Match Week 23 Preview

The south coast will be the site for a match between two of the Premier League’s most in-form clubs when Bournemouth plays host to Nottingham Forest. Bournemouth has not lost in its last 10 league matches, winning six and drawing four to enter the chase for a top four berth. Remarkably Manager Andoni Iraola’s side seems more capable of finding answers when struck by injuries than many other Premier League sides who lament a lack of depth in times of crisis. Bournemouth came into this season having said goodbye to leading scorer Dominic Solanke who left for the mess which is Spurs right now. Evanilson stepped in ably for Solanke but broke his foot. Now it is Diego Outtara who fills the number nine role while Bournemouth looks increasingly to wingers Antonio Semenyo and Justin Kluivert for goals. Kluivert had a hat trick in last week’s 3-1 win at Newcastle. The Cherries currently sit seventh in the table but are only three points back of fourth place Chelsea. Nottingham Forest can be found even further up the table. The Tricky Trees have won seven times during an eight-match unbeaten run which has seen Manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad rise to third in the table, separated from second place Arsenal by goal differential. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, has found gold in Chris Wood, a 33-year-old Premier League veteran having perhaps his best season as he leads the line for Nottingham Forest. Wood has 14 goals this season for the Tricky Trees and only three players in the Premier League have more. Forest’s Mats Selz, meanwhile, leads all Premier League goalkeepers with nine clean sheets. Reflecting the disciplined approach of their manager, Forest have conceded fewer goals this season than all but Liverpool and Arsenal.

Manchester City can move past Chelsea and into the top four with a win over the Blues on Saturday. Manchester City has been quietly righting its ship after losing six league matches across November and December. The Citizens looked like their old selves last weekend in a 6-0 rout of poor Southampton, a victory which extended City’s current unbeaten run to five matches, three of those resulting in all three points. Some of that confidence from last weekend’s thumping of the Saints, however, may have dissipated with the Citizens’  4-2 failure in Champions League competition versus PSG on Thursday. Chelsea will be better rested with no European adventures having crowded their midweek. Chelsea’s win over Wolves last weekend ended a five-match unbeaten run where Manager Enzo Maresca’s attack seemed to stall after menacing the league for much of the early season. Questions remain whether striker Nicolas Jackson remains the answer for Chelsea up front or whether the transfer market should be explored for a more reliable, accurate point man.

Spurs has an opportunity to improve on recent form when it hosts spiraling Leicester at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Foxes represent a welcome opponent after having dropped seven consecutive league matches, scoring just twice across all those barren minutes.

Liverpool and Arsenal also face bottom of the table opponents. Liverpool will play host to Ipswich Town which likely remains stunned by the six goals Manchester City put on the Tractor Boys last week. Ipswich is level on points in a current battle for survival with 17th place Wolverhampton. Wolves supporters received some encouraging news this week when Manager Vitor Pereira claimed that 25-year-old star Matheus Cunha is not for sale and that the club was looking to add players in this transfer window to aid their survival battle. Cunha has attracted interest from several clubs after failing to agree a new contract with Wolverhampton. Wolves hosts Arsenal on Saturday with the Gunners knowing they can’t afford to let their guard down after dropping points in two of their last three matches.

Southampton has fallen so far that the 20th place Saints are eight points removed from the nearest other Premier League side at the bottom of the table. Newcastle will visit Saint Mary’s on Sunday hoping to erase memories of the Magpies’ heavy loss to Bournemouth last week. Their prospects should be good against an opponent that has conceded 50 goals this season while finding their opponent’s net only 15 times.

Manchester United, which scored a victory against Southampton two weeks ago for the Red Devils’ only win in their last six league outings, travels to London to face Fulham. Craven Cottage is normally a safe haven for Manchester Unted with the Red Devils winning on their last seven visits to Fulham’s home on the Thames. Optimism is not infusing Manchester United supporters for this visit, however. Fulham still entertains hopes for a European berth with the 10th place Cottagers situated three points below eighth place Aston Villa and five points removed from the top six. Manchester United has lost six of its last nine Premier League matches and a loss on Sunday would mean the most defeats in a 10-match stretch in 35 years for the Red Devils. That additional bit of history would be unsurprising for a team that their manager Reuben Amorim has described as potentially the worst in the club’s history.

Brighton is one point above Fulham, two points behind Villa amid the scramble of clubs on the fringe of European qualification. The Seagulls embarrassed Manchester United 3-1 at Old Trafford last week and will be seeking a third consecutive victory when they host Everton on Saturday. Brighton, however, has failed to leverage its home advantage to full advantage season, drawing six and winning just three of 10 matches at American Express Stadium. Everton visits the Seagulls on Saturday on the heels of a jaw dropping offensive outburst. New Manager David Moyes’ side spanked Spurs with three goals after having scored just once in the Toffees’ six previous matches.

Another new manager faces a tough match on Sunday when Graham Potter brings his Hammers to Aston Villa. Villa defeated West Ham in the FA Cup in Potter’s first match in charge. The former Chelsea and Brighton manager has a win and a loss in his first two league matches but likely needs an attacker in this transfer window for any meaningful success with the Hammers.