Golden Goals Matchday 38: Premier League Set For Show-Stopping Final Day
After a convincing win for Manchester City over Tottenham on Tuesday night the Premier League title race boils down to a tasty tete-a-tete between the Citizens and Arsenal, with the former holding the advantage.
A win for the blue half of Manchester means a fourth title in a row for Pep Guardiola’s charges, a feat never seen before in the competition. They can still win the title if they don’t win but they would need to match or better Arsenal’s result to do so.
The gauntlet has been laid; which of the challengers will run it?
Of course, with the Premier League final day comes the final Golden Goals of the domestic season. Remember: if you can pick all six correct scorelines you could win up to £1 million.
Arsenal vs Everton
Form (all competitions)
Arsenal: WWWWW
Everton: WDWWW
No folding under pressure this time around.
The Gunners have been fabulous this season, pushing City all the way with a heady mix of attacking verve and defensive steel. Only their title rivals (93) have scored more goals than Arsenal’s 89 and no team has a better defensive record.
In the five games since their defeat to Aston Villa they have banged in 14 goals and conceded just two (a David Raya mistake and a penalty in a 3-2 win over Tottenham).
Pundits have been waxing lyrical about the partnership between William Saliba and Gabriel at the heart of defence. And they are right to be.
Saliba has been a turnover titan, ranking first in the league for ball recoveries per 90 and third in the league for possessions won per 90.
Gabriel is the perfect foil for Saliba’s aggression. A great reader of the game, the Brazilian has an eye for a pass and can chip in with some important goals from set-pieces too. He has three strikes to his name this season.
Everton, it is worth pointing out, have been in fine form and secured safety with multiple games to spare. They can likely look forward to another season of off-field politics and drama — with the 777 ownership bid continuing to plough head-on into trouble — but there is nothing to play for here.
That said, the gritty and endlessly competitive Sean Dyche will want his team to end the campaign on a positive note. Yet, with so much on the line, we are pushed towards a narrow-ish win for the Gunners.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Everton
Brighton vs Manchester United
Form (all competitions)
Brighton: LDWLL
Manchester United: WLLDW
This is, quite simply, a match-up between two teams who have been extremely underwhelming this season.
We won’t dwell on the collective performance of both clubs, though manager Roberto De Zerbi’s future remains up in the air despite his side’s recent malaise, largely due to last term’s record-breaking campaign.
Nevertheless, the Seagulls have enjoyed a dominant spell over the Red Devils and go into this one having won their last four league encounters against them.
For Erik ten Hag, it’s about preparation for the FA Cup final. In time, perhaps the achievement of making back-to-back cup finals will be reflected upon more fondly.
Despite a 3-2 United win over Newcastle in midweek, on current form this has to be a home win.
Prediction: Brighton 2-1 Manchester United
Liverpool vs Wolves
Form (all competitions)
Liverpool: DWDLW
Wolves: LLWLL
Handkerchiefs at the ready, this is going to be an emotional one.
After eight enormously impactful years — years which spawned seven major trophies, including a long-awaited Premier League title and a Champions League trophy — Jürgen Klopp waves goodbye to Anfield.
One of the most successful managers in Premier League history, Klopp’s achievements are even more notable given the fact he was leading the Reds in an era of Guardiola dominance.
Twice during his tenure Liverpool missed out on a title by just one point. Indeed, in the 2018-19 campaign, they registered a mammoth 97 points and still couldn’t quite get over the line.
In future generations, we will whimsically reminisce on what was a stellar rivalry between two incredible managers.
But before we get there we have one more game; one last dose of heavy-metal football from Klopp’s relentless raiders.
They have managed to find the net 12 times in the last five games. Despite a drop-off in form in the closing stages of the campaign costing them a league title tilt, they remain entertainers.
Wolves, meanwhile, are in end-of-season mode. Without the emotional pull this is a bit of a dead rubber for Gary O’Neil’s side, who can be very proud of their efforts in securing safety after a problematic pre-season.
They are somewhat dragging themselves to the end of the campaign with just one win in the last nine games and no clean sheet since February.
