English Premier League: EPL Week 27 Previews and Predictions

Another week gone, and the picture for the title contenders is finally proving what we had all thought to happen. Tottenham, although having put in a valiant effort, have been eliminated from anything other than a radical turn of events allowing them to swipe a Premier League title.

The two sides of Manchester continue to pull away while keeping pace with one another.

Manchester City retain the lead for another straight week with a solid victory over Blackburn Rovers.

Manchester United kept pace just two points behind with Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes rolling back the years to score the two goals that sank Norwich City.

Arsenal went two goals behind to Tottenham before turning the table and blitzing Spurs for five straight goals to cruise to a resounding victory in the North London Derby.

Chelsea managed to ease the pressure off boss Andre Villas-Boas (who has been under fire for most of the season) with victory over Bolton Wanderers while Newcastle United failed to take advantage of a two goal lead at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers as the leaderless Wolves managed to fight back to earn a draw.

Liverpool and Everton were forced to postpone the Merseyside Derby as the Reds went to Wembley Stadium and won the Carling Cup in a tightly contested match against Cardiff City.

West Bromwich Albion continued their hot streak by defeating Sunderland 4-0 as the Baggies are quickly becoming the hottest team in the league.

Stoke City claimed victory over Swansea at the Britannia while Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic played to a 0-0 draw.

Fulham won the other London Derby as they defeated Queens Park Rangers by a goal at Loftus Road.

Liverpool vs Arsenal

Liverpool and Arsenal meet in a clash of Champions League hopefuls at Anfield that is likely to be a lively affair.

Arsenal managed a massive five goal comeback against Tottenham Hotspur to win 5-2 at the Emirates last weekend and manager Arsene Wenger will hope to be able to achieve that type of emphatic result against the Reds.

The first silverware of 2012 in England was awarded to Liverpool after a shaky 120 minutes and a penalty shootout that was truly a tale of two Gerrards.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard had a rare penalty blocked before his younger cousin Anthony Gerrard missed the final spot kick for Cardiff to give the Reds their first trophy since the 2006 FA Cup.

However, Gerrard could miss the Arsenal game thanks to an injury he may have picked up against the Netherlands in England's latest friendly on Wednesday night. Glen Johnson is also a gametime decision.

Match Prediction: Liverpool 2 - 2 Arsenal

Predicted Liverpool Starting XI: Pepe Reina, Glen Johnson, Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Jose Enrique, Stewart Downing, Charlie Adam, Steven Gerrard, Craig Bellamy, Luis Suarez, Andy Carroll

Predicted Arsenal Starting XI: Wojciech Szczęsny, Carl Jenkinson, Laurent Koscielny, Thomas Vermaelen, Bacary Sagna, Mikel Arteta, Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky, Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott

Players to Watch: Luis Suarez and Tomas Rosicky

Blackburn Rovers vs Aston Villa

Blackburn Rovers exorcised their cancerous sore in the locker room with the sale of Chris Samba to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala for £12 million.

Now they can get back to the business of somehow doing just good enough at the right times to keep Steve Kean in a job.

The fans once again are set to protest but considering the little good it has done in the past they should probably just support the club and deal because their voices fall on deaf ears.

Villa meanwhile continue their troubles with Robbie Keane back to the MLS and Darren Bent injured the front line looks a bit hampered leaving Rovers a much better chance.

Match Prediction: Blackburn 2 - 1 Aston Villa

Predicted Blackburn Rovers Starting XI: Paul Robinson, Bradley Orr, Grant Hanley, Scott Dann, Martin Olsson, Steven Nzonzi, David Hoillet, Morten Gamst Pederson, Anthony Modeste, Yakubu, David Goodwille

Predicted Aston Villa Starting XI: Shay Given, Alan Hutton, Carlos Cuellar, James Collins, Stephen Warnock, Garry Gardner, Barry Bannan, Marc Albrighton, Charles N'Zogbia, Emile Heskey, Gabriel Agbonlahor

Players to Watch: Yakubu and Marc Albrighton

Manchester City vs Bolton Wanderers

Manchester City continue to push through the doubters as they have been maintaining their first place position in the table for the last few weeks.

