The Leading Logic In Sports Handicapping |
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bawlmer
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Apr 2006
Posts: 2919
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Matchday 24
Matchday 24 of the English Premier League will waste little time getting started when a massive London Derby bright and early Saturday morning kicks off the weekend action with the outcome likely to determine the top of the table, while at the bottom relegation rivals face off with the result similarly likely to determine who will drop down to the Championship by seasons end. Set the alarm for bright and early to catch all of the action live on the NBC family of networks or online at NBC Live Extra.
Saturday (all times eastern)
7:30am – Arsenal @ Chelsea – Stamford Bridge, NBC Sports Network
Despite splitting the points in their showdown with Liverpool at Anfield, Chelsea were still able to get one hand on the league trophy when second place Tottenham failed to make up ground after a 0-0 draw with Sunderland and third place Arsenal followed suit in a 2-1 loss at home against Watford, which confirmed the almost annual capitulation of the Gunners under Arsene Wenger following the busy Christmas period and is yet another example of why we continue to believe the Frenchmen’s successful but maddeningly frustrating tenure will come to an end when his contract expires at seasons end.
All hope may not be lost for Arsenal and the rest of the league though, as the Gunners have been one of the few teams who have got the better of Chelsea this year, winning for only the second time in their last eleven league meetings (L7 D3) in the reverse fixture earlier this season. It was after that game however that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte switched to his preferred back three with the Blues proceeding to win their next thirteen league games and fifteen of their last seventeen to take command of the table and on the verge of their second title in the last three years with a result at the weekend.
10am – Sunderland @ Crystal Palace – Selhurst Park, CNBC
While Chelsea could for all intents and purposes lock up the title earlier in the day, at the other end of the table Crystal Palace snapped a four game losing streak and gave manager Sam Allardyce his first win since taking over the relegation threatened Eagles just before Christmas with a 2-0 victory over Bournemouth to move the London club two points from safety ahead of their massive relegation battle against Big Sam’s former side Sunderland at Selhurst Park, with the Black Cats still searching for their first win since the New Year but content with earning a point in 0-0 draw against Tottenham.
It was only last year that Big Sam worked his magic to against all odds keep Sunderland in the top flight and his record perfect avoiding relegation in his four previous managerial stops. The Black Cats looked well on their way to their first win of the season and for the second time in their last three meetings with Crystal Palace (D1) in the reverse fixture back in September until three unanswered goals gave all the points to Palace, with a similar result at the weekend more than likely sealing the fate of the currently five points from safety Black Cats and their long overdue drop down to the Championship.
Sunday (all times eastern)
8:30am – Swansea City @ Manchester City – Etihad Stadium, NBC Sports Network
One side sure to have a close eye on the result the day before from Selhurst Park is Swansea City who, after winning just one of their previous six league games and seeing their second manager of the season off, followed up their historic away win at Anfield the previous weekend with a 2-1 victory over Southampton to make it three wins from four (L1) since Paul Clement succeeded Bob Bradley after the New Year to go two points clear of the drop zone. They will look to continue their run of form when they kick off the Sunday slate with a daunting road trip to the Etihad Stadium and Manchester City.
City were back to their old ways against West Ham in the mid-week, absolutely steam rolling the overmatched Hammers in a 4-0 thrashing that has now pulled them level on points with Liverpool in fourth place and one back of both Tottenham and Arsenal, who they will hope to eclipse early Sunday having won eight of the last ten meetings with Swansea City across all competitions (D2), coming away empty handed in only one of their eleven all time Premier League meetings and winning all five matches at the Etihad Stadium while outscoring the visitors 12-2.
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02-03-17 10:44 AM |
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