand have failed to win three of their last five away from Stamford Bridge.
Tottenham are looking to continue their excellent home form on Sunday as they host Southampton at White Hart Lane. Second place Spurs have not failed to win at home since October and are yet to lose this season. Southampton however have played just three league games since the end of January, winning their last two on the road. They have scored four times in both of their last two away games but face a Spurs defence which has kept nine clean sheets at home this season.
Arsenal are now five points behind Liverpool in fourth and although they have two games in hand, they need to keep winning to keep pace. They have won just once away from home in the last five attempts but they face a West Brom side who look to be lacking motivation. After reaching the 40 point mark Tony Pulis’ side have lost the last two games 2-0 and 3-0.
Struggling, and now managerless, Middlesbrough host Manchester United on Sunday looking for their first league win since Christmas. They slipped into the bottom three recently and after scoring just three goals in their last 10 games are looking unlikely to climb to safety. United however still have not lost since the October defeat at Stamford Bridge. They have had chances to move higher than 6th in the league but have suffered a lot of frustrating draws of late.
If United fail to win, Everton could move above them with a victory in their game against Hull City. With just one defeat since the end of December they have kept pace with the teams above but they need to continue this run if they are to mount a real challenge on the top four. Following their win over Swansea last week, Hull have a chance to move out of the bottom three with victory at Goodison Park.
West Ham go into their game at home to Leicester on the back of four games without a win. A good run in January elevated the Hammers into mid table but following recent defeats they could see them miss out on a top half finish. Before their last two wins Leicester were in serious danger of relegation but since then they have climbed to 15th in the league and into the Champions League last eight. The reigning champions still do not have enough points to be safe yet and so keeping league momentum will be key in this game.
Burnley have just two points from their last five games and have a similar form to relegation candidates Middlesbrough. Despite some frustrating results of late the side have played well and have not lost by more than one goal since December. This weekend they continue their search for a first away win of the season as they visit Sunderland. The leagues bottom side have just one win in 2017 but have not scored in their last three games. Sunderland are now 6 points from safety and are running short on time to mount a bid for survival.
Crystal Palace are one point above the relegation places following two successive wins. They will be aiming to continue this run when they host Watford on Saturday. Watford have not won in the league since they beat Arsenal and then Burnley at the start of February. A win for the away side would move them closer to a top half finish. Watford have scored 10 goals in the last six games but come up against a Palace defence which has two clean sheets in a row.
The Saturday evening fixture sees 14th place Bournemouth face 16th place Swansea City. Bournemouth got their first win of the year last time out thanks to a last minute winner against West Ham. Swansea however will be looking for their third win in five games. They have not registered a point away from home since January’s win at Anfield however. Both teams remain in danger of relegation and need to pick up points until the end of the season.
With the other contenders for the top four having at least one game in hand over them, Liverpool will need to keep winning to avoid slipping down the league towards the end of the season. Avoiding defeat against one of their major rivals this weekend will be crucial.
