Premier League Predictions: Leicester to take a step closer to the title, but Tottenham won’t give up without a fight

Mark Young picks the stand-out games ahead of this weekend’s Premier League action, with all to play for at both ends of the table.
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Norwich City 0-1 Sunderland

Sam Allardyce and his Sunderland side travel to Norwich for Saturday’s lunch time kick-off knowing that three points will make their chances of safety realistic again.

The Black Cats currently sit four points behind the Canaries, and anything other than a win for the North East side could all but mean relegation.

On the other hand, Alex Neil’s side could almost guarantee themselves Premier League football next season with a home win, but these are the kind of games that his Sunderland counterpart is famous for winning.

With Sunderland unlucky to lose at home to Leicester last week, it could be a lucky day for the Black Cats in East Anglia, as the three points should go to Sunderland – just.

Chelsea 1-1 Manchester City

Manchester City will be bouncing after managing what Saturday evening’s opponents Chelsea could not do – knocking Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League.

Kevin De Bruyne’s wonderful winner at the Etihad on Tuesday night secured City’s place in the last four of Europe’s elite competition, yet domestic wins have consistently eluded them.

City beat West Brom 2-1 last weekend to move four points clear of the chasing pack for fourth, but despite Chelsea’s away loss to Swansea on that same day, the Blues will still be a tough cookie to crack.

Guus Hiddink has steadied the Chelsea ship before Captain Conte arrives, and an encouraging draw against City is very likely.

Leicester City 2-0 West Ham United

Champions League football has been confirmed for Leicester City, but the title is not yet in their grasp.

Claudio Ranieri’s team stayed seven points clear of Tottenham last weekend and could put more pressure on the North London side once again.

It’s Tottenham’s London rivals West Ham that visit Leicester this weekend in an attempt to derail their title challenge and strengthen their own top four ambitions.

The Irons were beaten by Manchester United in their FA Cup Quarter-Final replay on Wednesday night, and Leicester can take advantage of some tired legs to move one step closer to the Premier League trophy.

Arsenal 3-1 Crystal Palace

Arsenal’s chances of Premier League glory were all but extinguished last weekend as they let a two goal lead slip against West Ham.

This week, they host Crystal Palace, who have four points and two clean sheets in their last two Premier League games.

It would be typical Arsenal to pull out a show-stopping performance once the chance for the title has gone, and that should be expected when Palace visit this weekend.

The Eagles have an FA Cup semi-final to prepare for in the coming week, and despite their decent results in the last two games, they are generally in poor form, which therefore should mean a comfortable victory for the Gunners.

Stoke City 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham will once again have to better or equal Leicester’s result, as they cling on to any remaining hope that the Premier League title can go to White Hart Lane, when they visit Stoke on Monday night.

Spurs were magnificent as they squashed Manchester United with relative ease last Sunday, and can feel fairly confident that the same will happen at the Britannia on Monday night as well.

Stoke have had a really good season under Mark Hughes, but seem to have lost some momentum in the last few weeks, and were beaten 4-1 by Liverpool last weekend.

Jack Butland is a huge miss between the sticks for Stoke, but this could be another game where the Potters are on the beach and the Spurs go marching on.

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