There may be four more fixtures remaining in the Gameweek but there’s still plenty of lessons learned to mull over this Monday lunchtime. The battle to beat the drop could be over before the weekend, the race for second remains very much alive, West Ham’s defence needs addressing, Southampton and Swansea’s midfielders are already on our 2016/17 Watchlists, whilst Alan Pardew and Louis van Gaal have plenty to ponder ahead of the FA Cup final.
St Totteringham’s Day could be on the cards after all…
Alexis Sanchez’ late leveler at the Etihad spoiled Manuel Pellegrini’s final home match in charge of City and put Arsenal firmly in the driving seat to clinch third spot. The Gunners’ 2-2 draw, allied with Tottenham’s home capitulation against Southampton, now gives Arsene Wenger’s side everything to play for next Sunday at home to whipping boys Villa – should they defeat the relegated midlands side and Spurs lose at Newcastle, Arsenal will clinch second and finish above their north London rivals yet again. We can expect a full-strength line-up from Wenger, then, with Alexis Sanchez’ armband potential looking more appealing as the hosts go for the jugular at the Emirates.
Spurs’ morale could cost them…
With Mousa Dembele joining Dele Alli on the sidelines through suspension, Tottenham scuppered the chance to seal second with a 2-1 loss to Southampton – the first time they’ve tasted defeat in eight home fixtures. A final day trip to St James’ Park is no easy task, either – Newcastle have yet to lose in front of their own fans under Rafa Benitez and could potentially be playing the last home match before slipping into the Championship. Given that Harry Kane’s record without Dembele in the starting lineup now stands at one goal in ten, Pochettino’s men have it all to do to remain ahead of Arsenal next Sunday.
Koeman looks to have struck a winning formula…
Southampton took full advantage of Tottenham’s travails by heaping more misery on Mauricio Pochettino’s men with a 2-1 win at the Lane. The St Mary’s side have now won three successive fixtures since Ronald Koeman decided to drop Graziano Pelle and opt for more mobility up front. The Saints are now just three points behind fifth-placed United ahead of their trip to Palace. Steven Davis was the latest to benefit with a finely-taken brace on Sunday, whilst Sadio Mane, Shane Long and Dusan Tadic – who has racked up an eye-catching two goals and five assists over those trio of fixtures – have already staked a claim for our Watchlist consideration come 2016/17.
The Black Cats are nearly there…
In a weekend where relegation rivals Norwich and Newcastle both failed to find the net, Sunderland showed their character by twice coming from behind to place themselves on the verge of safety. The Wearsiders 3-2 win over Chelsea hands them the chance to seal their survival as early as this Wednesday – defeat Everton at the Stadium of Light and Big Sam has served up yet another great escape. Such a scenario could, potentially, lead to rotation near the bottom as all three sides would head into Gameweek 38 with far less to play for next weekend, with morale at Norwich and Newcastle surely hit hard by their impending relegations.
The race for fourth could change Van Gaal’s plans…
With one eye on the upcoming FA Cup final, the United boss rested Marcus Rashford and Daley Blind for the trip to Norwich, whilst Anthony Martial was a late call-off due to a minor injury. The Red Devils’ 1-0 win at Carrow Road, allied with City’s draw at home to Arsenal, however, now places Van Gaal’s side in pole position for the midweek trip to West Ham. Indeed, even a loss at Upton Park would still leave the Red Devils in the race for fourth spot heading into their Gameweek 38 home encounter with Bournemouth. Given the importance of that clash to their Champions League aspirations, the Dutchman may now decide against rest and rotation for the final two fixtures.
Pardew has a Wembley dilemma …
With Wilfried Zaha still sidelined due to a hamstring problem, Alan Pardew’s decision to freshen up his options at home to Stoke sparked Palace’s attack back into life ahead of their FA Cup final clash with United. Handed a rare start alongside Connor Wickham, Dwight Gayle threw his name into the hat for a Wembley start by grabbing both goals in a 2-1 win. Bearing in mind that the Eagles had scored just twice in their previous five league outings, Pardew may well be tempted to stick with the Wickham/Gayle combination for next weekend at least as the Selhurst Park side make their way to St Mary’s.
Howe has yet to find a first choice XI…
With the treatment room near empty, Eddie Howe was able to welcome back the fit-again Max Gradel for the home clash against West Brom, with the likes of Matt Ritchie, Callum Wilson and Josh King all utilised as subs. Ritchie’s late leveler extended his lead as the Cherries’ top-scoring attacker for the season, though as we look towards 2016/17, it’s fair to say that the Bournemouth manager has numerous options at his disposal in the final third. If his squad can steer clear of long-term injuries, it’ll be intriguing to see if Howe will establish a pecking order in attack or chop and change to keep his players happy.
Ayew will battle Siggy for our Swansea affections…
With Gylfi Sigurdsson sidelined for the final two fixtures due to a shoulder problem, Andre Ayew’s back-to-back double-figure hauls have helped push the Ghana international ahead of his Swansea team-mate once again. A goal and assist in the 4-1 rout of West Ham, in addition to the brace at home to Liverpool last time out, propelled the former Marseille man into joint-seventh in the midfield standings – three points above the Icelandic international ahead of a home encounter with Man City. There may be uncertainty over the Swansea manager for next season but there’s no question that both Ayew and Sigurdsson look equally capable options for 2016/17.
Bilic needs to sort his defence out…
Whilst West Ham’s attack has received the plaudits in recent weeks, Saturday’s chastening home loss to Swansea served as a reminder that there’s plenty of work to do at the back. The 4-1 defeat means Slaven Bilic’s side have just one clean sheet in eight now, with the Croatian’s experiment to field Michail Antonio as a right-back ensuring his defence remains increasingly porous. For the sake of Antonio and the Hammers’ clean sheet prospects, we need Bilic to reconsider for 2016/17 and shift the former Forest man back onto the flank, thus allowing him to wreak havoc in the final third again.
