Premier League Week 37 Fixtures: EPL Picks and Predictions for Matchday 37

The relegation battle and one of the Premier League’s big rivalries are the highlights in the penultimate round of fixtures for the 2014-15 season.

With Chelsea convincing winners of the title, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United have been locked in a fight for second spot. On Sunday, United and Arsenal meet at Old Trafford and defeat will condemn Louis van Gaal’s side to a likely fourth-place finish. Liverpool still have slim hope of finishing fourth, but must beat Crystal Palace by a sizeable margin at home.

At the other end of the table, the big game of the weekend comes at the Stadium of Light where Sunderland and Leicester City face off. A win for Leicester would guarantee survival, while a win for Sunderland is likely to do the same.

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The other clubs still fighting for survival are all away from home as Newcastle go to Queens Park Rangers, Hull City are at Tottenham and Aston Villa start the weekend’s programme at Southampton.

Here’s a full list of fixtures to come, with predictions on which teams are poised to come out on top and a detailed look at two of the standout games.

R	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	36	25	9	2	70	28	+42	84
2	Manchester City	36	22	7	7	77	36	+41	73
3	Arsenal	35	21	7	7	66	34	+32	70
4	Manchester United	36	20	8	8	61	36	+25	68
5	Liverpool	36	18	8	10	50	39	+11	62
6	Tottenham	36	17	7	12	55	53	+2	58
7	Southampton	36	17	6	13	48	30	+18	57
8	Swansea	36	16	8	12	44	44	0	56
9	Stoke	36	14	8	14	42	44	-2	50
10	West Ham	36	12	11	13	43	43	0	47
11	Everton	36	11	11	14	46	48	-2	44
12	Crystal Palace	36	11	9	16	43	50	-7	42
13	West Brom	36	10	11	15	34	47	-13	41
14	Aston Villa	36	10	8	18	30	50	-20	38
15	Leicester	36	10	7	19	41	54	-13	37
16	Sunderland	35	7	15	13	30	50	-20	36
17	Newcastle	36	9	9	18	37	61	-24	36
18	Hull	36	8	10	18	33	49	-16	34
19	Burnley	36	6	11	19	27	53	-26	29
20	Queens Park Rangers	36	7	6	23	39	67	-28	27

Date	Time (BST)	Home	Away	Prediction
Saturday, May 16	12:45 p.m.	Southampton	Aston Villa	1-1
Saturday, May 16	3 p.m.	Burnley	Stoke	0-0
Saturday, May 16	3 p.m.	Queens Park Rangers	Newcastle	0-1
Saturday, May 16	3 p.m.	Sunderland	Leicester	1-2
Saturday, May 16	3 p.m.	Tottenham	Hull	3-0
Saturday, May 16	3 p.m.	West Ham	Everton	1-1
Saturday, May 16	5:30 p.m.	Liverpool	Crystal Palace	4-0
Sunday, May 17	1:30 p.m.	Swansea	Manchester City	2-2
Sunday, May 17	4 p.m.	Manchester United	Arsenal	1-1
Monday, May 18	8 p.m.	West Brom	Chelsea	1-2

Manchester United vs. Arsenal

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A 2-1 win at Crystal Palace last weekend ended a run of three straight defeats without scoring a goal for United. It also all-but guaranteed a return to the Champions League, providing there is no alarming swing in goal difference with Liverpool over the final two games.

For former United captain and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, Van Gaal will have fulfilled his seasonal aim by finishing in the top four. Neville said, per Sky Sports:

"

What they have to do next season is challenge and get closer to the title. For Louis van Gaal, this season is par. He has done exactly what he wanted if he completes the job in the next couple of weeks and gets into the Champions League. Having finished seventh last season, which was a terrible season, that’s all that was asked of him this season. It looks like he’s going to do it.

"

United have lost at home to Arsenal already this season after former striker Danny Welbeck scored the winner in the FA Cup quarter-final. But United are unbeaten in the last seven league meetings, per Soccerbase.com, and haven’t lost at home in the league to Arsenal in nearly nine years.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Arsenal’s eight-match unbeaten run in the Premier League was ended by a 1-0 home defeat by Swansea on Monday. It ensured Swansea completed a memorable double over Arsenal and United this season, per OptaJoe:

The defeat was a jolt for Arsene Wenger’s side, but they still look likely to avoid finishing fourth and dropping into the Champions League play-offs. With a game in hand, Arsenal can afford to lose at United and still finish third, providing they win their last two matches.

United’s 8-2 thrashing of Arsenal in 2011 aside, games between these two teams are usually close and this one will be no different.

A point will guarantee United at least fourth spot, irrespective of Liverpool’s result against Palace the previous day, and that looks the likely outcome.

Prediction Manchester United 1-1 Arsenal

Sunderland vs. Leicester

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A month or so ago, Leicester looked doomed to relegation and it was the same story for Sunderland a fortnight ago. Yet now both clubs are on course to stay in the Premier League.

Leicester have won six of their last seven games, per the club’s official website, and another win will secure their Premier League place for next season. Such an accomplishment will satisfy Leicester manager Nigel Pearson.

"When you are bottom at Christmas, to avoid relegation would be regarded as a successful second half of the season,” said Person, per Rob Tanner of the Leicester Mercury. "We continue to work hard to retain our status.”

As for Sunderland, surprise back-to-back wins over Southampton and Everton have given Dick Advocaat’s side a two-point cushion over the bottom three. They are also above local rivals Newcastle on goal difference.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

With away games against Arsenal and Chelsea still to come, the visit of Leicester represents their best chance of picking up a vital win. However, with 18th-placed Hull playing Tottenham and Manchester United in their final two games, there is a strong chance Sunderland will get away with picking up no more points.

The last Premier League meeting between these two clubs at the Stadium of Light saw Claudio Reyna score both goals in a 2-1 win for Sunderland in April 2002, per Soccerbase.com. But the scoreline is more likely to be reversed this weekend given the way Leicester have been impressing in recent weeks.

Prediction: Sunderland 1-2 Leicester