Eight matches take place on the last Saturday with action in the Premier League this season as the battle for the title and the race to beat the drop hots up as the penultimate fixture list of the campaign gets underway.
This is a usual Saturday in that there is a TV game at the start and at the end of the day. What is a little more unusual is that there are as many as six matches in the traditional slot where updates come in all of the usual places.
Early Kick Off
We head to the capital to get the day underway as Manchester City look to move to the top of the table with two matches left in their season. They face a Fulham side who will be competing in front of their own fans for the first time this term and will be looking to sign off in style against the reigning champions. City head south knowing if they win their final three matches this season they will once again be the champions but any slip up at all opens the door for Arsenal to snatch the title so it is competitive fayre right from the beginning on Saturday.
3pm Matches
The attention turns from the race for the title to the battle to stay in the Premier League in the 3pm matches. Burnley know that anything other than a win away to Champions League chasing Tottenham Hotspur will mean that their stay in the top flight will end after just one season while Luton Town head to the east side of the capital knowing they have to avoid defeat for their campaign to extend for a few hours at least, and hopefully from their point of view until the final day.
Newcastle United are still pushing for a place in the Europa League next season and they will hope to close in on that when they host Brighton and Hove Albion at St James’ Park on Saturday afternoon while elsewhere Everton round off a tricky home campaign against already relegated Sheffield United, Bournemouth welcome Brentford to the Vitality Stadium and Wolverhampton Wanderers sign off in front of their home fans when they host Crystal Palace at Molineux.
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Late Game
The action on Saturday concludes at the City Ground where two sides could have everything to play for or by the time the match kicks off it could just be one team playing for something when Nottingham Forest play host to Chelsea. Were Luton and Burnley to lose earlier in the day this will be a survival celebration for Forest but were Luton to avoid defeat or Burnley win then Forest would need a result to avoid going down to the last day. Chelsea are pushing hard for a place in Europe next season and realistically only a win is guaranteed to keep that hunt alive so this one could be extremely competitive.
Betting
Brighton and Hove Albion looked much better last week than they had for a good while but there is a bit of a feeling that Aston Villa might have run their race and the Villans went into that match off the back of a Europa Conference League game which the Seagulls know only too well isn’t the easiest thing in the world. For all Brighton looked good, they head to a motivated Newcastle United with their only away win in 12 on the road dating back to November coming at Sheffield United where seemingly everyone wins these days.
Newcastle had their wobble when their injuries were biting their hardest but as players have come back they have improved beyond all recognition and head into this match having lost just one of their last seven and without a defeat in seven on home soil. Callum Wilson is back to partner Alexander Isak, who is in supreme form at the minute, while Anthony Gordon is in good touch as well. I need to see more than one good showing from Brighton before I trust them again. Newcastle are fighting for Europe and I think they’ll win this so taking them on a -1 Asian handicap feels the bet to me. Any Newcastle win gets us a refund on our stake but a win by two or more, which three of their last four home wins have been by, gives us a full win.
Tips
Back Newcastle United (-1AH) to beat Brighton and Hove Albion for a 3/10 stake at 1.88 with Bet365
