EPL week 32 review: Huddersfield go down; Liverpool lead; Utd level with Spurs

EPL Week 37 Review: Man City retain the title after battering Brighton

A review from the top and bottom of the English Premier League with Huddersfield dropping into the Championship, Liverpool retaining a two-point lead over Man City, and Man Utd drawing level with Spurs in the race for a Champions League place.

For lovers of the English Premier League (EPL) the interruption of the international break is as welcome as the plague.

The rats are dead.

EPL Wk 32 Review: Huddersfield go down; Liverpool lead; Utd level with SpursThe thunderstorm of the EPL is back, and one of the many puzzles that will solve themselves in the next six games is no longer a puzzle.

Huddersfield will be playing Championship football next season after losing to Crystal Palace by two goals to nil. Southampton and Burnley sealed the Terriers fate after winning against Brighton and Wolves respectively.

Nobody ever thought the Yorkshire club would become an EPL skyscraper, and lasting two seasons was success enough. So, although the board, manager, team and fans will feel like taking a hacksaw to their baby making parts – reality bites.

It’s been a dour season for Huddersfield, and they go down equalling the EPL record of ‘earliest departure’ tied with Derby County and Ipswich Town as the three clubs to leave the party in Week 32.

They have shouldered the rest of the EPL since December, and Palace defeat or no Palace defeat it was going to take a feat of Stonehenge building proportions for them to have remained an EPL side.

The board fired David Wagner in January, hoping that Jan Siewert would find the right style of football to re-energise the vocal cords of the old faithful.

It never happened.

Siewert has lost eight of his nine EPL games since taking the reins.

Palace dominated the game, and if Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend had worn their shooting boots, the Eagles would have sunk their claws much earlier.

Instead, the breakthrough came with 15-minutes to go, after Juninho Bacuna tripped Zaha as he danced like a raindrop inside the Huddersfield penalty area. Palace captain, Luka Milivojevic, duly despatched the spot kick.

Zaha then missed another sitter after some beautiful interplay with Christian Benteke, before, the Palace wing wizard put the man of the match, Patrick van Aanholt, through on goal, and the Dutchman capped off an excellent display by slotting the ball through the keeper’s legs.

The win moves Palace eight points clear of the drop zone, and the bookies believe Roy Hodgson’s side is safe making them a 200/1 shot to go down.

The bookies believe that Fulham will follow Huddersfield down to trap door making them a 1/5000 shot to stay up. The likeliest candidate to join them is Cardiff City after the Welsh side lost to Chelsea by two goals to one.

Chelsea came back from two goals down to win, easing the pressure on Maurizio Sarri (still favourite to be the next person to lose his job at 8/11), but it was a harsh way to lose for Neil Warnock and his side, after replays showed that Cesar Azpilicueta was a foot offside when he headed home his 84th minute equaliser.

After Ruben Loftus-Cheek scored the injury-time winner, Warnock told the press that the EPL is ‘the best league in the world, with the worst officials.’

“They shouldn’t make mistakes at this level,” said Warnock.

The bookies shouldn’t be making mistakes at this level either, and they believe Cardiff is a 1/6 shot to drop into the Championship. The only other fanciable faller is Burnley who remain at 11/2 shot despite beating high flying Wolves thanks to a third own goal of the season by Conor Coady, and a sealer from the teenager Dwight McNeil.

Liverpool Lead at the Top

Moving swiftly on to the top table, and Liverpool continues to eat first after passing a tough test at home to Spurs. Man City piled on the pressure by beating Fulham 2-0 at Craven Cottage on Saturday. A defensive display that wouldn’t look out of place in your local U8’s league allowed Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero to move City a point clear of Liverpool until the reds picked up three more on Sunday.

Liverpool took the lead in the 16th minute after Roberto Firmino headed home from close range after a peach of a cross from the impressive Andy Robertson. Spurs levelled on 70 when Lucas Moura finished off an excellent move involving Keiran Trippier and Christian Eriksen. Then Liverpool proved once again that they have the minerals to go along with the skill when Mohamed Salah got on the end of a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross to head into the saving hands of Hugo Lloris only for the ball to find its way into the back of the net off the shins of Toby Alderweireld.

It was the last minute of normal time.

Liverpool leads the EPL by two-points, but the bookies still make Man City the 4/9 favourites as they have a game in hand and have won 11 and drawn one of their last 12 games in all competitions since their shock defeat away to Newcastle at the end of January. Liverpool is 7/4 to win their first EPL title.

Man Utd Close The Gap on Spurs

The defeat for Spurs means they only lead Man Utd on goal difference after the Red Devils celebrated the permanent appointment of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a 2-1 victory against Watford at Old Trafford.

Watford was the better side for large parts of the game, but goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial ensured United didn’t lose for the third successive game.

Arsenal faces Newcastle on Monday night, and a draw will be enough to see them leapfrog over both Spurs and United. A win will see them move two points clear.

Here are those Champions League odds:

Top Four

Arsenal 1/2
Spurs 8/13
Man Utd 6/5
Chelsea 7/4

EPL Results

Fulham 0 v 2 Man City
Crystal Palace 2 v 0 Huddersfield
Leicester 2 v 0 Bournemouth
Man Utd 2 v 1 Watford
Burnley 2 v 0 Wolves
Brighton 0 v 1 Southampton
West Ham 0 v 2 Everton
Cardiff 1 v 2 Chelsea
Liverpool 2 v 1 Spurs

To Be Played (Mon)

Arsenal v Newcastle

EPL Standings

1. Liverpool – 79
2. Man City – 77
3. Spurs – 61
4. Man Utd – 61
5. Arsenal – 60
6. Chelsea – 60
7. Wolves – 44
8. Leicester – 44
9. Everton – 43
10. Watford – 43
11. West Ham – 42
12. Bournemouth – 38
13. Crystal Palace – 36
14. Newcastle – 35
15. Brighton – 33
16. Southampton – 33
17. Burnley – 33
18. Cardiff – 28
19. Fulham – 17
20. Huddersfield – 14

EPL Odds

To Win

Man City – 4/9
Liverpool – 7/4

Relegation

Fulham – 1/5000
Cardiff 1/6
Burnley 11/2

Top Goalscorer

Sergio Aguero 11/8
Harry Kane 4/1
Mohamed Salah 4/1
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6/1

Current Top Scorers

1. Sergio Aguero – 19
2. Mohamed Salah – 17
3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 17
4. Harry Kane – 17
5. Sadio Mane – 17

Next Manager to Leave

Maurizzio Sarri 8/11
No Manager to Leave 3/1
Neil Warnock 9/1
Neil Siewert 9/1