Okay soccer fans, we are complete with match Day 25 and this morning kicked off match Day 26. If the mid-week results and this mornings results are any indication…things are starting to get a little more interesting. Let’s take a look at where things stand.
Wrap up of Match Day 25
Race for the Top 4. The race to finish in the top 4 has stabilized a bit with 6 contenders. Really its a race for 2-3-4 place spots as Manchester City still has a healthy lead. Maybe starting to wobble slightly…more on that later. The positions have changed slightly as Liverpool and Chelsea have been flip-flopping between third and fourth in recent weeks. Liverpool has had two rough weeks and as reported in an earlier post, and took a shock loss to last place Swansea City at the end of Match Week 24. Not to be outdone, Chelsea (hard to write this since they are the team I support) took an equally baffling loss to 12th place Bournemouth on Wednesday 3-0. Chelsea in a mini-crisis this week with multiple injuries to their best players, a short squad due to transfer moves and a controversy brewing whether their coach, Antonio Conte, will last the year. They need a win in a bad way on Monday. Tottenham is starting to look very dangerous for a top 4 finish and has a huge fixture against Liverpool this weekend. Arsenal…well….they don’t seem to be making a move…holding steady at 6 and no real momentum right now after letting go their best offensive player in the transfer window, Alexis Sanchez. Here is the points race going into the weekend.
Manchester City 22-2-1 68 points
Manchester United 16-5-4 53 points
Liverpool 14-8-3 50 points
Chelsea 15-5-5 50 points (4th on goal differential)
Tottenham 14-6-5 48 points
Arsenal 12-6-7 42 points
Race for the Relegation Zone. Last week heading into the final match of the week, here were the bottom three. Swansea City (17), West Bromich Albion (20) and Southampton (22). On Monday, Swansea beat Liverpool, still amazed to write that, and picked up three VERY LARGE points. Seems much bigger than 3 to beat a top 4 contender. So after all the matches and the wrap up Match Day 25 , here is where we stand heading into the weekend.
17. Huddersfield with 24 points. This is the critical position. 17 or higher keeps you in the Premier League.
18. Southampton with 23 points.
19. Swansea City with 23 points.
20. West Bromich Albion with 20 points.
Here is the part that makes this really fun to watch. Look how close the point totals are just outside the relegation zone.
13th place Crystal Palace has 26 points. 14th place Newcastle has 24. 15th place Briton has 24. 16th place Stoke City has 24. So if you are Swansea City in 19th and being relegated, just one win and three points could move you all the way up to 13th place. Amazing. Just 1 win might keep you out of the relegation zone and in the Premier League. These are very high stakes, lots of money in play. It’s going to be intense last part of the season. 38 games, so still about a third of the season to go.
Team of then Week: Swansea City. After languishing in last place the entire season, firing their coach and looking like dead. Swansea City in consecutive weeks beats Liverpool 1-0 and Arsenal 3-1. Might be the best week in their Premier league history. That is a 20th place team beating #3 Liverpool and #6 Arsenal in back to back weeks. Amazing. Did I ever tell you this league is the best in the world and the toughest in the world. Crazy good for Swansea City.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTqL4m-aPek&feature=onebox
Big Games this Weekend.
Tottenham vs. Liverpool has big ramifications for the Top 4. Must see TV tomorrow.
West Brom vs. Southampton has huge implications on the Race for Relegation. 18 vs. 20…but someone might walk away with 3 BIG points if there is no draw.
Chelsea vs. Watford. Chelsea really need a win to calm things down..for the team…the fans…and the manager. Come on Chelsea!
Match Day 26 Update.
As of the writing of this post we have some results to share. The first game of the weekend might be a sign of a crazy weekend.
Manchester City 1 – Burnley 1. We all certainly expected a Man City victory, but Burnley, who sit in 7th are a quality club who play hard every week. A great result for Burnley, and a slight wobble we discussed earlier for Manchester City.
Here are some highlights. Man City pressed Burnley the whole game but only could get 1 goal. What a goal it was by Danillo. A big miss by Sterling on a tap in goal at the 53 minute mark of the second half and then a late half volley off a great cross for the equalizer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUCmGIgtjYY
Should be a fun weekend of games. And of course there is another “football” game this weekend I have been told. A boring affair between the Eagles and Patriots. They actually get to use their hands..weird! Hope the commercials are good!!