EPL Weekend Preview

After looking ahead to the FA Cup yesterday, today I'll preview three of the most important weekend fixtures in the Premier League. The title race and relegation battle could possibly be decided in the next two days.

Fulham v Norwich

In last Saturday's relegation rundown, I looked ahead to Norwich's trip to Fulham as their best chance to win any points before the season is over, as the Canaries play Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Arsenal in their last 4. And then manager Chris Hughton was sacked on Sunday.

Hughton's sacking was bizarre. It seems Norwich is already consigned to relegation. And Fulham can move to within 2 points of Norwich with a victory tomorrow. I expect Norwich to sit deep and try to catch Fulham on the counter.

There is as much optimism at Craven Cottage as there is pessimism at Carrow Road. I can only see one team winning this: Fulham.

Sunderland v Everton

The Black Cats were abysmal at Spurs on Monday. After pouncing on an early Spurs error to take an unlikely lead, Sunderland capitulated defensively and got their marking all wrong for a series of Christian Eriksen crosses. Spurs ended up winning 5-1.

Sunderland sits at the bottom of the table but has two games in hand, although it is hard to see them winning those extra matches in their current form. The ship has to be turned around, immediately, if Sunderland can make up enough ground to stay up.

Everton is coming off a very impressive home victory against Arsenal last Sunday. The Toffees have 4th place in their own hands. Win out and the Champions League spot is their's. Everton has much more difficult matches ahead in their remaining schedule, and they play 3 in the next week. Everton has a midweek matchup with Crystal Palace before taking on David Moyes at Goodison next Sunday. Therefore I would expect Martinez to rotate his team and rest a few of his better players at the Stadium of Light. Perhaps a weakened team can be beaten by Sunderland, but I doubt it. Everton should win this.

Liverpool v Man City

This head-to-head matchup of the title favorites could easily decide who ends up champions a month from now. City is four points behind the leaders but has two games in hand. They simply need to draw to keep their 4 point advantage. If Liverpool can win, however, They will move 7 points ahead of City, meaning City could win their two extra matches and still not catch the Reds.

Liverpool is the in-form team in the league, taking an astounding 31 points from their last 11 matches. They havent dropped any points at Anfield since a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on January 18th. City will have to be at their best to keep control of their Premier League destiny.

City has the talent to do this. By most accounts, City have the strongest team in the league. They beat Liverpool 2-1 at the Etihad on Boxing Day, but the stakes were much lower in that match, and Liverpool wasn't playing this well.

Normally I would side with the better manager in such a crucial match, but both Manuel Pellegrini and Brendan Rogers have never faced this type of pressure in their careers. Pellegrini has never won a European league, his last title came with River Plate in Argentina in 2002. Rogers has never been in the top 4, let alone faced the pressure of a title run-in. Therefore, if I had to predict a result, I would pick a draw.

I will be traveling all day tomorrow so I won't be able to post to the blog until Sunday. Expect a full review of all of this weekend's EPL and FA Cup matches on Sunday afternoon.