This weekend offers up another chance for them to make a mistake and drop points when Bolton Wanderers come to town.

However, the Sky Blues are fully fit and ready for action as they continue their march on the EPL Title.

Match Prediction: Manchester City 4 - 0 Bolton

Predicted Manchester City Starting XI: Joe Hart, Micah Richards, Vincent Kompany, Joleon Lescott, Gael Clichy, Gareth Barry, Yaya Toure, Samir Nasri, David Silva, Eden Dzeko, Sergio Aguero

Predicted Bolton Wanderers Starting XI: Adam Bogdan, Marcus Alonso, David Wheater, Tim Ream, Gretar Rafn Steinsson, Fabrice Muamba, Martin Petrov, Ryo Miyaichi, Chris Eagles, David N'Gog, Ivan Klasnic

Players to Watch: Sergio Aguero and David N'Gog

Queens Park Rangers vs Everton

Queens Park Rangers are still another week away from having Djibril Cisse back full time as he will fulfill the last weekend of his three match suspension this weekend.

Bobby Zamora failed to make a difference against his former club but will once again be forced into the spotlight against Everton.

David Moyes and his side had an extra week to prepare and get healthy and they should be more than ready to face QPR despite the loss to Landon Donovan back to the LA Galaxy.

Match Prediction: QPR 1 - 3 Everton

Predicted Queens Park Rangers Starting XI: Patrick Kenny, Fitz Hall, Anton Ferdinand, Nedum Onuoha, Taye Taiwo, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Jaime Mackie, Joey Barton, Shaun Derry, Jay Bothroyd, Bobby Zamora

Predicted Everton Starting XI: Tim Howard, Tony Hibbert, John Heitinga, Phil Neville, Leighton Baines, Marouane Fellaini, Darren Gibson, Royston Drenthe, TimCahill, Leon Osman, Nikica Jelavic

Players to Watch: Bobby Zamora and Darren Gibson

Stoke City vs Norwich City

Stoke City continue to find their form once again and they should prove an ample test to Norwich City when the Canaries come to the Britannia Stadium.

Norwich will be relying on the veteran foot of Grant Holt, and the vision of Matthew Etherington who has been in great form over the last month.

Grant Holt and Steve Morrison will be the go-to men for Norwich City if they hope to turn their luck.

Match Prediction: Stoke City 2 - 1 Norwich City

Predicted Stoke City Starting XI: Thomas Sorenson, Danny Collins, Jonathan Woodgate, Ryan Shawcross, Marc Wilson, Jermaine Pennant, Ryan Shotton, Dean Whitehead, Matthew Etherington, Jonathan Walters, Peter Crouch

Predicted Norwich City Starting XI: John Ruddy, Russell Martin, Marc Tierney, Zack Whitebread, Kyle Naughton, Andrew Crofts, Bradley Johnson, Wesley Hoolahan, Anthony Pilkington, Grant Holt, Steve Morison

Players to Watch: Matthew Etherington and Grant Holt

West Bromwich vs Chelsea

Didier Drogba is once again out of action for a little bit of time so it is back to hoping Fernando Torres will finally find his form at the front of the Chelsea line.

Frank Lampard will hope to also get a chance once again so that he can continue to keep making an influence.

West Bromwich Albion however, are the hottest team in the league having scored nine goals in their last two matches and could be hitting their stride at just the right time.

Match Prediction: West Bromwich Albion 3 - 2 Chelsea

Predicted West Bromwich Albion Starting XI: Ben Foster, Nicky Shorey, Jonas Olsson, Liam Ridgewell, Billy Jones, Yousuff Mulumbu, Graham Dorrans, James Morrison, Chris Brunt, Shane Long, Peter Odemwingie

Predicted Chelsea Starting XI: Petr Cech; Branislav Ivanovic, David Luiz, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Florent Malouda, Raul Meireles, Ramires, Fernando Torres

Players to Watch: Peter Odemwingie and Frank Lampard

Wigan Athletic vs Swansea City

The Latic's continue to waste away at the bottom of the league even with having gotten a point from Aston Villa last weekend.

Swansea City also suffered a frustrating defeat at the weekend when they lost to Stoke City.

