The first of three Wk 35 English Premier League reports with Manchester City returning to the summit with a victory over Spurs, and Brighton moving three points clear of Cardiff City after a goalless draw with Wolves.
Looking at the English Premier League (EPL) title run-in, with Manchester City and Liverpool both playing with a straight razor savageness, it’s going to take something astounding to beat them.
Liverpool faces nothing of the sort in their final four games.
It’s a different story for City.
If City is going to defend their title successfully, they had to beat Spurs, and they have to beat Manchester United. Burnley, Leicester and Brighton are ponies in a land of stallions.
The first part of that equation is in the bag.
Spurs proved they could match Man City in 90-minutes after beating them 1-0 at home in the first leg of their Champions League Quarter-Final tie, but the win arrived amid a succession of five defeats against the Citizens including the 4-3 midweek thriller in the second leg of that Champions League tie.
City made three changes from the side that won the midweek battle but lost the war, including the introduction of 18-year-old, Phil Foden, and it didn’t take long for him to make an impact.
With five minutes on the clock, the brilliant Bernardo Silva made space on the right, chipped a delightful ball to the far post where Sergio Agüero headed it across goal, and there was Foden to head home from close range.
After the goal, it was Spurs who had a melee of chances.
John Stones lost the ball in midfield, Lucas Moura fed Son Heung-min and the South Korean saw his shot blocked by Ederson. Then after some sweet interplay down the right, Christian Eriksen decided against going down in the area after an apparent tug from Aymeric Laporte, only to see Ederson pull off another save, then finally, Son twisted and turned in the centre circle to beat three men, rampaged towards goal, only for a last-ditch Laporte tackle to prevent a goal.
The second half was one of few chances.
Ilkay Gündogan drove at the heart of the Spurs defence before finding Leroy Sané down the left, and his cross found Raheem Sterling in his typical territory only for the Spurs second string keeper to save with his foot from close range.
Then the man of the match, Ederson, saved a point for City when Moura got on the end of a lob from Toby Alderweireld, brought it down from the sky, only to see his shot rebound off the chest of the Brazilian shot-stopper.
Spurs deserved a point.
They didn’t get it.
City replaces Liverpool at the summit, with Jürgen Klopp’s team facing relegation-threatened Cardiff in the Welsh capital on Sunday.
Man City Remaining Fixtures
Man Utd (A) 24 April
Burnley (A) 28 April
Leicester (H) 4 May
Brighton (A) 12 May
Liverpool Remaining Fixtures
Cardiff (A) 21 April
Huddersfield (H) 26 April
Newcastle (A) 5 May
Wolves (H) 12 May
Relegation News: Brighton Pull Three Points Clear of Cardiff
Brighton feels less like the bald man in a Samson convention after pulling off an impressive goalless draw at Molyneux.
The Seagulls flew into the Midlands on the back of five defeats in all competitions without scoring a single goal, including a devasting 2-0 loss at home to Cardiff.
They still haven’t scored, but in registering their first clean sheet in all competitions since 2 March, they move three points clear of Cardiff, and with a vastly superior goal difference you might as well call it four.
Wolves threw everything but their copies of Playboy at Brighton with Diogo Jota coming the closest after hitting the woodwork twice. Brighton’s only chance of the match came late in the second half when Beram Kayal fired in a long-range screamer from the left.
Don’t expect Cardiff to get anything at Anfield or Old Trafford, but if they can pick up two wins in the other two games, looking at Brighton’s run-in, the Welsh side is still in with a shout of remaining an EPL side when we kick-off next season.
Cardiff Remaining Fixtures
Liverpool (H) 21 April
Fulham (A) 27 April
Crystal Palace (H) 4 May
Man Utd (A) 12 May
Brighton Remaining Fixtures
Spurs (A) 23 April
Newcastle (H) 27 April
Arsenal (A) 5 May
Man City (H) 12 May
Week 35 Results
Man City 1 v 0 Spurs
Huddersfield 1 v 2 Watford
West Ham 2 v 2 Leicester
Bournemouth 0 v 1 Fulham
Wolves 0 v 0 Brighton
Newcastle 3 v 1 Southampton
To Be Played
Everton v Man Utd (Sun)
Cardiff v Liverpool (Sun)
Arsenal v Crystal Palace (Sun)
Chelsea v Burnley (Mon)
EPL Standings
1. Man City – 86
2. Liverpool – 85
3. Spurs – 67
4. Arsenal – 66
5. Chelsea – 66
6. Man Utd – 64
7. Watford – 49
8. Leicester – 48
9. Wolves – 48
10. Everton – 46
11. West Ham – 43
12. Newcastle – 41
13. Bournemouth – 41
14. Crystal Palace – 39
15. Burnley – 39
16. Southampton – 36
17. Brighton – 34
18. Cardiff – 31
19. Fulham – 23 (R)
20. Huddersfield – 14 (R)
EPL Odds
To Win
Man City 8/15
Liverpool 6/4
Relegation
Cardiff 1/7
Brighton 9/2
Top Four
Spurs 1/3
Arsenal 4/9
Chelsea 13/8
Man Utd 5/2
Top Goalscorer
Mohamed Salah 13/8
Sergio Aguero 7/4
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 11/2
Sadio Mane 6/1
Raheem Sterling 12/1
Current Top Scorers
1. Sergio Aguero – 19
2. Mohamed Salah – 19
3. Sadio Mané – 18
3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 18
4. Harry Kane – 17
5. Raheem Sterling – 17
Next Manager to Leave
No Manager to Leave 8/11
Chris Hughton 11/10
