Premier League

Sean Dyche’s Burnley have had their plaudits this season and rightly so. However, the Clarets haven’t won since December 12 and have scored just seven goals in their last 12 outings. Nevertheless, Burnley remain in seventh spot – ten points above the relegation zone, which is largely down to a terrific run of results earlier on in the campaign. They will be keen to return to winning ways again as soon as possible and they’ll fancy their chances of doing just that when Everton are the visitors to Turf Moor on Saturday. The Toffees recent patchy form is a concern for boss Sam Allardyce but victory this weekend would see the club move level on points with their opponents. Seventh is the best both sides can hope for this 
season with sixth-placed Arsenal nine points better off.

Claude Puel finds his Leicester team in the mid-table comfort zone but they are currently in a bit of a slump having won just two of their last 11 league outings. They have lacked that intensity on the field in recent weeks despite the quality Puel has at his disposal. The Foxes welcome a Bournemouth side that fought from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Newcastle last weekend. Eddie Howe will be hoping his players don’t suffer from a sluggish start this time around. The Cherries will travel to the Midlands with a degree of confidence they can return south with all three points.

Southampton moved out of the relegation zone with Manolo Gabbiadini’s last-minute equaliser at Burnley last Saturday and manager Mauricio Pellegrino will be hoping that’s the final time his side find themselves in that position again. Saints have struggled for the lion’s share of this season but are now beginning to put a run together – just one defeat in nine – that’s offered up some optimism that the club might finally be going in the right direction. Stoke manager Paul Lambert has spent this week jumping to the defence of his goalkeeper Jack Butland who was at fault for Leicester’s equaliser last Saturday, the Potters having gone ahead through Xherdan Shaqiri. Stoke remain a point from safety but have been playing well without getting their rewards.

Despite Swansea’s precarious position, I don’t think anyone envisaged they’d succumb to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Brighton last weekend. The Swans have been on a good run of late and have shown considerable improvement under new boss Carlos Carvalhal. However, defeat at the Falmer  Stadium was a timely reminder that there is still a long way to go if the Welsh club are to retain their Premier League status next season. They currently occupy the final relegation spot so victory over West Ham on Saturday would be a timely boost. The Hammers, meanwhile, aren’t out of the woods either, just three points better off than their opponents.David Moyes will be hoping his players can react positively from the 4-1 defeat at Liverpool.

One trophy already tucked away in the cabinet at the Etihad, it’s been a fine week for Manchester City. Two victories over Arsenal in just four days, it’s easy to see why City supporters are grinning like Cheshire Cats. Pep Guardiola didn’t try to disguise his nor his players’ disappointment at crashing out of the FA Cup last week and, with that, the chance of an unprecedented quadruple. However, the Spaniard has a team of winners in his dressing room and they put that loss to Wigan to one side to bring the Carabao Cup home in style at Wembley last Sunday. The blue half of Manchester simply blew a meek Arsenal side away with goals from Sergio Aguero, captain Vincent Kompany, pictured left, and David Silva. Barring an absolute collapse, the club will go on and secure a domestic double with the Premier League title all but wrapped up despite there still be more than two months of the season to spare. Their quest to win the treble now rests on how they fare against European football’s top table. They already have one foot in the last eight of the Champions League having secured a 4-0 win over Basel in Switzerland ahead of next week’s return leg in Manchester. Again, barring any disasters, they could be just five games from being crowned kings of Europe. However, they must overcome Antonio Conte’s Chelsea this weekend first. The Blues are one of four clubs battling it out for second place in the Premier League this season, with one of those four teams likely to miss out on qualification for next season’s Champions League by finishing fifth. Chelsea’s defeat at Manchester United last Sunday could have serious repercussions were they to leave Manchester having suffered another defeat this weekend. Conte does possess the talent to unlock the City rearguard and win the game.

Tottenham successfully negotiated themselves past League One strugglers Rochdale at the second attempt to book their place in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday night. The North London outfit now switch their attentions to the visit of Huddersfield who picked up a vital win at bottom club West Brom last weekend. Spurs are just four points adrift of second-placed Manchester United and, given the form of Harry Kane this season, would be doing themselves an injustice if they weren’t aiming to finish best of the rest behind Manchester City. Don’t be surprised to see Mauricio Pochettino reshuffle his pack with one eye on next week’s Champions League last-16 second-leg tie with Juventus, though.

Watford eased their relegation fears with a huge win over Everton last Saturday. Despite the Hornets current position of tenth, they are far from safe given 18th-placed Swansea are just six points worse off. They will, however, view the visit of bottom side West Brom as a real opportunity to move one step closer to safety. Time is slowly running out for both the Baggies and manager Alan Pardew, who will at the least be given this weekend’s match to try and turn things around. Defeat in Hertfordshire, however, could spell the end of his short tenure. 

Another week, another majestic display from Liverpool’s front trio of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane who, between them, simply tore West Ham apart last week. For Salah, in particular, it was the Egyptian’s sixth straight game he has scored in taking his tally to 32 in all competitions this season. A quite remarkable return for a player who was deemed surplus to requirements at Chelsea when he signed for Roma permanently in the summer of 2016. Newcastle will be kicking themselves they mustered just a solitary point from their trip to Bournemouth despite having led 2-0 at the break. The Magpies are just two points above the relegation zone and are in urgent need of points. However, they will be doing incredibly well if they are to take any this weekend.

What a fine and morale-boosting win for Brighton last weekend. Scoring four goals in 90 minutes in their maiden season as a Premier League club will have given Chris Hughton and his squad a huge confidence boost. With losing Carabao Cup finalists Arsenal next up for the Seagulls, they have a great opportunity to make it back-to-back home wins for the first time in the league this season. However, the Gunners are a wounded animal, Sunday’s display at Wembley incurring some heavy criticism from supporters and pundits alike. There has once again been speculation this week over Arsene Wenger’s future which isn’t helping.

Palace are now fast approaching two months shy from their last victory in the Premier League. The goals have dried up for Roy Hodgson’s men while, on the flip side, they’ve conceded nine in their last four fixtures – a worrying trend for a club just outside the drop zone by the virtue of having a superior goal difference. With Manchester United next up for the Eagles before upcoming fixtures against both Chelsea and Liverpool, it promises to be a tough few weeks for the Selhurst Park club. United, fresh from their 2-1 win over Chelsea, will be looking to push on and end the season on a high both domestically and in Europe. Jose Mourinho’s side do have a good record of late at the South London venue.