All games kick-off Saturday at 15.00 unless stated otherwise
Man City v Southampton (Saturday, 12.45)
Man City continue their title bid against Southampton this week and are heavy favourites going into the tie.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side have won 13 out of 14 games at home this season, and had gone over nine hours of football without conceding until Mathieu Flamini’s goal against them the other week.
Southampton, however, will be in buoyant form, having comprehensively beaten Newcastle last week.
The club’s English attacking trio of Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Jay Rodriguez are enjoying especially good seasons, with the latter hitting a brace against Newcastle to take his overall tally for the campaign to 15.
Bet: Man City @ 1/3
Aston Villa v Fulham
The build-up to this game has been overshadowed by the news that Aston Villa’s star striker Christian Benteke has been ruled out for the rest of the season through injury.
It’s a significant setback for a side who are in poor enough form as it is, losing five of their past eight matches — though they did beat Chelsea 1-0 the other week.
Fulham, however, are surely in even worse shape.
Their recent 3-1 loss to Everton has put them on the brink of relegation, while another loss would surely cause irreparable damage to their survival hopes.
Bet: Aston Villa @ 21/20
Cardiff v Crystal Palace
Having been many people’s favourites to go down, Crystal Palace have shown a stomach for the fight in recent times, as illustrated in their defeat of Chelsea.
Cardiff, on the other hand, have not been able to confound expectations so palpably.
They have won just two out of 12 games since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken over, and look in serious trouble — even a win will not take them out of the relegation zone, while most of their rivals have games in hand on them.
That said, Palace have yet to win away this year, and this fixture could represent a great chance to launch one last survival bid.
Bet: Draw @ 11/5
Hull City v Swansea
Both these teams sit on 33 points in 13th and 14th position respectively, and so both will be eager to win in order to consolidate their survival prospects.
Steve Bruce’s side go into this game in poor form, having lost four out of their past five games — performances not likely to quell suspicions that their looming FA Cup semi-final has been a distraction.
Yet they seemingly have the perfect opportunity to reverse this trend against a Swansea side that hasn’t won away from home since November.
With both teams at a fairly similar level as indicated by their league positions, you can expect a tight game at the KC Stadium.
Bet: Draw @ 11/5
Newcastle v Man United
With their priority undoubtedly the upcoming Champions League second-leg tie against Bayern, it would be no surprise if United fielded a weakened team for this encounter.
And such changes may not harm David Moyes’ men unduly, as they face a Newcastle team whose season has petered out.
The Magpies have lost nine of their previous 14 games, including last week’s dismal 4-0 defeat to Southampton.
Newcastle did beat United at Old Trafford though, and victory in this match would see them complete a league double over the Red Devils for the first time since the 1930s.
Nevertheless, with United boasting the best away record in the Premier League this season, it would take a brave punter to back a home win.
Bet: Man United @ evens
Norwich v West Brom
Having at one stage looked like strong contenders to go down, Norwich have shown improved form in recent weeks to pull away from the relegation spots.
They are unbeaten in six home games, though that said, they have also lost six away games on the trot.
They will, however, be expected to prevail today against a West Brom side that has just one win in 11.
If ever there was an example of a team who made an ill-advised change of manager over the course of the season, the Baggies’ hiring of Pepe Mel in place of Steve Clarke is ostensibly a classic case in point.
Bet: Norwich @ 7/5
Chelsea v Stoke City (Saturday, 17.30)
Stoke are as high as 10/1 to win this game — somewhat surprising, given that they beat Chelsea 3-2 in the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Moreover Mark Hughes’ men are in excellent form — winning their past three games to reach the all-important 40-point mark — a position generally regarded as ensuring a team’s safety from relegation.
They come up against a Chelsea team with a formidable home record — they still haven’t lost at Stamford Bridge in the league during the course of Jose Mourinho’s two stints in charge at the club.
That said, West Brom showed earlier in the season that the Londoners are beatable, even with the crowd behind them.
Bet: Chelsea @ 3/10
Everton v Arsenal (Sunday, 13.30)
A huge fixture that could prove pivotal in the race for the fourth Champions League spot.
Arsenal recovered well from their recent thrashing at Chelsea to earn a creditable 1-1 draw against Man City.
The Toffees have the much better form of the two though, winning five consecutive games to revive their top-four hopes, while Arsenal have won just three of their past ten league matches.
Nonetheless, the Gunners will be confident, given that they are unbeaten in 14 games against Everton — with the Toffees failing to beat them since Andy Johnson scored the only goal of the game at Goodison in the 2006-07 season.
Bet: Draw @ 23/10
West Ham v Liverpool (Sunday 16.00)
Another weekend, another vital game for Liverpool.
Brendan Rodgers’ side were always in control against Tottenham at Anfield last week, yet it should be an entirely different proposition against a West Ham side desperate to hit the 40-point mark.
The Reds will have to keep a close eye on their former striker Andy Carroll, who has been in good form lately, while Kevin Nolan has also been given the go-ahead to play after recovering from a back injury.
Liverpool will still be expected to overcome the Hammers though — Brendan Rodgers’ side are still unbeaten in the league since the turn of the year.
Bet: Liverpool @ 4/9
Tottenham v Sunderland (Monday 20.00)
After their 4-0 loss to Liverpool put Tottenham’s Champions League failure beyond doubt, Tim Sherwood’s men now have little to play for bar the meagre consolation of a potential Europa League place.
Sunderland, on the other hand, will be desperate for a win, given that they are mired in a relegation battle.
They are four points behind West Brom in 17th with a game in hand, and still have to play the Baggies, so their fate is still in their hands.
However, they have an extremely difficult run-in that also includes games against Everton, Man City, United and Chelsea, so a win on Monday would be a considerable boost to their dwindling hopes of survival.
Bet: Tottenham @ 4/7
Accumulator
A tenner on the following results would earn you a fairly substantial 13,082.37.
