EPL Week 38 Predictions: Premier League Picks, Key Players and Fixture Info

The final round of Premier League games in the 2014-15 season will be dominated by the battle to avoid relegation, with Hull City and Newcastle United the teams in greatest peril.

Hull must beat Manchester United at home to have any chance of staying up as they trail Newcastle by two points. But they do have a superior goal difference which means Newcastle can’t afford a draw at home to West Ham, if the Tigers win.

Newcastle, though, have won only one point in the Premier League since a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Feb. 28.

Sunderland are three points outside the relegation zone and have away games at Arsenal and Chelsea to come, and are by no means safe as yet.

So, with the Premier League champions long since decided and the top-four places now locked in, the final weekend of the season is all about who joins Burnley and Queens Park Rangers in the Championship.

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	37	25	9	3	70	31	+39	84
2	Manchester City	37	23	7	7	81	38	+43	76
3	Arsenal	36	21	8	7	67	35	+32	71
4	Manchester United	37	20	9	8	62	37	+25	69
5	Liverpool	37	18	8	11	51	42	+9	62
6	Tottenham	37	18	7	12	57	53	+4	61
7	Southampton	37	18	6	13	54	31	+23	60
8	Swansea	37	16	8	13	46	48	-2	56
9	Stoke	37	14	9	14	42	44	-2	51
10	Everton	37	12	11	14	48	49	-1	47
11	West Ham	37	12	11	14	44	45	-1	47
12	Crystal Palace	37	12	9	16	46	51	-5	45
13	West Brom	37	11	11	15	37	47	-10	44
14	Leicester	37	10	8	19	41	54	-13	38
15	Aston Villa	37	10	8	19	31	56	-25	38
16	Sunderland	36	7	16	13	30	50	-20	37
17	Newcastle	37	9	9	19	38	63	-25	36
18	Hull	37	8	10	19	33	51	-18	34
19	Burnley	37	6	12	19	27	53	-26	30
20	Queens Park Rangers	37	8	6	23	41	68	-27	30

Date	Time (BST)	Home	Away	Prediction
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Arsenal	West Brom	2-0
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Aston Villa	Burnley	2-1
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Chelsea	Sunderland	3-0
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Crystal Palace	Swansea	1-2
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Everton	Tottenham	2-2
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Hull	Manchester United	0-2
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Leicester	Queens Park Rangers	1-0
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Manchester City	Southampton	3-3
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Newcastle	West Ham	1-1
Sunday, May 24	3 p.m.	Stoke	Liverpool	2-1

Key Players

Nikica Jelavic

Tony Marshall/Getty Images

With Hull needing to beat Manchester United at the KC Stadium, goals will be paramount and Steve Bruce will be relying on his leading scorer Nikica Jelavic, per Soccerbase.com, to come to the fore.

Bruce has never beaten his former club as a manager, per Darren Lewis of the Daily Mirror, and Hull have yet to win a Premier League game in May. Now is the time for that to change.

Jelavic has scored eight goals this season, per WhoScored.com, and he will have the task of boosting that tally against Louis van Gaal’s side.

Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

Following fears he would miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury, per the Press Association via the Guardian, Jelavic has returned to feature in Hull’s last three matches.

He started his first game since his comeback in last weekend’s 2-0 defeat at Tottenham and he struck the crossbar in the first half.

Though he missed several chances at White Hart Lane, Jelavic’s effort in trying to help Hull to a vital win could not be faulted, per Peter Swan of the Hull Daily Mail:

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One player who was hugely disappointed with how things turned out on Saturday was Nikica Jelavic. Yes, he spurned chance after chance but at least he gave it his utmost best, as did Robbie Brady and a few others for that matter. Jelavic came within a whisker of giving City a famous win in North London but for the crossbar being his enemy.

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His effort against United won’t be questioned either and, up against a defence that has not always looked solid this season, Jelavic has the chance to fire Hull to safety.

Moussa Sissoko

Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

The France midfielder’s form has deteriorated in the same way as Newcastle’s season, and a home date with West Ham offers a last chance for redemption.

Newcastle have lost nine of their last 10 games, per the club’s official website, and need a big performance from Sissoko if they are to get the result they require to avoid relegation.

Sissoko was criticised by head coach John Carver, per Ian Murtagh of the Daily Star, following his red card in the 2-0 defeat at Liverpool in April.

Carver said: “You’d think a captain would lead by example. We have to improve our discipline which hasn’t been great. It’s something we are looking at.”

Sissoko also flouted a media ban imposed by Carver, per Jason Mellor of the Daily Express, following the 2-1 defeat at QPR last Saturday.

He was linked with a move to Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain in the January transfer window, per Craig Hope of MailOnline. A summer move is expected for Sissoko, per Luke Edwards of the Daily Telegraph, who wrote:

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The France international, who went on strike at Toulouse in order to force them to sell him to Newcastle two years ago, has made it clear he wants to play in the Champions League and could prove to be difficult if the Magpies reject bids for him.

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That means Sunday’s game is likely to be Sissoko’s farewell appearance at St James’ Park. If he wants to leave on good terms, he needs to rediscover the form he showed in the first half of the season when thoughts of relegation never crossed Newcastle’s mind.