There’s no change at the summit of the English Premier League as both Manchester City and Liverpool book vital wins with five and four games remaining respectively.
Liverpool remains on course for their first top tier title since 1990 after another aggressive assault on an English Premier League (EPL) club, this time beating Chelsea at Anfield, with Manchester City also bagging three points in their more predictable win over Crystal Palace.
It’s the tightest finish to an EPL title race in years.
The lead has changed hands ten times in the past 67-days
.
Liverpool.
Man City.
Who will it be?
If you’re a City fan, you needed Chelsea to beat Liverpool. Visits to Cardiff and Newcastle and home games against Huddersfield and Wolves are not likely places for Jürgen Klopp’s side to drop points.
Chelsea is a different prospect.
They were champions two seasons ago.
They arrived at Anfield having won four consecutive games in all competitions, moving into the third position in the table, and winning their first leg of the Europa League Quarter-Final against Slavia Prague, and yet, they were no match for Klopp’s ‘boys.’
The German’s sparkly whites shone brighter than ever as he waxed lyrical about his side’s performance after a game they dominated from start to finish.
Chelsea had their moments, especially Eden Hazard, who was unusually wasteful in two spots less than ten-yards from goal, one striking the post, and the other comfortably saved by Alisson, but it was Liverpool through and through.
The main man was Mohamed Salah who topped the ratings with more shots, more shots on target, more key passes, and a contender for goal of the season, firing in a left-foot rocket two-minutes after Sadio Mané had headed them into the lead.
With Harry Kane out for the rest of the season, the Egyptian is the new 6/4 favourite to win the Golden Boot for a second successive year, but Liverpool is still second-favourite to win the EPL.
Despite being two points clear of City with only four games remaining, City is the 8/11 favourite to become the first side to defend the EPL since Man Utd managed it in 2008/09.
Pep Guardiola’s 3-1 win over Crystal Palace – courtesy of a Raheem Sterling double and a last-minute strike from Gabriel Jesus – was their 15th victory in 16 games, with only last week’s Champions League defeat to Spurs spoiling the picture.
“We expect them to win every game,” said Klopp.
Spurs on the weekend.
Man Utd four days later.
Don’t be so sure.
Liverpool’s Final Fixtures
Cardiff (A) 21 April
Huddersfield (H) 26 April
Newcastle (A) 5 May
Wolves (H) 12 May
Man City’s Final Fixtures
Spurs (H) 20 April
Man Utd (A) 24 April
Burnley (A) 28 April
Leicester (H) 4 May
Brighton (A) 12 May
EPL Wk 34 Results
Leicester 0 v 1 Newcastle
Spurs 4 v 0 Huddersfield
Brighton 0 v 5 Bournemouth
Southampton 3 v 1 Wolves
Fulham 2 v 0 Everton
Burnley 2 v 0 Cardiff
Man Utd 2 v 1 West Ham
Crystal Palace 1 v 3 Man City
Liverpool 2 v 0 Chelsea
To Be Played
Watford v Arsenal (Mon)
EPL Standings
1. Liverpool – 82
2. Man City – 80
3. Spurs – 67
4. Chelsea – 66
5. Man Utd – 64
6. Arsenal – 63
7. Leicester – 47
8. Wolves – 47
9. Everton. – 46
10. Watford – 46
11. West Ham – 42
12. Bournemouth – 41
13. Crystal Palace – 39
14. Burnley – 39
15. Newcastle – 38
16. Southampton – 36
17. Brighton – 33
18. Cardiff – 28
19. Fulham – 20 (R)
20. Huddersfield – 14 (R)
EPL Odds
To Win
Man City 8/11
Liverpool 11/10
Relegation
Cardiff 1/20
Brighton 11/1
Top Four
Spurs 2/9
Arsenal 10/11
Chelsea 11/8
Man Utd 2/1
Top Goalscorer
Mohamed Salah 6/4
Sergio Aguero 13/8
Sadio Mane 5/1
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 10/1
Raheem Sterling 10/1
Current Top Scorers
1. Sergio Aguero – 19
2. Mohamed Salah – 19
3. Sadio Mané – 18
3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 17
4. Harry Kane – 17
5. Raheem Sterling – 17
Next Manager to Leave
No Manager to Leave 1/3
Maurizzio Sarri 6/11
Chris Hughton 8/1
