With the Premier League season close to ending, we’ve still got a number of teams fighting the drop and battling for fourth to keep us interested.
Our grosvenorsport.com football expert gives us his thoughts ahead of the weekend.
Chelsea v Huddersfield
It may be a case of too little, too late for Chelsea in their quest to secure a Champions League place for next season.
Whilst they’ve given themselves a chance, relying on Tottenham and Liverpool to slip-up is a big ask.
Four Premier League wins on the bounce has Antonio Conte’s men in red-hot form with Olivier Giroud seemingly winning the battle over Alvaro Morata in recent weeks.
The Frenchman scored a trademark header against Liverpool and looks set for the nod against Huddersfield on Thursday.
The Terriers are very nearly safe following their impressive 0-0 draw with Manchester City on Sunday.
David Wagner’s side were being tipped to slip into the relegation zone with some tough fixtures coming up, but their dogged defensive display has all-but secured their survival.
However, keeping a clean sheet against a side with something to play for may be too much to ask.
For these reasons and Giroud’s good form, I’ll be backing the striker to score first at 11/4.
Leicester City v Arsenal
It was an emotional and fitting farewell to Arsene Wenger on Sunday as they thrashed Burnley at the Emirates Stadium, but the victory could only secure sixth-place in a disappointing season.
The Gunners are just playing for pride now as the board continue to look for the Frenchman’s replacement for next season.
One bright spark for Arsenal is the flourishing partnership between Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, who were involved in four of the goals, and they could take some stopping on Wednesday night.
Leicester on the other hand, were safely in the top half but are now looking over their shoulders with teams below them beginning to catch-up following their abysmal form.
Many Foxes fans are calling for Claude Puel to be sacked after they slipped to their fourth loss in five games with defeat against struggling West Ham.
Leicester have also failed to score in their last three games with many of their players already on the beach or focusing on the World Cup.
It’s hard to back Leicester given their form, so I’ll be backing Arsenal to come away with victory at 10/11.
Tottenham v Newcastle
It’s all become very nervy for Tottenham, who looked to have their place in the top four sealed.
However, one win in four has seen Chelsea gain ground and Mauricio Pochettino’s side need to start picking up points.
Harry Kane has yet to really hit the goal trail since returning from injury, with his Golden Boot award looking to be handed to Mo Salah this season.
A shock defeat to seemingly-doomed West Brom has worried fans but Pochettino will be confident on inflicting another defeat on out-of-form Newcastle.
All things considered, it’s been an excellent season for Rafa Benitez’s side, who comfortably secured their place in next season’s Premier League.
But since their impressive win over Arsenal, the Toon Army has lost three on the bounce and the players seem to be already looking ahead to the summer.
This has irked Benitez, who looks set to make a number of changes to the side who lost to Watford on Saturday with Javi Manquillo, Jonjo Shelvey, Jacob Murphy, Mo Diame and Dwight Gayle likely to be dropped.
Despite these changes, Tottenham will just have too much for Newcastle and I fancy both teams to score NO at 4/6.
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