Weekly Premier League Preview
It’s a relatively slow start to the weekend with not many top-level matches taking place on Friday. The early Premier League kick-off on Saturday sees Arsenal take on Manchester United, a fixture that is likely to go some way to deciding who finishes in the top four. Both teams have been inconsistent of late.
Later in the day, table-topping Manchester City host relegation battlers Watford, Leicester take on Aston Villa and bottom of the table Norwich host Newcastle before the late kick-off sees Tottenham travel to West London to take on Brentford.
On Sunday, we have a South Coast derby between Brighton and Southampton and Chelsea take on West Ham in what should be an interesting encounter. The late kick-off is the Merseyside derby with Liverpool up against Everton, a normally fiery encounter but with the two clubs at opposite ends of the table, it’s more likes to be damage limitation for Everton. On Monday Crystal Palace host Leeds and there is one-midweek matchup between Manchester United and Chelsea.
Upcoming matches in the Premier League
Our pick of the week:
23.04.22 – Arsenal vs Manchester United – EPL
Arsenal took a very big step to secure a top-four finish when they beat Chelsea away in their midweek fixture, whereas Manchester United fell to another very disappointing loss to Liverpool.
As things stand Arsenal are level on points with their North London rivals Tottenham with Manchester United three points behind, having played a game more.
Therefore, this is a game that United simply have to win if they harbour any hopes of playing Champions League football next season. Arsenal go into this with an almost fully fit squad whereas United have a lengthy list of absentees including Pogba, Varane, Cavani and Shaw. United got the better of Arsenal back in December, winning 3-2 at Old Trafford and they have marginally the better record having won four of the last ten meetings with Arsenal winning three. This might be a long way from the title-deciding battles of 20 years ago, but it remains an eagerly anticipated tie nonetheless.
Arsenal are favourites to win.
