This could be the weekend that the unlikeliest winner of any major sporting competition in history may be crowned, and we take our hat off to Leicester and their 5000-1 assault on the world’s richest league. It will probably never happen again, but as an Ipswich Town fan it gives hope, if we can ever get out of the Championship that is.
Talking of Championship, the most valuable spots in World Football (top two automatic promotion places) are up for grabs between three sides on the same amount of points and just three goals of for and against difference.
EPL ROUND UP
Our points of Interest
- Leicester could win the title if they beat or equal Spurs result on the weekend. A win on late Sunday night would put it beyond doubt. A hint of irony given Man Utd’s spend on their squad to struggle to finish in Top 4 compared to Leicester who have come from last a season and a half ago with a bunch of no names from the Championship, Non League and other less fancied leagues and divisions.
- A glut of teams within two points from 11th to 16th in the manager killer section of the table as two teams in that group – Everton and Watford – more than likely look for a new boss next season. Bournemouth are amongst those teams but their young manager is safe from the sack having done extremely well this year. It is some story if they can finish higher than a team like Everton, and they’ll be every chance if they can win this weekend against them.
- There’s nothing like a genuine relegation battle that will go down to the final kick, and this Relegation battle is especially tense with at least one big team from the North East guaranteed to visit Portman Road next year. Stoke have conceded 4 goals in their last 3 games and a repeat will just about give Sunderland the breathing space they need.
TIPS
EPL 3PM KICKOFFS MULTI
DRAW – Watford v Aston Villa
DRAW – WBA v West Ham
BOURNEMOUTH to beat Everton
NEWCASTLE to beat Crystal Palace
SUNDERLAND to beat Stoke
$1 “pays” $168
TITLE DECIDER + OTHERS EPL MULTI
ARSENAL to beat Norwich
LIVERPOOL to beat Swansea
DRAW – Man Utd v Leicester
MAN CITY to beat Southampton
DRAW – Chelsea v Spurs
$1 “pays” $80
FOOTBALL LEAGUE ROUND UP
Points of interest
- The first two automatic promotion spots could hardly be any closer with all three teams on the same points – and not much in goal difference – 1st is Burnley (+33 last in EPL 2014-15), 2nd Middlesbrough (+32 last in EPL 2009) and Brighton & Hove Albion (+30 last in 1st Div in 1983). All have tricky games this weekend. The riches of EPL await…
- The only other possible promotion place to be decided is 6th, and those two teams play each other this weekend – Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff. Cardiff can get within 1 point with 1 game to go with victory.
- Leeds v Charlton meet in the We Hate Our Shitty Owners Supermatch. Both sets of fans have had to put up with plenty, but at least Leeds get to spend another year of craziness in the Championship next season, Charlton have already been relegated.
- Bad owners are one the themes of relegated teams this season. Some of the most unpopular owners are in charge of relegated sides, Charlton are one, but probably the most unpopular owner in the Football League is at Blackpool, and they are set for consecutive relegations.
- A club that got relegated with Blackpool is Wigan, who could return to Championship this weekend as Champions. Who could join them is still unclear with even the last spot of the playoffs still up for grabs featuring some of the lesser fashionable clubs like Barnsley, Gillingham and Scunthorpe.
- League Two has the only runaway winner with Northampton Town already champions, the remaining two spots are between four teams.
- The most interesting playoff story is Wimbledon have almost qualified in seventh. With Milton Keynes (Dons) already relegated to League One next season, motivation will be very high for AFC Wimbledon to get promoted so they can be in the same division for the first time since the old Wimbledon became Milton Keynes Dons and AFC Wimbledon started off all over again in the lowest division possible. It would be a sweet victory for the real Dons. It would be an irresistible story for the Football League.
TIPS
CHAMPIONSHIP 3PM KICKOFFS MULTI
IPSWICH to beat Milton Keynes
DRAW – Nottingham Forest v Wolves
ROTHERHAM to beat Blackburn
PRESTON to beat Reading
CARDIFF to beat Sheffield Wednesday
$1 “pays” $162
CHAMPIONSHIP PROMOTION DECIDERS + OTHERS MULTI
MIDDLESBROUGH to beat Birmingham
DRAW – Bolton v Hull
BRIGHTON to beat Derby
BURNLEY to beat QPR
$1 “pays” $13
LEAGUE 1 MULTI
WIGAN to beat Blackpool
BARNSLEY to beat Colchester
PETERBORUGH to beat Shrewsbury
SCUNTHORPE to beat Port Vale
MILLWALL to beat Oldham
$1 “pays” $17
LEAGUE 2 MULTI
WIMBLEDON to beat Stevenage
BRISTOL ROVERS to beat York
EXETER to beat Morecambe
BARNET to beat Yeovil
PLYMOUTH to beat Cambridge
$1 “pays” $26
