Eight things to look out for this weekend: Newcastle and Hull in relegation battle, Arsenal and Manchester United in race for third
Sam Allardyce says goodbye to West Ham, Saints' last chance at fifth, Cattermole's record bookings, Chelsea to lift the trophy, Gerrard leads farewells and Sterling faces backlash
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Your support makes all the difference.The 2014/15 Premier League comes to an end this Sunday and while Chelsea have already wrapped up the title with the top four locked down for the Champions League, there’s still a number of talking points to keep an eye on.
Two of the three relegation spots may be filled in the form of Queens Park Rangers and Burnley, but there’s still an almighty battle to resolve between Hull and Newcastle in a bid to remain in the top flight for next season.
A number of goodbyes will take place, too. Players will be saying farewell with either their contracts up or summer sales lined up, and those in the dug-out could also be making one last appearance.
With all of this in mind, we take a look at the things you should keep an eye out for this weekend.
SINK OR SWIM – HULL V NEWCASTLE
One of these two teams will join Burnley and QPR in the Championship next season, and while they don’t meet each other on the pitch, fans of both clubs will be keeping a close eye on how the other is getting on.
Hull face the extremely difficult task of beating Manchester United to give themselves any chance to staying up, while Newcastle know a win over West Ham will ensure they stay up despite an awful run of results that sees them winless in their last 10 matches and having only picked up two victories since John Carver became temporary manager. Given the seven-goal difference between them in the league table, it’s likely that a draw will see the Magpies home and dry, but defeat gives the Tigers a much needed lifeline.
SAM ALLARDYCE COULD LEAVE WEST HAM AFTER LEADING THEM INTO EUROPE
It looks a near-certainty that Sam Allardyce will not have his contract renewed at Upton Park when the club’s board meet on Monday to discuss his future. The manager himself won’t be there, as he has already admitted he’ll be sunning himself on a holiday in Spain. But should Liverpool hold on to fifth and West Ham avoid a string of red and yellow cards, the Hammers will qualify for the Europa League via Uefa’s Fair Play league.
The accolade doesn’t mean that West Ham have beaten pre-season expectations, it will ensure that the new manager will have to cope with meeting the club’s hefty ambitions as well as deal with the fatiguing campaign that is playing on Thursday nights. At present, West Ham don’t appear to have a large enough squad to cope with the demands of the Premier League given their struggles in defence this season, so a midweek campaign in Europe is not going to help unless they reinforce significantly this summer.
A SEASON TO REMEMBER FOR SAINTS, SWANSEA AND PALACE
Southampton have already beaten last season’s impressive finish of eighth by virtue of guaranteeing seventh at worst, but they can still mathematically finish fifth if Spurs and Liverpool both fail to win. With the Saints having a considerably better goal difference, a win over a Manchester City side that has already secured second could well help them to their best finish since finishing second in the old First Division in 1983/84.
Swansea have already secured their best ever finish in the Premier League era courtesy of their eighth place, and while it hasn’t quite matched the club’s highest ever position – which came in the form of sixth place in 1980/81 – it’s a hugely impressive achievement for a side that many predicted to be relegated this term.
Palace have faint hopes of a top-half finish, although they need to beat Swansea and hope that both Everton and West Ham lose in order to finish tenth. However, despite their best finish in the club’s history coming in 1990/91 in the form of third, Alan Pardew has overseen a remarkable turnaround at Selhurst Park that has seen the club rise from the cusp of relegation to Premier League safety with six matches remaining, and that has to be applauded.
For Southampton, they can also guarantee their place in the Europa League. Should Aston Villa beat Arsenal in the FA Cup final, seventh place is no longer good enough to qualify for Europe, and a win at least puts the pressure on Spurs and Liverpool in the battle for fifth.
WILL LEE CATTERMOLE PLAY?
The Sunderland midfielder is the only man this season to have accumulated 14 yellow cards, and one this weekend would rule him out for the first three games of the season. Even worse is that it would set a new Premier League record given that no player has ever hit the 15 mark, though five players have all reached within one of the mark. Mark Hughes, Paul Ince, Robbie Savage, Cheick Tiote and Oliver Dacourt have all picked up 14 bookings over the course of a season, and with Sunderland mathematically safe from relegation, Dick Advocaat will have to weigh-up whether to leave Cattermole out of the matchday squad.
CHELSEA TO PAINT THE TOWN BLUE IN CELEBRATION
The Premier League champions will finally get their hands on the trophy despite securing it with three games left to go. With Stamford Bridge set to be in party mode on Sunday, the celebrations will continue well into Bank Holiday Monday as the entire club enjoy an open-top bus parade through the streets of South-west London.
The Blues have cruised to the title this season having already won the Capital One Cup this season, and will be determined to build on their successes next season with an improved showing in Europe. However, it could also be the last time veteran goalkeeper Petr Cech gets to wave to the Chelsea fans as one of their own, with strong links towards a summer move circulating for some time. And that brings us to the farewells…
END OF SEASON ALWAYS BRINGS THE END OF AN ERA
Of course, unless you’ve been living on another planet this season, you’ll know that Steven Gerrard is leaving Liverpool, but he’s not the only player who will be making his last appearance for a club. Frank Lampard will finally leave the Premier League to join MLS side New York City FC, while his old team-mate Cech could also be set to leave Chelsea.
Radamel Falcao appeared to wave goodbye to Old Trafford last weekend with his loan spell coming to an end, Sylvain Distin will bring the curtain down on his Everton career with a rare start at Goodison Park and number of managers could be on their way too – Allardyce, John Carver, Advocaat and who knows, possibly Manuel Pellegrini and Brendan Rodgers depending on what happens this summer.
WHAT LIES IN STORE FOR STERLING?
Raheem Sterling hasn’t exactly done himself any favours in rebuilding his relationship with Liverpool as well as the fans, and his agent’s comments this week have added fuel to the already raging fire. So what will await Sterling at Stoke on Sunday? The focus should be on Gerrard, but Sterling could dominate the headlines.
The England international was booed by some fans while collecting his Young Player of the Year award at the club’s end-of-season awards this week, and the fans have jeered Sterling in the past when talk of his future reared its ugly head. Some fans have reacted by chanting “We want you to stay”, but others have taken a slightly less accommodating stance.
UNITED’S FAINT HOPES OF THIRD
Manchester United need a miracle if they aren’t to finish fourth and face the difficult prospect of a Champions League play-off tie next season. While the competition stage itself isn’t difficult to come by – Arsenal’s six straight wins in nine seasons have shown that – it can have a detrimental effect on the start to the Premier League season. So what do United need to finish above Arsenal?
A win over Hull is a must with a three-point gap between themselves and the Gunners, and they must hope that Arsenal are beaten by West Brom. They also need a eight-goal swing to happen, meaning a 3-0 defeat for the Gunners would require United to win 5-0 in order to better Arsenal’s goal difference.
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