Premier League Match Week 29 And Carabao Cup Final

Arne Slot

A humbled Liverpool side will take the pitch versus Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final this weekend. The Reds topped the “league” portion of the reconstituted Champions League format. They have cruised to a 15-point lead in the Premier League table. And yet the Reds were eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday when Dawin Nunez and Curtis Jones missed their shootout penalty tries. PSG had knotted the two-leg tie earlier on an Ousmane Dembele goal in the first half of regular play at Anfield. The defeat was the second exit from a cup competition this season for Liverpool. Manager Arne Slot played a heavily rotated side in February against Plymouth Argyle and his club meekly withdrew from the FA Cup. A Premier League title seems assured but the last chance for multiple trophies in Slot’s maiden season is Sunday versus Newcastle. The Magpies have not won a trophy in 56 years and will be without the suspended Anthony Gordon at Wembley. The biggest question may be the Liverpool mindset. Will they be angry and eager to prove this is indeed a special season? Or will they be deflated by their disappointing midweek loss?

The rest of the league still has business to conduct even as the runaway league leaders are otherwise occupied. The Carabao Cup championship results in a reduced Premier League schedule with Crystal Palace and Aston Villa also sitting out his week’s dance. The feature match is a London derby involving two of the top four clubs as Arsenal plays host to Chelsea. Arsenal is a distant second in the Premier League and their attention may be quickly shifting to the Champions League where, unlike Liverpool, they eased to the next stage with a 2-2 draw versus PSV during the week after obliterating the Dutch side 7-1 in the first leg. Manager Mikel Arteta was able to rest starters during the week and his team should be fresh for the clash versus their rivals on Saturday. Arsenal have been dominant in recent league play versus Chelsea as the Gunners have won four and drawn two of the last six league meetings between the clubs. Chelsea comes into this match, however, in better form after back-to-back victories. The Blues are fighting to stay in the top four with three teams nipping at their heels only three points or less behind Manager Enzo Maresca’s squad. Cole Palmer is expected to be recovered from an illness which limited his participation in the Blues’ 1-0 win over Copenhagen in the Europa Conference League during the week.

Manchester City and Brighton are two and three points, respectively, behind Chelsea in the table. The Citizens and Seagulls meet at the Emirates for another match with huge European qualification implications. Brighton has won four matches on the trot under 32-year-old manager Fabian Hurzeler. Manchester City, meanwhile, has fared poorly against top clubs during a recent run of five matches in which the Citizens lost to Arsenal, Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. The Seagulls will try to snap a 10-match losing run for Brighton at the Etihad.

A glorious 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest at Vitality Stadium in January seems a long time ago for Bournemouth as the Cherries host Brentford at their home venue on Saturday. Bournemouth has been losing ground in its chase for Europe, winning but one of its last five league contests. Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, faces a “trap” game at relegation bound Ipswich Town after the Tricky Trees’ emotional win over Manchester City last week. The Tractor Boys are yet to win this calendar year. Their last two battles with Nottingham Forest, however, have been tight affairs. Ipswich lost 1-0 in a November league clash to the Trees and then lost on penalties to Nottingham Forest in the FA cup earlier this month. Ipswich is six points south of Wolverhampton and safety in the table. Wolves faces cellar dweller Southampton Saturday with a chance to widen that margin.

Everton no longer has to worry about relegation after the miraculous turnaround Manager David Moyes has delivered on his return to the club. The Toffees have not lost since the 15th of January. This match will have extra meaning for Moyes as he faces the club that he led to the Europa League title in 2023 before departing at the end of last season. Moyes might rightfully feel underappreciated by West Ham ownership and supporters who were fine with the results but less enamored with his pragmatic style of play. Graham Potter, West Ham’s second manager of this current season, has won three of his nine matches across all competitions for the Hammers.

Another former Moyes employer is also wondering whether it has the right man in charge. Manchester United Manager Ruben Amorim has only won five of his 17 Premier Legue matches. Last week’s draw with Arsenal was thus something of an unexpected surprise and now Amorim faces the former interim manager who preceded him at Old Trafford. Rudd van Nistelrooy and his Leicester Foxes will host Manchester United with the Foxes desperate for a result. Leicester have lost 12 of their last 13 matches as they sit six points below the relegation line. Manchester United is 14th in the table, level on points with an equally disappointing Tottenham Hotspur side.

Spurs Manager Ange Postecoglou takes his high risk, not so much reward playing approach to Craven Cottage this weekend to face Fulham. The Cottagers are on the fringe of the European places, sitting 10th in the Premier League table after losing a key battle to Brighton last weekend.