With Swansea looking to make amends for their defeat last weekend both Scott Sinclair and Joe Allen should have a great game.

Match Prediction: Wigan Athletic 0 - 3 Swansea City

Predicted Wigan Athletic Starting XI: Ali Al Habsi, Maynor Figueroa, Gary Caldwell, Anton Alvarez,  Ronnie Stam, David Jones, James McCarthy, Jordi Gomez, Ben Watson, Victor Moses, Hugo Rodallega

Predicted Swansea City Starting XI: Michel Vorm, Angel Ranger, Steven Caulker, Ashley Williams, Neil Taylor, Mark Gower, Leon Britton, Luke More, Joe Allen, Danny Graham, Scott Sinclair

Players to Watch: Jordi Gomez and Joe Allen

Newcastle United vs Sunderland

Newcastle United managed to give up a 2-0 lead after the break and allow Wolverhampton Wanderers to come back to draw them in front of their home crowd.

This weekend local rivals Sunderland come to town and the Magpies will be hoping not to blow another lead if they manage to get ahead early on.

Martin O'Neal and his Black Cats are in need of a positive results to offset their previous falterings in the league.

Match Prediction: Newcastle United 2 - 1 Sunderland

Predicted Newcastle United Starting XI: Tim Krul, Davide Santos, Michael Williamson, Fabricio Coloccini, Ryan Taylor, Jonas Gutierrez, Chiek Tiote, Yohan Cabaye, Gabriel Obertan, Damba Ba, Demba Cisse

Predicted Sunderland Starting XI: Simon Minoglet, Phillip Bardsley, John O'Shea, Michael Turner, Kieran Richardson, Sebastian Larsson, Craig Gardner, James McClean, Stephane Sessegnon, Nicklas Bendtner, Frazier Campbell

Players to Watch: Demba Cisse and Stephane Sessegnon

Fulham vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Fulham continue to ride the Clint Dempsey wave of success all the way around that they can. With their star Goalscorer in Clint Dempsey having gotten another goal yet for his national this past Wednesday.

Pavel Pogrebnyak has also proven to be a majorly effective signing for the Cottagers with two goals in two games.

Steven Fletcher and Kevin Doyle however, will be looking to lead Wolves to yet another upset if they can manage.

Match Prediction: Fulham 3 - 1 Wolverhampton

Predicted Fulham Starting XI: Mark Schwarzer, Stephen Kelly, Brede Hangeland, Philippe Senderos, John Arne Riise, Danny Murphy, Simon Davies, Clint Dempsey, Bryan Ruiz, Damien Duff, Pavel Pogrebnyak

Predicted Wolverhampton Wanderers Starting XI: Wayne Hennessey, Stephen Ward, Sebastian Bassong, Roger Johnson, Kevin Foley, Jamie O'Hara, David Edwards, Karl Henry, Matt Jarvis, Kevin Doyle, Steven Fletcher

Players to Watch: Clint Dempsey and Steven Fletcher 

Tottenham vs Manchester United

Tottenham will have the chance to atone for their massive disappointment at Arsenal this weekend then they host Manchester United at White Hart Lane.

If Spurs hope to have any chance of possibly getting back into the title hunt they need to strike fast and hard to take Manchester United out of the early part of the game and get themselves in a good position.

United continue to keep manufacturing results and points and if Spurs hope to manage a result against them then they will have to prove they deserve it.

Match Prediction: Tottenham 2 - 3 Manchester United

Predicted Tottenham Hotspur Starting XI: Brad Friedel, Kyle Walker, Michael Dawson, Ledley King, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Sandro, Luka Modric, Scott Parker, Gareth Bale, Rafael Van Der Vaart, Emmanuel Adebayor

Predicted Manchester United Starting XI: David de Gea, Chris Smalling, Rio Ferdinand, Jonathan Evans, Patrice Evra, Antonio Valencia, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes, Nani, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck

Players to Watch: Gareth Bale and Paul Scholes

Conclusion

A great weekend of action on the way and I think there are definitely some upsets possible.

Three major battles between top class clubs and local rivals also will see the highlight reels going full shutter ahead as we enter the final 10 matches of the season.

Get the discussion going with your own predictions in the comments.

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