Noisy neighbours out to cause ruckus

Liverpool 2 Newcastle 0
Liverpool are primed to bounce back from back-to-back losses to Man Utd and Arsenal that put paid to their Champions League qualification hopes. Newcastle are floundering under the tutelage of the passionate but limited John Carver. Raheem Sterling, Jordan Henderson and Daniel Strurridge will put the Magpies to the sword.

QPR 1 Chelsea 2
Chelsea are limping to the title. Gone are the swashbuckling displays that had critics purring over their prowess before December. The principal difference between Chelsea and their rivals is Jose Mourinho has trained his side to win without playing well. Diego Costa’s absence through injury means QPR will push the champion elects to the limits.

Burnley 0 Arsenal 2
Kampala is restless when Arsenal are playing well. Gunners fans are making hay of the fact they were sixth in December, fifth in January, fourth in February, third in March and now second. Point is they are the form side of the league. The oomph with which they are playing will propel them past Sean Dyche’s battling Burnley.
Swansea 1 Everton 1
European football is usually a distraction for clubs with small squads. Everton have, for example, won three games in the row for the first time this season because they no longer have Europa League fixtures to worry about. Swansea’s Bafetimbi Gomis and Gylfi Sigurdsson will be looking to puncture the Toffees’ good run but I think they will stand tall.

Southampton 2 Hull City 0
Striker Graziano Pelle needs to rediscover his form if the Saints are to snatch a place in the Uefa Europa League. Absence of goals from the Italian international is largely the reason for the Saints’ failure to gain any traction in the race for European places. I don’t expect Hull City to pose them serious problems at their St Mary’s fortress.

West Brom 2 Leicester 1
Hadn’t seen a Tony Pulis side perform with as little spirit as they did in the 1-4 defeat at the hands of Queens Park Ranger. On the other hand, Nigel Pearson’s Leicester City were bristling with energy in their 2-1 win over West Ham. I am counting on the Pulis factor to help the Brummies recover from last week’s disaster in this weekend’s English Premier League action.
West Ham 1 Stoke City 1
Hammers fans must learn to be more magnanimous. They started putting Sam Allardyce under pressure when the Londoners were flying high. Now that they are off-form, they should be more reflective and appreciate he was doing a stellar job. Stoke have lost four on the bounce, so they will be motivated to grab a point from Upton Park.
Man Utd 2 Man City 2
Man City are facing their worst crisis since Sheikh Mansoor bought the club. Principal signings Eliaquim Mangala and Wilfred Bony have been spectacular flops whereas Manuel Pellegrini keeps getting his team selections wrong. But I think they will rouse themselves from their slump and make a considerable amount of noise at O.T.

Tottenham 2 Aston Villa 1
Some time last year, Mauricio Pochettino remarked that his side is built to finish the season strongly. Curiously, they are fading badly in this season’s home straight, with Champions League qualification now out of their grasp. Villa will ask enough questions for this to be an interesting duel but I am tipping Spurs to emerge tops.
Sunderland 1 C. Palace 1
Sunderland manager Dick Advocaat ought to teach his players to treat each game they play as a Cup final. That is the key to the Black Cats rousing themselves for the battle against relegation. As Newcastle manager, Alan Pardew lost his last four games against Sunderland. His tireless Palace side should however be good for a point.