EPL Week 36 Predictions: Premier League Picks, Key Players and Fixture Info

The title race is over and Jose Mourinho's Chelsea have been crowned champions of England after their 1-0 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Blues made themselves impossible to catch as they opened up a 13-point gap at the summit of the table, leaving Manchester City and Arsenal in a trail of dust. 

The focus now turns to the final Champions League position as the faltering Manchester United are chased down by bitter rivals Liverpool.

United face a tough trip to south London to face Alan Pardew's Eagles, with Liverpool also heading south to the capital to battle the Special One, motivated to gate-crash the new champion's celebration party.

Here is a full list of this week's fixtures, including predictions and key information:

R	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	35	25	8	2	69	27	+42	83
2	Manchester City	35	21	7	7	71	36	+35	70
3	Arsenal	34	21	7	6	66	33	+33	70
4	Manchester United	35	19	8	8	59	35	+24	65
5	Liverpool	35	18	7	10	49	38	+11	61
6	Tottenham	35	17	7	11	55	50	+5	58
7	Southampton	35	17	6	12	48	28	+20	57
8	Swansea	35	15	8	12	43	44	-1	53
9	West Ham	35	12	11	12	43	42	+1	47
10	Stoke	35	13	8	14	39	44	-5	47
11	Everton	35	11	11	13	46	46	0	44
12	Crystal Palace	35	11	9	15	42	48	-6	42
13	West Bromwich Albion	35	10	10	15	33	46	-13	40
14	Aston Villa	35	9	8	18	29	50	-21	35
15	Newcastle United	35	9	8	18	36	60	-24	35
16	Leicester	35	9	7	19	39	54	-15	34
17	Hull	35	8	10	17	33	48	-15	34
18	Sunderland	34	6	15	13	28	50	-22	33
19	Queens Park Rangers	35	7	6	22	39	61	-22	27
20	Burnley	35	5	11	19	26	53	-27	26

Date	Time (BST)	Home	Away	Prediction
Saturday, May 9	12:45 p.m.	Everton	Sunderland	2-1
Saturday, May 9	3 p.m.	Aston Villa	West Ham	2-1
Saturday, May 9	3 p.m.	Hull	Burnley	1-1
Saturday, May 9	3 p.m.	Leicester	Southampton	2-2
Saturday, May 9	3 p.m.	Newcastle	WBA	0-1
Saturday, May 9	3 p.m.	Stoke	Spurs	1-2
Saturday, May 9	5:30 p.m.	Crystal Palace	Man Utd	1-1
Sunday, May 10	1:30 p.m.	Man City	QPR	4-1
Sunday, May 10	4 p.m.	Chelsea	Liverpool	0-1
Monday, May 11	8 p.m.	Arsenal	Swansea	2-1

Key Players

Steven Gerrard and Robin van Persie

Jon Super/Associated Press

The careers of two of the Premier League's greatest ever talents are to be consigned to history, as Steven Gerrard and Robin van Persie prepare for life in the future.

Gerrard will join the hordes of European elder statesmen who have agreed to ply their trade in America's MLS, while RvP's time at United might be about to end. 

After Van Persie missed a crucial penalty against West Bromwich Albion, a feat repeated by Gerrard against Queens Park Rangers at Anfield, Louis van Gaal described his Dutch striker as "at the end of the road," per Anthony Chapman of the Express, in reference to his trust in the player's ability to convert.

Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

LvG's words will surely worry the former Arsenal captain as he looks to win favour after an extended period on the touchline, but the alpha male will not want to sit on the bench for the final year of his Old Trafford contract.

Gerrard has seen the ultimate highs and lows in a Liverpool shirt spanning a career of 17 seasons on Merseyside, lifting an unlikely Champions League in 2005, but facing the ignominy of slipping at the wrong moment at the end of the season—as his team looked likely to break their EPL championship duck—handing the title to Manchester City. 

Both players have arguably been the best in their positions for many Premier League campaigns, and they will want to go out with a bang—if this is to be the end of their spells at their respective clubs. 

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

Gerrard has an impressive return for his final EPL season, having started 22 times and accruing seven goals, per WhoScored. For a midfielder who has allegedly lost some of his verve, he is performing better than many of his peers. 

Van Persie has also delivered the figures in what has been yet another protracted year, scoring 10 times in 25 EPL starts, per WhoScored. He might not have seen the amount of action he wanted due to injury, but he has shown he's lost none of his ability in the penalty box.

Week 36 of the EPL will all but decide who grabs the vital fourth spot in the table, with United four points clear of Liverpool in the chase. But if the Red Devils fall to defeat at Palace, and the Anfield superclub pull out one of their classic underdog victories against Chelsea, all bets will be off as to who finishes supreme. 

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

For Gerrard, leaving his blessed team with the scalp of their most-hated foe will be a fitting way to say goodbye to the Kop, and he will feel his side can go to Stamford Bridge and perform a miracle.

Chelsea will be on cruise control until they lift the EPL trophy on May 24, and will be vulnerable against a Liverpool team gambling on their future. 

But before the Reds play Chelsea on Sunday, Van Persie and his colleagues will get the chance on Saturday evening to pull away from Liverpool, with the Dutchman looking to retain his hero status. 

If RvP scores the winning goal, he might also land the faith he needs to be at the club in the next 12 months, holding onto his first-team starting position. 

Jamie McDonald/Getty Images

Mike Keegan of the Mail Online believes Van Persie can achieve this and see out his deal with United on the good terms he wishes:

"

Questions also remain over Van Persie's pace—but he has never been known as someone who relied on the afterburners. United have speed elsewhere. They need someone who can hit the back of the net, who can give them something to show for all that possession. Van Persie who, lest we forget, has had his season ruined by injury, could again be that man.

"

This weekend will be pivotal for England's two traditional giants, with United hoping to find the back of the net for the first time in four games. Liverpool know their season will be considered a failure if they collapse at Chelsea, and this will drive Brendan Rodgers forward.

The "Gerrard factor" is the key to the Reds beating Chelsea, but if the champions play to their top standard, it will be United who benefit the most.