By Antony Jordan
The final trio of EPL matches from the penultimate round of the 2016/17 Premier League season play this Sunday and the final game of the weekend sees the biggest clash from round 37 as Tottenham take on Europa League finalists Manchester United in the final match at White Hart Lane before the North London side move into a new stadium next season.
The other two matches see relegation threatened Hull attempt to pull Crystal Palace back into relegation battle while the other game sees Liverpool travel to the capital to face West Ham as they aim to stay in the top four for a Champions League spot next season. We preview all three of these clashes with online sportsbook Bet365.com to provide our best EPL picks.
Tottenham v Manchester United: 1.72 – 3.90 – 5.25
This Sunday sees Manchester United visit North London for a second weekend in a row as they aim to avoid a second defeat in this area of the capital following a 2-0 reverse to Arsenal last weekend. However, the Bet365 match odds suggest that this game will once again go to the home side and with Jose Mourinho having rested players last week to ensure their progress to the Europa League final it appears that United have given up on attempting to force their way into the top four places in the league. Adding to this lack of league ambition for the away side is an extensive injury and suspension list, so will we see the home side cruise to victory?
Tottenham are already secure in second place in the league but are likely to miss out on the EPL title thanks to their defeat at West Ham last weekend as they folded under the pressure, as they did last season also. However, with the pressure now off they are likely to perform much better and they are aiming for a fifth unbeaten match at home to United. With this being their last match at White Hart Lane, having no pressure on them in the league and United seemingly concentrating on entering the Champions League via Europe we can see this match only going one way.
We are backing Tottenham to beat Manchester United this Sunday @ 1.72 with Bet365.
Crystal Palace v Hull: 2.10 – 3.60 – 3.75
Following their 2-1 win at Liverpool at the end of April, Crystal Palace looked to be safe in the Premier League but coming into this penultimate game of the season they are just four points above Hull knowing that defeat in this match will see them just a point outside of the bottom three going into the final game of the season. They have failed to score in any of their last three games as they were beaten at home to Tottenham and Burnley as well as losing 5-0 away at Man City last weekend, but can they end this slump to secure their place in the top flight for next season?
Hull have not performed well away from the KCOM Stadium this season with them failing to win in 16 matches on the road in all competitions and they have suffered 14 defeats in this time. The last time that they scored more than one goal was against second tier side Bristol City in October at the EFL Cup, with a total of five goals netted on the road since that win over Bristol. We do not see this match being a thriller as both teams are struggling for goals and with both teams desperate to ensure that they do not lose this match we can see this game lacking in excitement and thrills. We are backing few goals to be scored by these struggling teams.
Our best Crystal Palace v Hull bet is back Under 2.5 goals to be scored at odds of 1.85 in the Bet365 Sportsbook!
West Ham v Liverpool: 5.50 – 4.10 – 1.66
The Hammers are unbeaten in five matches coming into this weekend’s clash with Liverpool and after they ended Tottenham’s title chances with a 1-0 win last time around they will be full of confidence for this match and will be out to scupper Liverpool’s chances at staying ahead of Man City and Arsenal in the race for a top four finish. However, the home team are suffering far more from injuries than their guests and, apart from pride and a higher finishing position in the league, they have nothing to play for unlike the visitors to The London Stadium.
Liverpool need all three points to try to fend off the chasing pack who sit one and four points behind them with a game in hand so they know that the pressure is on them to win this match. They have won all of their last three away matches but with West Ham having three home clean sheets in a row and having won all of the last three visits of this weekend’s guests we see this match being far closer than the odds suggest.
Of the two sides most likely to win this match, we are in agreement with Bet365 and we favour the away side but we can see the home team pushing them all the way so our money is on goals as well as the away win in this game.