Grosvenor Sport ambassador Jamie O’Hara breaks down two must-watch matchups from the upcoming Premier League gameweek as well as this year’s FA Cup final.
Chelsea v Manchester United – Friday 20:15
Enzo Maresca has to find a way to crawl over the line and finish in the top 5. Chelsea are facing a terrible Manchester United team so they should get the better of them. They need to avoid making silly mistakes, like what Nicolas Jackson did – getting sent off – he’s made things a bit more difficult for them now.
Man United are as bad as Tottenham in the Premier League – they’ve completely downed the tools domestically. This is just another game in the way of the Europa League final for them. They’ll be conscious about avoiding injuries and have nothing to play for. But who knows, sometimes that works against the favourites.
I can’t see anything other than a Chelsea win, though.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Manchester United (13/2)
Arsenal v Newcastle – Sunday 16:30
Arsenal fans will try and argue otherwise, but they’ve won nothing again. Their goal this season was to win a trophy – the Premier League being the ultimate target, but they failed. They’re a great team and might finish second in the league, but they’ve failed to achieve their target.
No one is going to remember where Arsenal finished in the league if it isn’t first place. If Tottenham or Man United win a trophy, they’ll argue they’ve had a better season. Even though they’ve had a terrible Premier League season, they’ve won a trophy and that was their goal.
I can’t see Newcastle letting go of Alexander Isak; they’ve dug their heels in. They’re a great team too, they’ve won a trophy and are looking to finish strong in the league. They don’t need to sell Isak, so why would they get rid of their best player since Alan Shearer? He is the player who can make the difference and get them to the latter stages of a competition; they need to build the team around him.
I can see Newcastle snitching a victory here. Arsenal have been off the boil recently and Newcastle have it all to play for.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-2 Newcastle (21/2)
Crystal Palace v Manchester City – FA Cup Final – Saturday 16:30
I watched Crystal Palace against Tottenham and they were fantastic. They play some really good football and I think they should take the game to Manchester City. They’re the underdogs – go and express yourselves and do something special. They’ll be compact and solid at the back, and they’re not playing against the Man City we’ve known for the last few seasons – they can pull something off here. If they can get this over the line, what a season that would be!
Pep Guardiola has a rebuild on his hands next season – I definitely can’t see him leaving. We’ve seen with Pep that he’ll join a club, build a star-studded team and then leave after a few seasons. Now, he’s got a different scenario where he needs to overhaul the squad. I can see a big transfer window ahead for City and back them to challenge for the league next season.
Up against Palace, they’re the obvious favourites and they’ll probably get it done. But it would be nice to see a change for once.
Prediction: Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester City (13/2)