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The Premier League is back after an eventful midweek filled with European fixtures. What an incredible result for Arsenal. But you have to admit, Real Madrid don't look like a great team anymore! I don't remember David Raya being forced into making a save at the Santiago Bernabeu. Can you imagine that?
Over the years, when Real Madrid used to pull off incredible comebacks by scoring late, they used to create chances till the end. In all honesty, they were never really in the game during that second leg defeat!
Can Arsenal go on and win the Champions League from here? Well, technically yes. PSG were on the ropes against Aston Villa in their second leg clash. But I still have a feeling Arsenal will be made to work a lot harder in the semi-final. If they can push hard and play well, they can get to the final. And any team that gets to the final will have a fair chance of winning it this year in my opinion.
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Let's get started then, shall we? Here are my predictions for gameweek 33 in the Premier League.
Brentford vs Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton are not part of the race to qualify for Europe anymore in my opinion. Every time they play well, we sing praises about them, call them a great team and when the pressure is on, they crumble again!
After they were battered 7-0 by Nottingham Forest, Brighton won six games on the trot in all competitions. It included an FA Cup and league double over Chelsea, win over Newcastle in the cup again and they beat Bournemouth as well as Fulham to go with their draw against Manchester City. Now that's an incredible run but what happened since then? Dumped out of the FA Cup by Forest, 3-0 loss to Aston Villa, 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace and 2-2 draw vs Leicester last weekend!
I watched that game against Leicester and I thought Brighton were hanging on in the end. That cannot be happening because Leicester are not a good team. I know Brentford have been struggling lately, but I don't think they have been playing bad.
Brentford have had some tough fixtures at home recently and the results have not gone in their favour. However, I'm expecting them to get the better of Brighton here. Both teams have nothing to play for here, but this should be an entertaining game to watch with goals in it.
Prediction: Brentford 2-1 Brighton & Hove Albion
West Ham United vs Southampton
I thought Southampton looked alright up until the 60th minute in their last game against Aston Villa. But it all went wrong as they ended up conceding thrice in the final 20 minutes!
Southampton need one more point to equal Derby County's unwanted record of having the lowest points in a Premier League season. In my opinion, they have two chances to win that point after this game. After West Ham, they face Fulham at home and Leicester away. If they can't find that point in these two games, I don't expect them to get anything out of the remaining fixtures against Manchester City, Everton and Arsenal! Do I expect them to do it? I'd have to say no.
This is a good game for West Ham to be playing now. The Hammers are struggling for form under Graham Potter and this is the kind of fixture they are crying out for at the moment. I can't believe West Ham are 17th in the table, they have a better team than that and should be much higher.
Prediction: West Ham United 3-0 Southampton
Everton vs Manchester City
This is a difficult game for Manchester City. You look at their result last weekend and think, 'wow, what an incredible comeback, from 2-0 down to 5-2 in the end!'. If Eberechi Eze had managed to stay onside in that game, it would have been 3-0 to Crystal Palace. And 3-0 at that stage would have been game over for City!
I don't think Manchester City are back to their best, no way. If Aston Villa win this weekend and City fail to beat Everton, Pep Guardiola's men could drop further behind in the race to finish inside the top five. Let's not forget that City also have to face Villa after this and in the space of just a few days, they could well and truly be out of the race to play Champions League next season.
Everton are a team in form as well. They have scored in each of their last nine games except for that one loss to Liverpool - the only game they lost during this run. This is the last big game at Goodison Park before Everton move to their new stadium so the atmosphere will be cracking from the start.
I expect City to face the heat on Merseyside. They are now in a position where we are not used to seeing them and I'm not entirely sure they can keep up with their rivals in the race to finish in the top five.
Prediction: Everton 1-1 Manchester City
Crystal Palace vs Bournemouth
I don't know what has happened to both these teams! I know Bournemouth beat Fulham last weekend. But before that win, they were on a run of eight games without a win inside 90 minutes - the only time they won was on penalties against Wolves in the FA Cup. We all know how Bournemouth were absolutely flying before this run.
Crystal Palace have conceded five goals in back-to-back games now. They are in desperate need of some momentum, especially considering they play an FA Cup semi-final before the end of this month. Three days before that match at Wembley, Palace also have to deal with Arsenal. In my opinion, they should play their XI for the cup game in this clash against Bournemouth and rest key players vs Arsenal.
All things considered, this is a massive game for Palace and I'm backing them to win.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 Bournemouth
Aston Villa vs Newcastle United
Newcastle are coming along quite well. They are showing signs of a team playing with confidence. But this is easily one of their biggest games of the season. Even though Newcastle are flying in third-place, a defeat to seventh-placed Aston Villa will cut the gap between these teams to just two points! That's how tight the race to finish in the top five really is.
If Newcastle can win this game and beat Ipswich in their next one, I think they will be guaranteed Champions League football next season. Winning a trophy was incredible in itself, but imagine if they can top it off with this achievement? The stuff of dreams if you're a Newcastle fan.
