Premier League battle at the top and bottom of the league

The Premier League is back on Saturday following the international break and thoughts will be turning to the battle at the top and bottom of the league table.

Looking towards the foot of the Premier League and we have an intriguing clash between Brighton and Hove Albion and Southampton to enjoy.

Brighton start this game in 15th place in the table with 33 points to their name. They do have at least one game in hand on every team below them, which could prove useful but they cannot afford to rely on that to move them clear.

The Seagulls have been in good form of late, winning four of their last five matches in all competitions, including the penalty shootout win over Millwall in the FA Cup prior to the international break.

However, two of those four wins have come in the FA Cup and trends show Brighton have won two of their last nine Premier League games.  The victories have come in their last two matches, which suggests they could be about to turn a corner but they have won only two of their last seven on home soil.

Trends show both teams have scored in six of Brighton’s last seven home games in all competitions and five of their last six have seen over 2.5 goals scored.

Southampton make the short trip across to the American Express Community Stadium having enjoyed an excellent 2-1 win at home over Tottenham Hotspur last time out.That result means they have won two of their last three Premier League games, with the second win coming at home against Fulham

Sandwiched between those wins Southampton travelled to Old Trafford and put in a good performance before succumbing 3-2 to Manchester United.

However, overall away form is not good in the Premier League and despite remaining undefeated in four of their last six away matches, trends show Southampton have won only five of their last thirty-two away Premier League games.

Scoring goals has not been much of a problem recently but keeping them out has been an issue and both teams have scored in sixteen of their last twenty Premier League matches.

Looking ahead to the team news and Brighton hope to have midfielder Pascal Gross and striker Florin Andone back for this game.  Brighton should be close to full strength.

Southampton have doubts over the fitness of Mario Lemina and striker Danny Ings who have both been struggling for the past few weeks.  However, young striker Michael Obafemi is expected to miss the rest of the season with injury.

This is a game which could see both teams find the back of the net but with home advantage so soon after the international break, Brighton have the edge and could take maximum points.

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Austria and Poland kick off Euro 2020 Group G qualifying campaign

Poland were diabolical at last summer’s World Cup and followed it up with relegation in the UEFA Nations League.

Manager Jerzy Brzeczek will hope for much better on Thursday night when Poland clash with Austria in their Euro 2020 qualifier.

The two nations will kick off Group G play and both will feel good about their chances for qualification. Poland and Austria are joined by Israel, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Latvia. With the quality in both sides, they will be quietly confident of qualification. But to make the Euro 2020proper, they must pick up points and it all starts in Vienna.

Austria have played Poland three times in recent years and were unable to defeat their rivals. Two of the three matches ended in wins for Poland and the third in a draw. Meanwhile, all three fixtures ended with over 1.5 goals scored.

Brzeczek’s Poland have not won a competitive match since the World Cup in June 2018. The Polish finished the year with six matches ending without a victory. On three occasions, Poland fell to defeat. Robert Lewandowski will be called upon to lead Poland in Vienna. The Bayern Munich striker has tallied 55 goals in 102 international fixtures. Lewandowski was unable to find form at the World Cup and the team’s exit was partly due to his poor play.

Lewandowski will have help in the attack as in-form AC Milan striker Krzysztof Piatek has been called up for the match. Piatek was dropped for the World Cup last summer. The decision to leave Piatek at home now seems like one of the most foolish moves ahead of the tournament. Piatek starred for Genoa in the first half of the season scoring 19 goals in 21 games in all competitions. He moved to AC Milan in January where he has bagged eight goals in 10 games in all competitions.

Austria have played six games since September when they kicked off their Nations League campaign. They suffered losses to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Denmark. They did pick up wins over Sweden and two over Northern Ireland. Austria were also able to claim a draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina in their second meeting in the Nations League.

Austria do not have the same top-class strikers as Poland. However, they do have West Ham forward Marko Arnautovic and the big centre forward will be counted on to pressure Poland’s defence. Arnautovic has scored seven times in 22 games this season for West Ham.

