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bawlmer
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Apr 2006
Posts: 2919
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Matchday 34
With the resumption of the FA Cup at the weekend, which will include mouthwatering semifinal matchups between Chelsea and Tottenham on Saturday and Manchester City versus Arsenal on Sunday, and a slew of rescheduled fixtures to squeeze in, a prolonged Matchday 34 of the English Premier League kicks off on Saturday and will stretch well into next week, with the title race once again back on, a relegation decider, and the biggest Derby of the year all on the slate to round out a busy week. You won’t want to miss any of the action this week, so tune in and catch all of the action throughout the week live on the NBC family of networks or online at NBC Live Extra.
Tuesday (all times eastern)
2:45pm – Southampton @ Chelsea – Stamford Bridge, NBC Sports Network
After dropping three points only once in the previous six months to take what has several times throughout the season looked like an insurmountable advantage at the top of the table, Chelsea walked away empty handed for the second time in the last three weeks when they were unable to find a way to breakdown a tactically sound Manchester United in a 2-0 defeat. With only a four-point advantage over the charging Tottenham, who face a tricky London Derby away to Crystal Palace, the Blues will try desperately to gain additional breathing room when they welcome Southampton to Stamford Bridge.
The Saints had several chances to go ahead in the first half at Manchester City last weekend but, unable to capitalize, allowed three second half goals without reply to fall 3-0. Always a well disciplined and technically sound side, they are unlikely to struggle in back to back weeks however, they have lost their last two Premier League meetings against the Blues and managed to take all three points in only two of their previous sixteen meetings across all competitions (L9 D5) and, save for this fixture last season, have not won in their previous six trips to Stamford Bridge (L3 D3).
Wednesday (all times eastern)
2:45pm – Sunderland @ Middlesbrough – Riverside Stadium, NBC Live Extra
While Chelsea will continue to try to hold off Tottenham for the league’s top spot, at the other end of the table both Middlesbrough and Sunderland are hoping, maybe against hope, to somehow survive the campaign and guarantee another year in England’s top flight. The table bottom dwellers, who currently sit six and ten points from safety respectively, will square off for a massive relegation showdown at the Riverside Stadium Wednesday afternoon, with the end result likely to send at least one of the sides, if not possibly both, down to the Championship for next season.
Even with the parachute payments in place over the next several years to help ease the burden of relegation, the new television deal in place that we highlighted at the beginning of the season is likely to cost any team that drops down in excess of $100 million dollars, desperately crucial revenue to any small market team. Both sides will like their chances in the mid-week, with Middlesbrough taking the last two meetings but, prior to the recent setbacks, Sunderland going six unbeaten against Boro (W3 D3) and unbeaten in their last four trips to the Riverside Stadium (W2 D2).
Thursday (all times eastern)
3pm – Manchester United @ Manchester City – Etihad Stadium, NBC Sports Network
While publicly Jose Mourinho may have labeled the victory as just another game, he had to gain a measure of satisfaction after employing a masterful tactical display that neutralized his former side and rejuvenated Manchester United’s hunt for a spot in the top four ahead of their trip across town for the 174th edition of the Manchester Derby, with the Reds now just four points behind Manchester City and enjoying the added bonus of a game in hand over not just their neighbors, but also two games in hand over the injury ravaged Liverpool, who sit in third place and six points head of United.
Mourinho will need to dig into his bag of tricks if he hopes to get a similar result in the mid-week, as he not only will come up against a City side who have lost only twice in the league since the New Year (W7 D4) but also his personal nemesis Pep Guardiola, who has gotten the better of his longtime rival over the years head to head (W8 D6 L4) and, despite dropping only one of their last five meetings with the Citizens across all competitions, they have dropped two of their last three excursions to the Etihad Stadium (W1) and where City has dropped only one game all season long (W8 D6).
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04-21-17 01:42 PM |
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