Week 32 of the English Premier League sees Spurs take a giant stride towards Champions League qualification with a win over Chelsea, and West Ham move five points clear of the drop zone after a resounding victory over Southampton.
The Battle for Relegation
West Ham moved five points above the drop zone with a compelling victory over Southampton at the London Stadium with David Moyes singling out the supporters as a primary factor in the win.
“The supporters have been great, bar a few.” Said Moyes after the match.
Those ‘few’ may be the five fervent fans who West Ham banned for life after they invaded the pitch in protest during the 3-0 home defeat at Burnley, the last time the Hammers appeared at the London Stadium.
There was no such fuss this time around (a win does that to a set of fans). But there were still organised protests outside of the ground, as various factions converged on the same theme – Co-Chairmen, David Sullivan and David Gold, plus Managing Director Karren Brady are not the right three people to deliver the promise of a ‘world-class team in a world-class stadium.’
The game was over as a spectacle in the first 45-minutes. João Mário opened the scoring with a thunderbolt in the 13th minute, and West Ham’s star player, Marko Arnautovic scored a brace. It was the second time the Austrian had scored against a team managed by his former boss Mark Hughes, and Arnautovic seemed to make an angry gesture to Hughes during the celebration of his first goal.
“We had a great relationship. You will have to ask him about the gesture,” Hughes told reporters after the match.
It was Hughes’s first game in charge, and it was likely Southampton’s worst performance of the season. In that lopsided first half, the Saints only had two touches in the West Ham box, and Joe Hart didn’t have a save to make throughout the game.
The Saints are now 11/10 joint third favourites to go down after only winning one of their past 18-games.
You are more likely to see a cannibal opening a swanky human flesh restaurant in the West Midlands than see West Brom remain in the Premier League next season, and Alan Pardew has just made that job even harder.
The unlikeliest Premier League manager to still have a job told the baying press that some of his players ‘can’t deal’ with the relegation battle after his side fell to their 18th defeat of the season.
The bookies believe the Baggies are dead, offering odds of 1/500 for relegation.
Nobody will argue with them.
The 2-1 win was the first at the Hawthorns for a Burnley side since 1969, and it means Sean Dyche can enjoy Easter Monday sitting in seventh place, three points clear of Leicester and only five behind Arsenal.
Ashley Barnes scored his fourth in four games with an acrobatic volley in the 22nd minute. Kiwi, Chris Wood scored his third in four with 20-minutes remaining. Salomon Rondon replied with seven minutes left on the clock, but Burnley held on for their 12th win of the season.
Stoke remain in the drop zone after a predictable away defeat at Arsenal. Stoke hadn’t won away against a Gunners side in 15-attempts with the Arsene Wenger’s team winning the lot, and they weren’t in the mood to do them any favours this time around.
Arsenal left it late. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring in the 75th minute before making it two, putting away a dubious penalty in the 86th minute. Alexandre Lacazette made it three from the spot with a minute remaining. Paul Lambert’s Stoke side has only won one game in ten since he replaced Mark Hughes at the helm.
Swansea, Crystal Palace and Huddersfield also lost.
The Swans continue to falter after a wonderful reaction to the appointment of Carlos Carvahal, losing 2-0 at Old Trafford. Strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez means Swansea have only won once in 14-attempts on the road.
Crystal Palace gave away a goal lead to lose 2-1 at home to Liverpool to plunge them into deeper trouble. Luka Milivojevic scored from the spot in the opening 15-minutes after Lorius Karius sent Wilfried Zaha sprawling, but a Sadio Mané goal just after half time, and Mohamed Salah’s 29th goal of the season with six minutes remaining gave Liverpool the win. The bookies believe Roy Hodgson’s side has what it takes to survive – they make them a 7/1 shot for relegation.
The one team that the bookies have been backing for the drop for months now is Huddersfield, and the Terriers aren’t disappointing. The 1-0 away defeat to Newcastle means David Wagner’s side has not scored a single goal in 12 separate away fixtures this season. Ayoze Pérez sealed the win with ten minutes remaining, and Newcastle now sits in a healthy looking 12th place despite their brief flirtation with relegation several months back.
Relegation Odds
West Brom 1/500
Stoke 2/7
Huddersfield 11/10
Southampton 11/10
Swansea 6/1
Crystal Palace 7/1
West Ham 10/1
The Race For The Champions League
The race for the Champions League is over according to the bookmakers.
With Man City likely to win the league when they face Man Utd at the weekend, wins over Swansea and Crystal Palace means the cement is close to dry on the Champions League spots for Man Utd and Liverpool.
That leaves one place up for grabs.
Arsenal died a long time ago, leaving Chelsea and Spurs to battle it out for the last remaining spot, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side looks to have clinched it with a resounding 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
Alvaro Morata’s opener looked like a familiar story was about to be told (Spurs had lost 18 of 27 matches at Stamford Bridge), but a first-half stoppage time stunner from Christian Eriksen sent the whites into the half time break with hope.
With Harry Kane sitting on the bench, Dele Alli chose the opportune moment to emerge from his cocoon-like recent performances to score twice in four minutes that secured the game for Spurs. It was a magical moment for a young man fighting for his World Cup place after a recent run of poor form.
Chelsea?
The Champions can only hope and pray that Spurs suffer a meltdown in their final few games. Otherwise, all eyes are on the FA Cup where Antonio Conte’s side face hapless Southampton in their semi-final showdown at the end of April.
Top 4 Odds
Man Utd 1/100
Liverpool 1/33
Spurs 1/33
Chelsea 10/1
Here are the rest of the results in full.
Results in Full
West Brom 1 v 2 Burnley
Man Utd 2 v 0 Swansea
Brighton 0 v 2 Leicester
Everton 1 v 3 Man City
Arsenal 3 v 0 Stoke
Chelsea 1 v 3 Spurs
Crystal Palace 1 v 2 Liverpool
Newcastle 1 v 0 Huddersfield
Watford 2 v 2 Bournemouth
West Ham 3 v 0 Southampton
Premier League Table
1. Man City – 84
2. Man Utd – 68
3. Liverpool – 66
4. Spurs – 64
5. Chelsea – 56
6. Arsenal – 51
7. Burnley – 46
8. Leicester – 43
9. Everton – 40
10. Bournemouth – 37
11. Watford – 37
12. Newcastle – 35
13. Brighton – 34
14. West Ham – 33
15. Swansea – 31
16. Huddersfield – 31
17. Crystal Palace – 30
18. Southampton – 28
19. Stoke – 27
20. West Brom – 20
