15 th – 17 th April 2017

Saturday 12.30pm

I doubt anybody will be betting on anything other than another comfortable home win for Spurs here. They outclassed Watford last week, they look a hell of a side that look more and more capable of going on to win the league sooner rather than later. Maybe trying to catch Chelsea this season is a bridge too far but if Spurs keep moving forward like they are they can win a title before too long. Harry Kane returned from injury as well last week so it only makes Spurs stronger and only makes this more difficult for Bournemouth. They couldn't do Spurs a favour last week losing to Chelsea, they made a decent fight of it and were a bit unlucky but they were second best. And I don't see their luck changing much here, I can't see them getting dragged down into the thick of the relegation battle now but I'd be shocked if this was anything other than a home win.Prediction: Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 Bournemouth

Saturday 3.00pm

Palace had a terrific result on Monday night over Arsenal and are now well on their way to safety. I was just waiting for them to finally then it round under Sam Allardyce and they've already came a long way from losing 4-0 at home to Sunderland to beating

My Premier League 2016/17 Predictions

Tottenham Hotspur Bournemouth

Crystal Palace Leicester City

Chelsea and Arsenal. And they'll be confident here because this is the game for Leicester that's sandwiched between the two legs of the Champions League quarter final with Atletico so likely this one falls down on their priorities. Craig Shakespeare will be doing his best to get that mentality out of his players because he'll know they're not safe until it's mathematically impossible for them to go down but surely Leicester have to be have an eye on trying to turn around that small deficit to Atletico on Tuesday night.Prediction: Crystal Palace 2-1 Leicester City

Everton ended up winning against Leicester last week in what turned out to be a bit of a crazy game and now their aim will be to finish as high as possible. I think a top four spot is a bridge too far but they should be nailed on for Europe now and will be aiming to finish as high as fifth with Arsenal and Man United in sight. And this should be a pretty straightforward win for them too especially with Burnley's record away from home. A point at Middlesbrough wasn't a bad result for Burnley last week and looking at the table although not safe they should be going on to secure their survival beyond doubt now. However I don't see them having much luck here, they haven't been getting points on the road and I think this is one of the bankers of the weekend.Prediction: Everton 3-1 Burnley

Saturday 3.00pm

Stoke's poor form continues and now they find themselves not a million miles away from the bottom three. Within the blink of an eye they went from being in a winning position against Liverpool to ending up with nothing. Mark Hughes will be pretty fuming his side

Everton Burnley

Stoke City Hull City

have allowed themselves to slip down the table like this and they need to improve in the final weeks of the season. Hull as expected were beaten at Man City last week but would've been happy to hear the Swansea result at West Ham. That keeps them two clear of safety with the upperhand for the moment. With Stoke in the form they're in they should be confident of going there and taking something and I'm backing them to pick up a valuable point.Prediction: Stoke City 1-1 Hull City

Saturday 3.00pm

I think Sunderland are gone now, looking at the table there seems no way back. It would take a miracle and a half for them to stay up now, they might think themselves unlucky with the red card last week but still it was a pretty easy job for Man United to sweep them aside. If they want to cling onto even the slightest bit of hope they must win this but it's going to be hard for David Moyes to motivate his side now when they see their situation in the table. West Ham picked up a very important win last week over Swansea. It relieves their relegation fears and takes just a bit of pressure off Slaven Bilic and he'll now want a strong end to the season from his side to make sure the board don't go looking elsewhere and prove he's the man to take them into next season. I'm going to say a draw here, normally in games this season Sunderland have desperately needed to win they've only come away with a point and I think West Ham will be satisfied enough to take that.Prediction: Sunderland 1-1 West Ham United

