The last Moysie-side derby perhaps, a massive game for Rafa and the battle to avoid the final relegation spot.
With the top and bottom of the table now sorted, just a few questions remain to be answered in this season’s Premier League, but they are very interesting questions indeed.
The battle for Mersey supremacy
1937 was the last time Everton finished ahead of Liverpool in back-to-back seasons. That is so long ago, Dixie Dean was in that Everton team. Things have changed a lot in the intervening 76 years but David Moyes is on the brink of confirming his team as top dog on Merseyside once again.
Last season Everton finished four points clear of Liverpool. With three games to go this year Everton are five clear ahead of Sunday’s clash at Anfield.
We expected the Reds to suffer without Luis Suarez but they bagged six last week against Newcastle and should have had more. But, as the cliché goes, the form book goes out the window in these games.
Another interesting wrinkle to this always intriguing game is the suggestion that it may be David Moyes’ last in charge of the Toffees. Speculation is growing that the Scot may walk away from Goodison and he has yet to put pen to paper to a new deal. We’re not convinced that he will, or should, leave but if it is his final Merseyside derby, Moyes will want to go out with a bang and a win at Anfield will guarantee the Blues finish ahead of the Reds once again. Should be a great game to watch.
Rafa’s mission continues
And we don’t mean the plan to annoy Chelsea fans as much as possible. With the Europa League final date now coloured in on the big calendar you just know Rafa keeps on his wall, the Spaniard can turn his attention to getting Chelsea’s place in the league table secure.
As he is the job market this summer, Benitez will be looking for a strong finish the year but it’s a FACT that he won’t get much help from Alex Ferguson.
With their season over, you might expect Manchester United to take this one easy but that’s not how Ferguson operates and he will be only too happy to derail Chelsea, especially if it keeps them, and Jose Mourinho, out of the Champions League next season.
The impact of playing Thursday nights has affected Chelsea before (remember their no-show in the FA Cup semi-final against Man City) so all the signs point to Chelsea losing this game in hand and handing the initiative back to their two London rivals for the top four.
And then there was one…
Just one spot remains in the relegation zone after QPR and Reading slithered out of the Premier League last week. Wigan are five points from safety right now so they must beat West Brom away on Saturday afternoon to have any chance with four games left. Sunderland, Newcastle and Aston Villa are all on 37 points, and they will be just two from the drop zone if Wigan get the win they need at The Hawthorns.
Villa’s task this weekend sees Paul Lambert return to Norwich, where the reception is sure to be warm. Newcastle go to West Ham, who will have the former Toon trio for Sam Allardyce, Kevin Nolan and Andy Carroll waiting to put them in more trouble while Sunderland play Stoke on Monday night.
Anyone looking for omens there should note that Sunderland have not won on a Monday night since 2002, losing or drawing 17 games in a row on everyone’s favourite day of the week.
By Tuesday, the bottom of the table could b very compressed indeed…
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