EPL Table: Standings, Schedule and Predictions for Week 31
The clash between Arsenal and Liverpool headlines Week 31 of the 2014-15 Premier League season, as the race for a top-four finish could be decided by the outcome of Saturday's fixture at the Emirates.
Both teams have been in excellent form of late, but following last week's loss against Manchester United, Liverpool now sit five points out of the Champions League spots. Is Saturday's match now a must-win for the Reds? Bleacher Report's Andy Brassell thinks so:
Elsewhere, league-leaders Chelsea host Stoke City, Aston Villa visit Manchester United and Manchester City travel to London to take on Crystal Palace on Monday. The full schedule for Week 31, complete with predictions:
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| Saturday, April 4 | 12:45 p.m. | 7:45 a.m. | Arsenal | Liverpool | 2-1 |
| Saturday, April 4 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Swansea | Hull | 1-0 |
| Saturday, April 4 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | WBA | QPR | 2-0 |
| Saturday, April 4 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Everton | Southampton | 1-2 |
| Saturday, April 4 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Leicester | West Ham | 0-1 |
| Saturday, April 4 | 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. | Man Utd | Aston Villa | 3-1 |
| Saturday, April 4 | 5:30 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. | Chelsea | Stoke | 2-0 |
| Sunday, April 5 | 1:30 p.m. | 8:30 a.m. | Burnley | Spurs | 0-2 |
| Sunday, April 5 | 4 p.m. | 11 a.m. | Sunderland | Newcastle | 1-1 |
| Monday, April 6 | 8 p.m. | 3 p.m. | Crystal Palace | Man City | 1-1 |
The current Premier League standings:
| 1 | Chelsea | 29 | 20 | 7 | 2 | 61 | 25 | +36 | 67 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 62 | 28 | +34 | 61 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 30 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 58 | 31 | +27 | 60 |
| 4 | Manchester United | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 52 | 27 | +25 | 59 |
| 5 | Liverpool | 30 | 16 | 6 | 8 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 54 |
| 6 | Southampton | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 53 |
| 7 | Tottenham | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 53 |
| 8 | Swansea | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 34 | 38 | -4 | 43 |
| 9 | West Ham | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 42 |
| 10 | Stoke | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 34 | 37 | -3 | 42 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 30 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 36 | 41 | -5 | 36 |
| 12 | Newcastle United | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 33 | 48 | -15 | 35 |
| 13 | Everton | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 38 | 42 | -4 | 34 |
| 14 | West Bromwich Albion | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 27 | 39 | -12 | 33 |
| 15 | Hull | 30 | 6 | 10 | 14 | 28 | 40 | -12 | 28 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 19 | 39 | -20 | 28 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 30 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 23 | 44 | -21 | 26 |
| 18 | Burnley | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 26 | 49 | -23 | 25 |
| 19 | Queens Park Rangers | 30 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 31 | 54 | -23 | 22 |
Showtime At The Emirates
With the race for the Champions League spots already featuring plenty of excitement, Saturday's top clash hardly needed any more drama. And then Liverpool's Raheem Sterling did this, via ESPN.co.uk:
As predicted, Reds fans didn't take kind to his comments, as shared by MailOnline Sport:
The latest controversy adds yet another layer to what should already be a cracking match. Does Brendan Rodgers retaliate in his press conference? Does he drop Sterling from the starting XI? Are Liverpool keen on showing they're by no means a worse club than Arsenal?
Prior to their loss against United, the Reds were undefeated in the Premier League since December. The Gunners have won their last six across all competitions. As far as talent and form go, there's very little separating both teams.
Sitting five points behind United, Liverpool may have more urgency to attack and grab a result, but Arsenal aren't completely out of the title race yet, at least according to the fans, per The Independent:
The Reds will be boosted by the return of Lucas Leiva, which should give them a vital physical presence in midfield to cope with Francis Coquelin, one of the Premier League's top performers since the turn of the year.
Bleacher Report's Jack Lusby is convinced he has to start:
"With Lucas Leiva returning and "100 per cent" fit for Liverpool's must-win top-four clash away to Arsenal on Saturday, Brendan Rodgers must harness the midfielder's physicality as he looks to gain an important foothold in the Reds' race for a Champions League spot this season.
"
Liverpool simply can't afford to drop two consecutive results—Arsenal's slim title chances won't survive a loss at this stage of the season. Clear your schedules: Saturday's clash will be must-watch television.
Trap Game for Manchester City
The Citizens travel to London on Monday having lost two of their last four, and they'll take on a feisty Crystal Palace squad coming off back-to-back wins.
People like to make fun of Alan Pardew for how the last 12 months with Newcastle United played out, but there's no denying he's done a fantastic job with the Eagles. The Eagles Element may be overreacting with this latest blog, but only a bit:
City have looked out of sorts in recent weeks, dropping results against Burnley and Liverpool and playing without the creativity that fired them toward the title last year.
Manchester Evening News' Stuart Brennan thinks some of last year's heroes should step up to pull the team out of the slump, isolating Yaya Toure and Edin Dzeko:
Toure hasn't looked himself since returning from the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, and with the forwards struggling for form and consistency, too much pressure has been put on the shoulders of David Silva and Samir Nasri.
With Mile Jedinak manning the middle—and impressing against Germany on international duty with Australia—the Eagles have the physicality to overwhelm City's midfield if Toure has another bad day, and if that happens, City could be in trouble.
Another loss would all but doom the Citizens' chances of successfully defending their title, and Monday's fixture has "upset" written all over it.