A draw would do Aston Villa no good here. After this game, they face Manchester City away from home. If they manage to get only one or two points from these two games, I think they are in serious danger of missing out on a top five finish!
Before I get to my prediction, I want to talk about Jacob Murphy at Newcastle and Morgan Rogers at Aston Villa. Murphy is one of the most underrated players in the league. He always works his socks off, scores goals, makes them and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves. And about Morgan Rogers, he plays in a position where he is constantly under pressure to make things happen. I'm a big fan of his and he has done an incredible job in making a name for himself at Villa.
Both teams are playing well at the moment. We all know what Villa did in the Champions League this season and they must look to qualify again. This is a mouth-watering clash and I expect it to be entertaining with goals at both ends.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-2 Newcastle United
Ipswich Town vs Arsenal
I always say it's all about timing in football. Arsenal have just played that game against Real Madrid, already cemented their place in the top five and have nothing to play for in this game. So you would have to think this is a good time for Ipswich to be playing them, especially after they got a point off Chelsea last weekend.
I think Arsenal should just try to get maximum points from their remaining games even if they can't win the Premier League title anymore. If they beat Ipswich here and then win against Crystal Palace, they can go into that PSG game with some serious confidence.
Arsenal will rest a few players for this game, but I still think they will have too much for Ipswich to handle. I'd definitely play the likes of Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri in this game. Comfortable win for the Gunners in my opinion.
Prediction: Ipswich Town 1-3 Arsenal
Manchester United vs Wolves
Contrary to what we thought after the derby, Manchester United have not really improved. I thought they were poor against Newcastle and now face a Wolves, who seem to have turned a corner in recent weeks.
I'm sure Manchester United will know that the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon is a bigger game than this one. Even if they beat Wolves 10-0 after losing that tie, it still would be a massive disappointment. If Manchester United get it right, all it takes them is three games to get back in the Champions League by winning the Europa League - that should be their aim.
Wolves will look to play their game wherever they go and that's why I believe this is a risky game for United. Matheus Cunha will consider this game a big audition for himself and if he gets going, I think Wolves can hurt the hosts at Old Trafford.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-2 Wolves
Fulham vs Chelsea
Wow, I ain't sure about this game. Teams like Fulham and Brighton, they get to place and then crumble. If you look at Fulham specificially, they beat Tottenham, lost to Palace in the FA Cup, then lost to Arsenal, followed that up with a brilliant 3-2 win over Liverpool before losing to Bournemouth last weekend!
Shocking result for Chelsea last weekend in my opinion. They should have beat Ipswich but failed to do it. If they play like this, I don't think they will finish inside the top five. Chelsea need at least seven points in their next three games against Fulham, Everton and Liverpool respectively. How are they going to do it? I don't know.
This is a must-win game for Chelsea. Other teams are finding a way to stop Cole Palmer now. Honestly, I don't know why it took everybody so long to do that! The bottom line is that Chelsea are struggling and Palmer needs to find a way to turn it around this weekend. If not, I think they are in big trouble.
Prediction: Fulham 1-1 Chelsea
Leicester City vs Liverpool
You know what? Fair play to Leicester last weekend. They went 1-0 down and then 2-1 down to Brighton and could have easily given up but they managed to get a draw. Leicester really turned up in that game and that performance deserves credit.
I saw a spark in Leicester that could help them in the Championship next season. I don't think they can get anything from this game against Liverpool though. Arne Slot's men have some tricky games coming up, but they have done enough already to become champions. Even when Liverpool aren't playing well, they end up getting the right results and I don't think they will be under too much pressure from here on.
Another massive win for the Reds is getting Mohamed Salah to sign a two-year extension with the club. If you were to consider an all-time Premier League XI, I can't think of how we can include all of Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs in that team. Someone will have to sit out and that does not look fair to me considering their careers. We seriously have to come up with a new system where I can play all three of them!
Prediction: Leicester City 0-3 Liverpool
Tottenham Hotspur vs Nottingham Forest
It all comes down to how Tottenham perform in the Europa League game against Frankfurt. I know I've said this way too many times, but that is just the simple reality! If Spurs get beat and are knocked out of the Europa League, the atmosphere in north London on Monday will be toxic. On the other hand, if they win, it won't exactly be a party, but still a positive feeling.
That atmosphere could decide how this game will play out. Nottingham Forest are struggling a bit at the moment. I don't think they were good in their last two defeats against Everton and Aston Villa. There's an interesting statistic I wanted to share - In their last seven games away from home, Forest have just one win inside 90 minutes and that came against Ipswich!
I just hope Forest don't melt away from here on because they've had an incredible season. I strongly believe that they deserve to play in Europe. Forest also have their FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City coming up later this month. Admit it, we all want them to do be rewarded for what has been nothing short of a spectacular campaign.
Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Nottingham Forest