It’s Klopp’s last game. Liverpool have still been finding the goals. Wolves have been letting them in.
Three words: big home win.
Prediction: Liverpool 5-0 Wolves
Manchester City vs West Ham
Form (all competitions)
Manchester City: WWWWW
West Ham: WLDLD
Just one more game, one more win, and Premier League immortality awaits.
If the Citizens can get the three points, they will hold a record for the most back-to-back titles in Premier League history. It is a record that will stand for at least another four years, but likely much longer.
Since the 0-0 draw with Arsenal in February, City have won eight Premier League games in a row, scoring 30 goals and conceding just five in that run.
If you want to talk about title-winning form, the Citizens are producing it week-after-week like a well-oiled machine seemingly devoid of human emotions like nerves.
On a day of farewells, David Moyes takes charge of the Hammers for one final game. The ex-Manchester United boss could inflict a mortal wound on his old cross-city rivals as a parting shot.
West Ham have bagged some big results against teams already this season — including a win at Arsenal away and a draw at home to Liverpool.
It’s difficult to see how the Hammers can upset the title party here, though. Only the bottom three have conceded more goals than the East London team; against the free-scoring defending champions you have to fear for their chances.
The Citizens are defending their title and breaking the record.
Prediction: Manchester City 4-0 West Ham
Burnley vs Nottingham Forest
Form (all competitions)
Burnley: LLDWD
Nottingham Forest: LWLLD
The Clarets are down. Again.
It’s a familiar feeling for fans. Since their debut campaign back in 2009-10, no team has experienced the drop from the top tier more times than Burnley (four).
Despite a decent run of results towards the end of the campaign, there were too many occasions where they failed to turn one point into three points and, ultimately, Vincent Kompany’s men have paid the price for a horrific run in the first three-quarters of the season.
Their failure to hold onto a lead has also been an issue. Only Brentford (30) have dropped more points from winning positions than Burnley (27), who let yet another lead slip away to Tottenham last weekend to confirm their relegation.
Barring a miraculous set of results, Nottingham Forest are safe too. They are three points ahead of Luton — their only remaining contender for the final safety spot — but a goal difference cushion of 12 means a seriously heavy defeat for Forest and a massive win for Luton would be the only way they go down.
While it’s been another struggle this season, the form of Morgan Gibbs-White has been encouraging. He recorded his 10th assist in the league this season in the 3-2 defeat to Chelsea. Only England striker Ollie Watkins has registered more. Can he serve up another goal to round off another good individual season?
Despite finding positive results hard to come by in the run-in, Forest have been finding the net with more regularity than earlier in the campaign. Indeed, 17.02% of the club’s entire Premier League goal output has happened in the previous three games alone (eight goals).
But with safety on the line – and no matter how far-fetched the prospect of relegation may be – this one is all set to be a cagey affair. Score draw.
Prediction: Burnley 1-1 Nottingham Forest
Luton vs Fulham
Form (all competitions)
Luton: LDLLL
Fulham: LDDLW
Luton are almost certainly exiting the Premier League but what an incredibly entertaining addition to the competition they have been.
In games involving the Hatters an average of 3.54 goals were scored. And it wasn’t just one way traffic; they have bagged 50 goals, which is only a handful fewer than Manchester United.
In truth the quality of the league was probably just too high for the newcomers and anything other than a double-figure win over the Cottagers is likely to confirm a defiant demise.
In the white corner, Fulham are sputtering and have managed just five goals in the previous seven matches.
Any potential place in the top half was in ruins some time ago and now the focus will be refocusing over the summer break and going again next season.
Luton will win here to give the fans a send-off they deserve. Naturally, there will be plenty of goals in the process.
Prediction: Luton 4-1 Fulham
Please note: This week's Golden Goals deadline is Saturday May 19th at 16:00. Opt-in is required and you can find out more here.
Golden Goals Terms and Conditions
Opt in & predict 6 correct scores weekly (see Game Lobby for weekly Tournament cut-off time) to win up to £1m jackpot or up to £5k Prizepool if Jackpot is not won. Void if 1 or more matches are postponed/abandoned or not completed. Verification procedures apply. T&Cs apply.
