Friday, May 15, 2026

Premier League Match Week 37 Preview

Arsenal drew the much stronger card in the title race this weekend. The Gunners are home at the Emirates against abysmal Burnley while Manchester City must go to Bournemouth where the Cherries will be trying to extend a 16-match unbeaten run and secure three points which would lift them into serious Champions League conversation.

Manchester City, even while rotating some of its key players, stayed in the title race with a 3-0 win over disinterested Crystal Palace on Wednesday, but a draw two weeks ago wrested the Citizens’ destiny out of their hands. Arsenal must stumble against one of its two remaining foes for City to claim the silverware. Burnley is bad and Crystal Palace will face the Gunners just days before the Eagles play for Conference League silverware and are thus unlikely to be much interested in the league curtain closer. An epic bottling will thus be required of Arsenal if Manchester City is to sneak ahead of them to claim the Premier League title.

Manchester City plays Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday before regrouping to play Bournemouth on Tuesday. The Cherries are currently four points behind both Aston Villa and Liverpool with those two sides facing each other on Sunday. At least one of those two sides will drop at least two points which means a Cherries win over Manchester City would place them just a point outside of Champions League territory entering the Premier League’s final match day.

Aston Villa has won only one of its last five Premier League matches as it hosts Liverpool to begin the Premier League weekend on Friday. Villa has beaten Liverpool in just one of the last 16 Premier League contests between the two clubs and Manager Unai Emery is in an interesting position for his team’s final home match of the season. Supporters will expect a strong effort, but Emery needs to be mindful that he has the Europa League final just five days after this match. How will he balance priorities and set his team on Friday?

Brighton’s intent is clear as it has it all to play for when the Seagulls visit Leeds on Sunday. Manager Fabian Hurzeler recently received a new three-year contract recognizing the Seagulls recovery from a mid-season slump to win the joint most matches in the Premier League, along with Arsenal, since the beginning of March. Brighton is currently seventh in the table with the chance to overtake Bournemouth this week and keep Brentford, Chelsea and Everton at bay.

Brentford has lost two of its last three matches but can bounce back at home versus disinterested Crystal Palace this weekend. Chelsea hosts Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, just three days after the Blues play Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup final. Neither Chelsea nor Everton, which plays Sunderland on Sunday, have won any of their last five Premier League matches.

Spurs could be in the relegation zone when it travels to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday. West Ham can escape the zone and leapfrog Spurs, at least temporarily, with a victory at Newcastle on Sunday. West Ham only has that opportunity due to Spurs’ late dropping of points in its draw with Leeds last week.

Nottingham Forest clinched Premier League survival last weekend and is playing with house money when the Tricky Trees visit Old Trafford to face Manchester United on Sunday. United, meanwhile, has wrapped up Champions League qualification and the only drama now is whether Michael Carrick will be named as manager for next season. Some reports indicate a deal could be in the offing before Sunday’s final home match.

Wolverhampton Manager Rob Edwards cited the remaining objective for his woebegone club, that being to finish out of the league’s cellar. The relegation bound team is three points south of Burnley entering the season’s final two matches. Woeful Wolves, however, has won only three matches all season as it prepares to host Fulham on Sunday.

at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please leave a comment:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)