At the weekend, the Premier League will face off in round 35, which will include a number of big talks, with Tottenham hosting Arsenal in a clash between a group of teams in the race for the top four and the title. West Ham vs. Liverpool and Aston Villa vs. Chelsea are close matchups. CCTV will broadcast two games live, both of which are the highlights of the championship, fans and friends should not miss it.
At 19:30 Beijing time on Saturday night, West Ham vs Liverpool will be scheduled to be broadcast on CCTV5+. Neither team has been in good shape of late, with Liverpool winning just two of their six games in all competitions, starting with the draw with Manchester United, including a win over Fulham and an away win at Atalanta in the Europa League. Defeats to Crystal Palace and Everton in the Premier League have all but deprived Liverpool of the chance to compete for the Premier League title.
I believe that Liverpool fans will feel that since the FA Cup defeat to Manchester United, Liverpool has suddenly fallen into a slump, two cup competitions one after another, and now is about to withdraw from the league title race. In the Premier League table, Liverpool are three points behind Arsenal and have a large goal difference, so it will be quite difficult to beat both teams at the same time with only four games left.
West Ham have been equally bad, with only a big win over Freiburg in the Europa League and a Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in their last 11 games in all competitions, with the rest of the games being defeated. The Europa League could not be reversed by new Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, which seemed to indicate that David Moyes's team had entered the end of a strong crossbow. I don't know if it was affected by the Europa League, in the last 7 Premier League games, West Ham won 1, drew 3 and lost 3, slipped to eighth place in the standings, and the hope of participating in the three major European cups next season has become quite slim.
Including the cup competition, in the past 10 meetings between the two sides, Liverpool has won 9 and lost 1, occupying the absolute upper hand. Liverpool met at home in the first two meetings of the season, with goals from Mohamed Salah, Nunez and Jota beating their opponents in the league and a 5-1 win in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, with a brace from Jones. Therefore, two easy victories may allow Liverpool, who have just lost to Everton, to gain confidence, although it is very difficult to win the title, but it is still necessary to make the last effort to win four consecutive victories first, and then see if there is a chance of a reversal.
At 21:00 Beijing time on Sunday night, Tottenham Hotspur vs Arsenal will be scheduled to be broadcast on CCTV5 channel. This week's double-tie against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur is seen as a major test and could be out of contention early if the result is not ideal. However, against Chelsea, Arsenal surprised the fans, showing the outside world their determination to compete for the title with a five-goal victory.
At present, Arsenal is at the top of the Premier League, although they have more games than Manchester City, but the points they get are more important, and the games that have not yet started are not equal to taking all three points. And Arsenal's 56 goal difference is also an advantage, at least on the same points, to secure a leading position, and perhaps a key factor in the title as they did 12 years ago.
Tottenham's recent form has been very mediocre, with two games in hand six points behind Aston Villa. With the Premier League struggling to overtake the Bundesliga as the two best leagues of the season, four Champions League places should be maintained next season. Tottenham and Villa's fight for the top four becomes quite important. Villa also face two big clubs, Chelsea and Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur will have a tougher time, including Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City, the four traditional last six. As a result, it is widely believed that Villa should be able to beat Tottenham Hotspur to finish fourth in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League.
Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur's city derby, the history of the two sides is relatively close, the last 10 Premier League games, Arsenal 4 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses, only a slight advantage. If you only count Tottenham at home, in the past nine seasons, Arsenal have only won away from home last season, and the remaining eight seasons have drawn two and lost six, which is quite bad. In the first leg of this season's contest between the two teams, Son Heung-min scored twice to tie the score twice. Given that Tottenham have to fight with their backs in order to fight for the top four, it will not be easy for Arsenal to win.
After the weekend, Sheffield United could be the first team to be relegated, and Manchester United could also miss out on the Champions League ahead of schedule. With four weeks to go in the Premier League, the title race, the three major European Cup seats, and the relegated teams will be announced one after another, and the final drama has begun.