Barclays Premier League

A preview to this weekend’s Barclays Premier League action.

With the Premier League title virtually decided last week at Old Trafford, all eyes will now turn to the bottom of the league. There are other agendas, however, for teams up and down the Barclays Premier League and everyone will no doubt be looking to finish the season on a high.

Saturday sees Manchester United travel to Blackburn to earn a point that will land them the title, so that they can focus on the Champions League final later this month against Barcelona. It won’t be easy against a Blackburn side, who are looking for points themselves to steer clear of the drop zone.

Blackpool host Bolton in their last home game of the season and will be looking for a win to pile up the pressure on teams lying above them. For Bolton, it is just a matter of finishing as high as possible. Also, fellow strugglers Wolves travel to the Stadium of Light, looking to build on their win last weekend. It will be a mountain as they have managed to find the net only 13 times in 18 away games.

A loss on Saturday for Manchester United will mean Chelsea are still in with a mathematical chance of the title. However, any other result and Chelsea will try and seal the runners-up spot this weekend. Arsenal, have gone from title hopefuls to looking to cling on to third place within the space of a month. A win against a nothing to play for Aston Villa side is there for the taking. Liverpool host Tottenham at Anfield, with fifth place up for grabs. Tottenham have gone off the boil recently and will try and halt a horrendous run. The biggest game of the week is undoubtedly the clash at Wigan’s DW Stadium when West Ham visits. Anything other than a win will almost certainly condemn West Ham to the Championship next season.

There is also the small matter of the FA Cup Final at Wembley this season , and despite a flawless performance in the semi finals by Stoke City, Manchester City are favourites to end their 34 year trophy drought. They also meet each other on Tuesday, with Man City still hopeful of catching Arsenal in third, and the automatic qualifying slot.

This week could see one or two teams confirmed of relegation; consequently all the teams might still make it to the final week for a relegation showdown. But the biggest cheers would emanate from the red half of Manchester.

Tags: Barclays Premier League, Blackburn, Chelsea, EPL, Football, Manchester United, Premier League, Preview