Poland last faced off against Austria at the Euro 2008 tournament. The two teams finished in a 1-1 draw at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion. It is the same venue that will host Thursday night’s fixture. History will repeat itself in Vienna as Austria and Poland once again play to a 1-1 draw. It isn’t a bad result for either side as they kick off their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign

Who Will Survive the 10 Way Premier League Relegation Battle?

Who will survive the 10 way Premier League relegation battle?

There are 24 points left to play for in the Premier League season and the relegation race has plenty of questions. Six teams have a legitimate chance to go down to the Championship and lose out on the riches of the English top-flight.

OVERALL TABLE		PTS	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-
1.	Liverpool	76	31	23	7	1	70	18	52
2.	Manchester City	74	30	24	2	4	79	21	58
3.	Tottenham	61	30	20	1	9	57	32	25
4.	Arsenal	60	30	18	6	6	63	39	24
5.	Manchester United	58	30	17	7	6	58	40	18
6.	Chelsea	57	30	17	6	7	50	33	17
7.	Wolverhampton	44	30	12	8	10	38	36	2
8.	Watford	43	30	12	7	11	42	44	-2
9.	West Ham	42	31	12	6	13	41	46	-5
10.	Leicester City	41	31	12	5	14	40	43	-3
11.	Everton	40	31	11	7	13	43	42	1
12.	Bournemouth	38	31	11	5	15	43	56	-13
13.	Newcastle United	35	31	9	8	14	31	40	-9
14.	Crystal Palace	33	30	9	6	15	36	41	-5
15.	Brighton	33	29	9	6	14	32	42	-10
16.	Southampton	30	30	7	9	14	34	50	-16
17.	Burnley	30	31	8	6	17	35	59	-24
18.	Cardiff City	28	30	8	4	18	27	57	-30
19.	Fulham	17	31	4	5	22	29	70	-41
20.	Huddersfield	14	31	3	5	23	18	57	-39

Fulham are 13 points adrift, and like Huddersfield, are all but officially relegated. The Cottagers are on their third manager of the season. They have given up the league’s most goals (68) and have lost their last six matches.

Of the three teams currently occupying the relegation positions, Cardiff City are the most likely to achieve survival. The Bluebirds defeated an ineffective West Ham at home over the weekend, 2-0. Cardiff are now two points from safety. Their win came at the right time as Burnley, who are two points ahead of Cardiff, lost for a third straight game.

Perhaps the biggest winner of gameweek 30 was Southampton. Ralph Hassenhuttl’s team shocked Tottenham 2-1. The win moves them level on points with Burnley (30) but ahead due to goal difference (-16). Since Hassenhuttl took over in early December, Southampton have gained points in nine of 16 matches.

Brighton have caught form at the right time. Chris Hughton’s Seagulls have won back to back matches. They sit three points ahead of Southampton (33). Brighton had been in a bit of a freefall in recent weeks, but consecutive wins have bolstered their bid for survival.

Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace are level with Brighton on 33 points. The Eagles are hit and miss and it is difficult to tell which side will show up on matchday.

Crystal Palace are difficult to beat thanks to a strong defence and entertaining attack featuring Wilfried Zaha, Michy Batshuayi, and Andros Townsend. But inconsistency has hurt them. Crystal Palace are in the FA Cup quarterfinals and focus on the competition could see them slip up in the league.

Newcastle United are six points from the relegation zone and look the strongest of the candidates for survival. Rafael Benitez’s team has won three of their last four games. Despite having limited playing talent, Benitez has got the best out of his players since Christmas.

So, which Premier League team is going down this season? Of course, that is the big question and there are caveats to the answer. For one, Crystal Palace could be sucked into the bottom three due to the FA Cup. Win or lose in the quarterfinals and they could lose focus on Premier League safety. Burnley could continue to slip and ship goals. They have allowed the second most scores this term. Meanwhile, Cardiff could leapfrog Burnely as the two sides play on April 13th.

Looking at the fixture list, it seems Cardiff have the most unenviable schedule. Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, and Manchester United must be played. There are also six-point matches against Brighton, Fulham, Burnley, and Crystal Palace. With eight games to go, the horizon looks bleak for Cardiff. But there is still a lot of football to play.games to go, the horizon looks bleak for Cardiff. But there is still a lot of football to play.