Premier League Table 2014 Week 35: Latest Standings, Predictions for Matchday 35

After their thrilling 3-2 win over Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday, Liverpool heads into Matchday 35 of the Premier League in the driver's seat for the title. 

The Citizens have two games in hand but now trail the Reds by seven. With both teams facing opponents barely treading water above the relegation zone this week, that isn't likely to change. On top of this, Chelsea sits just two points back of Liverpool, and the Blues face last-place Sunderland. 

Although the matches involving the top three title contenders are not all that compelling, this is still an interesting week. Everton and Arsenal are locked in a battle for the coveted fourth spot in the league, and both have tough matchups this week. 

Have a look at the current standings and my predictions for the week, and then I'll offer an in-depth look into a few of my predictions. 

Pos.	Team	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts.
1	Liverpool	34	23	5	5	51	77
2	Chelsea	34	22	6	5	42	75
3	Manchester City	32	22	4	5	54	70
5	Arsenal	34	20	7	7	18	67
4	Everton	33	19	9	5	22	66
6	Tottenham Hotspur	34	18	6	10	0	60
7	Manchester United	33	17	6	10	18	57
8	Southampton	34	13	9	12	5	48
9	Newcastle United	34	14	4	16	-14	46
10	Stoke City	34	11	10	13	-10	43
11	West Ham United	34	10	7	17	-9	37
12	Crystal Palace	33	11	4	18	-15	37
13	Hull City	33	10	6	17	-6	36
14	Aston Villa	33	9	7	17	-14	34
15	Swansea City	34	8	9	16	-5	33
16	West Bromwich Albion	33	6	15	12	-11	33
17	Norwich City	34	8	8	18	-27	32
18	Fulham	34	9	3	22	-40	30
19	Cardiff City	34	7	8	19	-34	29
20	Sunderland	32	6	7	19	-25	25

Date	Time BST/ET	Home	Prediction	Away
April 19	12:45 p.m./7:45 a.m.	Tottenham	2-0	Fulham
April 19	3 p.m./10 a.m.	West Ham	2-1	Crystal Palace
April 19	3 p.m./10 a.m.	Aston Villa	1-2	Southampton
April 19	3 p.m./10 a.m.	Cardiff City	1-1	Stoke City
April 19	3 p.m./10 a.m.	Newcastle	1-1	Swansea City
April 19	5:30 p.m./12:30 p.m.	Chelsea	1-2	Sunderland
April 20	12 p.m./7 a.m.	Norwich City	0-3	Liverpool
April 20	2:05 p.m./9:05 a.m.	Hull City	2-0	Arsenal
April 20	4:10 p.m./11:10 a.m.	Everton	2-1	Manchester United
April 21	8 p.m./3 p.m.	Manchester City	3-0	West Brom

Hull City vs. Arsenal

Jamie McDonald/Getty Images

After spending much of the campaign atop the Premier League table, Arsenal is now just trying to hang on to fourth. ESPN's Alex Shaw is growing tired of this scenario: 

The Gunners almost lost that position to Everton in Week 34. They played in the week's final game and trailed West Ham 1-0 until the final minutes of the first half. They seized momentum and won 3-1 to pull ahead of Everton by two in the table. 

Now the Gunners are set to face a Hull side they will also face in the FA Cup final. 

Hull City is not in the greatest form. It's won just one of its past three league matches, but both losses came on the road. It will get a boost in this by returning to the Kingston Communications Stadium. 

Arsenal has lost its last two away league matches by the combined score of 9-0, but those losses came against Everton and Chelsea. 

I expect a strong performance from Arsenal in this match. The Gunners have their backs to the wall and they will be fueled by the strong finish against West Ham. 

On Dec. 4, Arsenal hosted Hull City and won 2-0. This one will be similar, but Hull City will get on the board. 

Prediction: Hull City 1-2 Arsenal

Everton vs. Manchester United

Jon Super

With both teams carrying a sense of desperation into this match, it should be a fun one.

For Everton, the desperation comes from its quest to capture fourth. Meanwhile, Manchester United has little left to play for this season, but the desperation comes from manager David Moyes' quest to avoid embarrassment.

Not only is Moyes' former club kicking his butt in the table, but Everton also beat United 1-0 in December and is now looking for the double. 

If Moyes is going to avoid that dubious fate, he will have to do so without the services of Wayne Rooney. As Mark Ogden reported in The Telegraph, Rooney is set to miss the match with an injury. 

As the following tweet from Man Utd News points out, Moyes is not of the idea that this season's failure will diminish the lure of his storied club: 

Despite this, Manchester United would be well advised to start winning some matches. Unfortunately for the Red Devils, they won't win this match. Everton is a team on a mission. It enters this match having won seven straight league matches and will extend that streak against a depleted United.

Prediction: Everton 2-1 Manchester United 

Norwich City vs. Liverpool

Chris Brunskill/Getty Images

As mentioned, Liverpool is in the driver's seat for the league title. Now the Reds have to focus on closing out the season strong. They appear to be keenly aware of this. 

Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, via the Mirror's Liam Prenderville, had this to say: 

"

The important thing now is not to get carried away with that result. We need to stay calm and prepare for Norwich. The scenes are great today and the fans are very happy, but we have a day off tomorrow and then we go for Norwich.

"

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has done a wonderful job all season of keeping the Reds on track, and he won't let this team suffer a letdown against the likes of Norwich. 

Norwich has lost three straight and hasn't scored a goal in any of those matches. Liverpool is not the team you want to face in the midst of an offensive slump. 

Norwich will get this game at home, and the 17th-place club has been far better at home this season. In fact, it's only allowed 13 goals at home this league year. Of course, it's only scored 15 at home. 

Meanwhile, Liverpool can score anywhere, and the Reds have 42 goals as the away team this league year. 

Norwich will be blanked once again, as Liverpool cruises to another victory.

Prediction: Norwich City 0-3 Liverpool