No Vardy No Party
Spurs can gain ground as they hunt the Foxes
Man City v Stoke – Saturday 12.45pm
This does look like a home banker but you have to keep one thing in mind, the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday night. What sort of team will Manuel Pellegrini put out? Is Sergio Aguero going to start? Is Kevin De Bruyne going to start? The same with Yaya Toure and Vincent Kompany. Big players that they’re going to need against Real Madrid. Will he risk playing them in a game like this?
On the other hand Manchester United are sneaking up on City. They’re only two points behind and City can’t afford to take their foot off the gas as far as the league is concerned. So I think City will go in with a lot of their big players on the pitch and I’m going to go with a City home win. I think they win 2-0 in a comfortable victory. Stoke were really poor against Spurs and could have been beaten by five or six. Mark Hughes will want his team playing better going back to his old club. I think they will play better but it’s still a City win for me.
If we take it that Pellegrini is going to play his best players you have to go with Sergio Aguero to score first. How this young man has been omitted from the Player of the Season awards I don’t know. He’s had phenomenal season and could yet win the golden boot. After him Kevin De Bruyne is definitely worth a look.
Bournemouth v Chelsea – Saturday 3pm
I think Bournemouth will fancy this because Chelsea are just cruising to the end of the season. However the visitors still have too much quality so I’m going for an away win. Chelsea to nick it.
Aston Villa v Southampton – Saturday 3pm
If Southampton turn up and play they way they did at Goodison Park last week, where they were excellent, then they’ll win again comfortably.
Liverpool v Newcastle – Saturday 3pm
This is another one where you’ll have to wait and see what kind of team Jurgen Klopp picks. If he picks a strong team it’s Liverpool to win all day long but they have a Europa League semi-final on Thursday night so he may leave half a dozen players out. That could Newcastle a chance but with a strong team my money’s on Liverpool.
Sunderland v Arsenal – Sunday 2.05pm
This is a very tricky game for Arsenal. They’ll need to play very, very well. Sunderland have been doing okay under Sam Allardyce. They’ve only lost one of their last six games but they have too many draws in there. They had a really good win away at Norwich last weekend and it’s given them confidence. I think they believe they can beat Arsenal but I’m not so sure. I fancy a score draw here. Sunderland will work very hard and Arsenal won’t want to be beaten. This one has draw written all over it.
Leicester v Swansea – Sunday 4.15pm
Leicester are going to miss Jamie Vardy and he’s probably going to be missing against Manchester United next weekend as well. These are two very big games for the Foxes. Usually I’d agree with the odds which have Leicester as odds-on favourites but I have a funny feeling about this game, it’s one Swansea might enjoy. They should have a lot of the ball, which they like and I think they can upset Leicester.
. I don’t think they’ll win but I do think they can go there and get a draw. I see this finishing 1-1.
It looks like Ulloa will get the start with Vardy out. He doesn’t have the same pace to get in behind defences but he’s a decent goalscorer. Looking at goalscorers I’d go with Ulloa or Mahrez to get on the scoresheet.
Spurs v West Brom – Monday 8pm
Spurs were terrific against Bournemouth. I really enjoyed the way they played, they looked full of energy and full of running. Everyone talks about the fitness of Leicester but this Tottenham side look supremely fit to me at this stage in the season. With three weeks to go they’re definitely not going to run out of gas.
I have Spurs down as a banker, as I think everyone will have. The Baggies have got nothing to play for. They were comfortably beaten by Arsenal and I think they’ll be comfortably beaten again.
I have Spurs down to win 2-0 at least but if they turn it on it could easily be another four.
The smart money will be on Harry Kane and Deli Alli to get on the scoresheet.