Rarely is the relegation battle so wide open and it seems that every team in the bottom half is facing the threat of Championship football next season. Even Watford in 11th place stand just four points clear from the drop zone and defeat to Everton on Saturday will get the Hornets faithful worried. Down in 19th are Stoke and only a win this weekend will be enough to drag them out of the bottom three. Paul Lambert’s men take on a Leicester City side who recently booked their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
Crystal Palace are another of the sides fighting for survival and Roy Hodgson’s men face a rather tricky test on Sunday. They take on an in-form Spurs side who are absolutely desperate to make their way into the top four. The good news for Tottenham is that at least one top-four rival will be dropping points this weekend as Man Utd play Chelsea. This high profile clash could well have a huge say on how the race for Champions League football pans out this season.
Saturday 24th February 2018
Leicester City v Stoke City (12:30) – Leicester to win (3/4 with Betfred)
The Foxes come into this game having not lost any of their last six home contests. Helping them to build on this record is Riyad Mahrez who is expected to make his first league start since 20th January. Despite pushing for a move to Man City, the Algerian looked his usual self last weekend against Sheffield United. His wonderful ball in allowed Jamie Vardy to score for a fifth match in a row. Much like Mahrez, Vardy is a pivotal part of a Foxes attack that has managed to score in seven consecutive games.
Paul Lambert has made a respectable start to life in charge of Stoke, collecting four points from four games. He has faced a fairly kind run of fixtures though, so far avoiding any side higher than 10th placed Bournemouth. It was away against the Cherries that Lambert suffered his first defeat too. The loss on the south coast made it four consecutive away defeats for the Potters, a worrying stat for a side fighting for survival. While Stoke have shown more intensity under their new manager, they lack the attacking quality of their opponents here and this should be enough to separate the two sides.
Watford v Everton (17:30) – Watford to win (13/10 with Betfair)
Javi Gracia will be making just his second appearance at Vicarage Road this Saturday. His first was a hugely memorable one, a 4-1 victory over Chelsea. The Spaniard will have been disappointed his side let slip their 1-0 lead against 10-men but the Hornets did respond magnificently to this. The attacking edge they showed in the final stages against the Blues is something rarely seen from Watford in recent weeks though. In four of their last five matches they’ve fired blank, the Chelsea game being the only exception.
Being back on home soil should help Gracia’s men regain their taste for goals though especially against a side like Everton. The visiting outfit have lost all four of their last away tests including hammerings by Arsenal and Tottenham, 5-1 and 4-0 respectively. With a record like this it’s not hard to see the Toffees falling to another away defeat especially as up to five defenders will miss this game through injury. It’s now been eight matches since Everton last kept a clean sheet and Watford should be able to take advantage of this vulnerable backline.
Sunday 25th February 2018
Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur (12:00) – Tottenham to win (1/2 with Coral)
Roy Hodgson will be missing a long list of players for this match and it’s the injury to Wilfried Zaha which will be giving him the most cause for concern. The tricky winger has been the main man in the Palace attack but a knee injury has ruled him out for a few weeks. It’s hard to see where goals will come from now as no Palace player has managed more than three non-penalty league goals. The only good news for Hodgson is that Mamadou Sakho should be fit enough to make his first start since December. This is a tough game for the Frenchman to return to however as the in-form Harry Kane will give him plenty to deal with.
Tottenham aren’t trading at big odds to win this game but given how injury ridden Palace are, Spurs are a great option on a weekend accumulator. You can ignore Spurs’ FA Cup struggle against Rochdale as it was a completely rotated side that featured. Instead you should take notice of their comeback against Juventus in the Champions League or dominant victory over rivals Arsenal. Mauricio Pochettino’s side have been playing some fantastic football against some very tough opponents of late. Five consecutive away draws is a slight concern but with a full strength side out, they should have enough to grab the three points.
Manchester United v Chelsea (14:05) – Under 2.5 goals (4/5 with BetVictor)
This is a top four clash which has often not quite lived up to the hype especially for the neutrals. There has been under 2.5 goals on seven of the last eight occasions these two sides have met. It’s been a much worse fixture for United fans though as they’ve seen their team win only one of their last 14 meetings against the Blues. There is some hope for United though in that they won this fixture last season. Could the Mourinho factor be enough to stop the rot against the London outfit?
Mourinho certainly knows a lot about Chelsea and his priority will be ensuring they limit chances for them. It’s a game the Blues need to win more than United and the Portuguese manager will look to use this to his advantage. While you can expect the hosts to remain solid defensively, having managed four consecutive home clean sheets, going forwards they may struggle. The United attack has managed just the three goals in their last four league matches and they aren’t quite clicking like they should. This game rarely provides many goals and it’s hard to see this changing given the current state of the two sides.