Sunderland West Ham United

Watford Swansea City

Saturday 3.00pm

It's another massive game for Swansea, every game is between now and the end of the season. They turned a corner when Paul Clement took over and got on a run that looked like it was taking them to safety but they've hit a wall and now need points desperately again. Watford were outclassed by Spurs last week but I don't think they've got anything to worry about, they're safe. They'll be aiming for a top half finish if they can, that would be a really good season however Swansea need a result and I think they're going to come away from this with something.Prediction: Watford 1-1 Swansea City

Saturday 5.30pm

City just need to do their job and keep winning to get into the top four. They've got the FA Cup semi-final coming up and Guardiola would love to win a trophy in his first season but getting in the Champions League next season is the priority so they need to keep getting results in the league to cement that but this shouldn't be easy. Southampton got a good result last week at West Brom which puts them in a position to perhaps leapfrog them into eighth. Eighth place is the position Claude Puel will be targeting his players to achieve and they should be giving City a game here on their home turf. However I'm still just going to edge it to City, it would be a big win for them in their quest for Champions League football.Prediction: Southampton 1-2 Manchester City

Southampton Manchester City

West Bromwich Albion Liverpool

Sunday 1.30pm

Liverpool like Man City just need to keep winning games as they did last week at Stoke. That could be a massive win for them in the top four race, to get two in as many minutes to come from behind and win at Stoke could be a potentially Champions League football clinching three points. They're faced with another tough trip away from home here though, West Brom have lost two on the bounce but before that took four points against Arsenal and Man United. Tony Pulis has stressed to his side not to let their season fizzle out, they won't get European football now but the target must be to try finish eighth. However after last week's loss to Southampton they've now got them breathing down their necks. They should give Liverpool a game here but I'm just edging it to the away side in what would be another huge victory.Prediction: West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Liverpool

Sunday 4.00pm

A huge game as always with United needing the points to stay in the top four race and Chelsea needing a result too to keep Tottenham at bay and continue their charge to the title. United have played in Belgium on Thursday night whilst Chelsea have had the week off, not taking anything away from Chelsea but they've had the benefit of no fixture pile up due to Europe whilst United once again will have to turn their attentions very quickly to a massive game in the league after a European assignment on Thursday night. I do think United's best and most realistic hope of Champions League football is to win the Europa League. Looking at the fixtures they've got to play and how quickly they come one after the other it's going to be difficult for them to finish top four but win here against the potential champions and it could give

Manchester United Chelsea

them a big lift needed to go on and force their way into that top four. Of course any time United play Chelsea these days the main focus is on Mourinho against his old employers and this will mean a little extra to him, he's already lost twice to Chelsea this season and he won't want it to become three out of three. As for Chelsea the likelihood is Spurs will probably be four points behind them going into this. Should this end in a draw I think they would be happier than United to take that but the more Spurs cut that lead down the more it's going to take from Chelsea to go on and secure the title. I think United's need to win is slightly greater than Chelsea's but I'm calling another draw at Old Trafford and would think Conte would be just about satisfied with that.Prediction: Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea

Monday 8.00pm

Both sides desperately need to win so this should be a good one on Monday night. Middlesbrough really needed to be beating Burnley last week, if they can't beat the team with the worst away record in the league on their own patch I don't think they've got much hope of surviving. But looking at the table they could still pull it off and what a lift it would give them to get a result from this one but I just can't see it. It was another very bad night for Arsene Wenger last Monday at Crystal Palace. The fans are really starting to turn now and the atmosphere is becoming very toxic. Rumours suggest he wants to sign a new deal but I don't see how he could possibly do that at this point, if the majority and I think it is the majority of the fanbase want him to go now he should just accept his time is up. Obviously he won't want to go out under a negative cloud but it could be inevitable, this looks like the season when they'll miss out on the top four which has always been his saving grace, if they end the season with nothing to show for it and without Champions

Middlesbrough Arsenal

League football I don't possibly see how he can stay. However I am going to say they get a result here, Boro are becoming more desperate for the points, they're going to have to have a right good go here and I think it will work in Arsenal's favour.Prediction: Middlesbrough 1-3 Arsenal