The English Premier League is back after Champions League, Europa League and the FA Cup taking center stage. The front runner Manchester United sit 12 points clear and will look to extend their lead and their hold on the league.

Manchester City vs Chelsea, big EPL clash

This week they face bottom place Queens Park Rangers in a banana peel of a fixture. A desperate and hungry QPR will throw everything at United. A win for United will give them a real a stranglehold on the top position. For QPR, the odds of them staying are becoming slimmer and a loss will certainly put another nail in their coffin.

Title holders Manchester City square off against Londoners Chelsea in the biggest game of the weekend. Both teams have had underwhelming seasons and the result in this game will be huge, as both teams need to win for different reasons.

For the champions City, they come into the game desperate for a win to keep their slim hopes of retaining their title alive. It doesn’t look good as it is no longer in their hands. Chelsea on the other hand are in the midst of another season of controversy surrounding their management and coaching. They crashed out of the champions league aren’t in the running to win the league. They need a win to maintain a spot for the top four.

Elsewhere, Spurs, with the hottest player on the planet, Gareth Bale, face West Ham in a London derby. Spurs are enjoying 10 game unbeaten streak spearheaded by the Welshman Bale. Bale who has scored 12 goals on the last 11 games keeps increasing his stock value by the game. Spurs will need a win to maintain their push for a champions league spot. Which they will surely need if the are to keep Bale.

Brendan Rodgers and his Liverpool side, host his former club Swansea City. The game will come down to finishing and taking their chances, as both teams have had a hard time transferring their possession into goals.

Elsewhere, Norwich City visit Everton, with Everton looking to maintain their top 4 Champions league push, with Norwich looking to avoid the relegation turmoil.

In the middle of the table there are a number of teams, Stoke, West Brom and Sunderland that sit somewhat securely above the drop zone while the likes of Fulham, Norwich, and now Southampton hover above drop trying to stay out of its grasp.

With that being said, this week Fulham visit Stoke City, West Brom visit Sunderland and Southampton square off against Newcastle, all in mid-table battles that a lost carries the threat of being drawn back into the relegation dogfight .

At the bottom holding up the league, Reading and Wigan face each other in a massive bottom of the table affair. It is a legitimate in a legitimate 6 point clash. For the loser the relegation will be looking like a real possibility.

Roderick Scott
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