There’s a busy midweek of Premier League football action to look forward to with a host of key games at the top and bottom of the table.
With all 20 teams in action between Tuesday and Thursday, there should be entertainment aplenty as the fight for the European places continues, while teams battling to avoid the dreaded drop also eye crucial points.
On Tuesday there are four games when Brighton will be hoping to build on their win over Southampton by overcoming another south coast rival in Bournemouth, while Crystal Palace and Aston Villa meet in what should be an entertaining affair at Selhurst Park.
Also on the agenda, Wolves and Chelsea will both be seeking three points to aid their respective ambitions as the season begins to reach its exhilarating peak and Chelsea host rock-bottom Saints.
- BRIGHTON TO BEAT BOURNEMOUTH
- CRYSTAL PALACE VS ASTON VILLA - DRAW
- WOLVES TO BEAT FULHAM AND BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
- CHELSEA TO BEAT SOUTHAMPTON TO NIL
Brighton vs Bournemouth
Brighton are ninth in the table ahead of Tuesday’s home clash with Bournemouth but Fabian Hurzeler’s men are only four points off the top four after hammering stricken Southampton 4-0 at St Mary’s on Saturday.
It has generally been a campaign of rich promise for the Seagulls and they can continue to prove they have what it takes to finish in the European places this season by overcoming the Cherries at the Amex.
Brighton have already beaten Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea at home, while they have drawn with Arsenal at the Amex too this season so they will not fear a Bournemouth side too much, despite Andoni Iraola’s men currently being three points and three places above them in the standings.
The Cherries suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to Wolves at the weekend, albeit the game changed in the visitors’ favour after Illia Zabarnyi's red card just past the half-hour mark, but they may be in for pain on Tuesday.
There’s unlikely to be too much to choose between two similarly-matched teams when they go head-to-head but Brighton can edge it at home to further boost their top-four hopes.
BRIGHTON TO WIN
Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa
Two progressive sides with astute coaches meet at Selhurst Park in what could be a fascinating showdown between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa.
Villa have been able to mix impressive progress in the Champions League with another tilt at finishing in the top four this season and the midlanders are just two points off fourth as the campaign begins to approach its climax.
Their come-from-behind 2-1 win over Chelsea on Saturday followed on from a deserved home draw with runaway leaders Liverpool last week and, while a trip to Palace is a different test, Unai Emery’s side will again have to be close to their best to get anything from it.
The Eagles, after a difficult start, are looking much better under Oliver Glasner of late and they will be eyeing another very strong finish to the season with a top-half place still possible.
Palace won 2-0 at Fulham on Saturday and have plenty of attacking threat with in-form Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has 11 league goals this season, leading the line expertly.
Villa have a reborn Marcus Rashford, Ollie Watkins and recent signing Marco Asensio - to name just three - among their forward ranks and this should be an entertaining game where both look set to play a full part.
DRAW
Wolves vs Fulham
Wolves finally got the result their performances lately have been threatening when they won 1-0 at top-four hopefuls Bournemouth on Saturday and now they can pick up another vital victory over Fulham in their survival bid.
Vitor Pereira’s side were unfortunate to be edged out by the top two, Liverpool and Arsenal, in narrow defeats recently and they showed why they should eventually move away from trouble at the bottom by seeing off the Cherries away at the weekend.
Admittedly, they were helped by Zabarnyi’s first-half dismissal for Bournemouth, but Wolves are better than their position of 17th suggests and have the in-form Matheus Cunha - who has 14 goals and four assists in all competitions this season - to rely on.
The Cottagers, meanwhile, are enjoying another solid season and will have aspirations of holding on to a top-half place between now and May but they suffered a home setback against Palace on Saturday and could step off the gas a bit with spring approaching.
Marco Silva’s side are 10th, which is a more than respectable showing so far, and they have shown enough this year to suggest they can at least score at Molineux.
However, with Wolves a bit more desperate for the points, expect a home win.
WOLVES TO WIN
BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
Chelsea vs Southampton
Chelsea will believe they can still compete for a top-four finish in the weeks that remain despite suffering a third league defeat in four when they let a 1-0 lead slip at Villa.
After being talked about as potential title challengers before Christmas, the Blues’ campaign has tailed off badly since but, underlining the very competitive nature of the top half this season, Enzo Maresca’s men are still just a point shy of current fourth-placed Manchester City.
A home win over rock-bottom Saints looks to be inevitable as the visitors are in a wretched run of form, losing eight of their last nine league games and look horribly out of their depth in the top flight.
This should be a one-sided contest and it’s difficult to imagine Southampton will be capable of scoring on the night.
Ivan Juric has struggled to make an impact since taking over from Russell Martin in December and relegation appears to be a formality for a side now a full 13 points from safety with 12 games to play.
So far this season, Saints have failed to score in 11 of their 26 league games and they look set to draw another blank in a defeat at Stamford Bridge.
CHELSEA TO BEAT SOUTHAMPTON TO NIL
