Grand weekend: wolves Watford, Arsenal, Foden, Dyche



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Game to watch – Watford v Wolves
If Liverpool is the biggest winner of the year, this pair must come next. Both kept us royally entertained all seasons and there are still two possible routes to end the beautiful seasons with the tangible reward of European football.

They are separated by a point and a goal in the Premier League table, competing for seventh place and the Europa League prize that would be won if Manchester City won the FA Cup.

If City does not win the cup, it will probably be because one of these two people broke it in the final.

The wolves entered the league with money and big plans and pointed out that with a little more consistency, they could pose a real threat to the Big Six's hegemony. They scored against the top six players somewhere during the season and would rank third in a top-seven league in the Premier League.

Watford was a little longer on the high flight but have stability and purpose nowand an ambition that goes beyond mere survival, as evidenced by their unusual refusal to empty tools once security is badured.

For both teams, a successful season is already badured. But for one of them, an FA Cup final – and who knows even a FA Cup win – is a success. Do not hit to reach an FA Cup final. Liverpool has not done it for seven years. The Spurs did not do it twenty eight.

Player to watch – Phil Foden
Caught the eye when finally gave a Premier League start in Wednesday's bloodless victory over Cardiff and may well have another chance in the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton, as City tries to manage its resources to meet the huge challenge of trying to win everything.

City's next five games after Saturday include three against the Spurs and one against Manchester United. Foden has another chance to impress Wembley this weekend.

Foden has already scored three goals in the world's oldest and biggest world cup competition this season, while his performance against Cardiff even left Kevin Kevin de Bruyne, clearly announcing that It's Coming Home and Pep Guardiola announced that the next decade would inevitably be known by football historians as the Foden era.

Team to watch – Arsenal
It's a quiet weekend in the Premier League for big players with City in FA Cup, Liverpool in Friday's game, Chelsea is not in action before Monday and Spurs and United enjoying a relaxing weekend.

Arsenal is an exception. He hopes to retain his beautiful form during a tricky game at Everton. The defeat would instantly throw the hard-earned advantage over the Spurs – who took a ten-point lead – while the win would send a real message to their four major rivals.

Arsenal's outside form remains the biggest hurdle between them and next season's Champions League football. This is one of five games outside of the last seven games. Although none of them are against the Big Six, four against the Medium Five, with trips to Watford, Wolves and Leicester to follow this one.

The Gunners have collected 16 of the last 18 points available in the Premier League, but four of their five wins since that time were won at home and the rest at Huddersfield. During this beautiful national series, they also lost games outside the Europa League in Bate Borisov and Rennes. while these deficits have been sufficiently compensated in the UAE, it nevertheless suggests a disturbing transport disorder.

The last victory outside the Premier League before the Huddersfield match was held in Bournemouth in November. They only managed six points in their last eight away games.

If this place among the top four is to be occupied, a solid return in points will be necessary in the coming days at mid-term. Everton, for his part, has taken four points from his last two home games against Liverpool and Chelsea.

This could be an appropriate and revealing test of the depth and durability of Arsenal's recent rejuvenation.

Manager to watch – Sean Dyche
It was a tough old season for Dyche and Burnley. It started in the Europa League and ended with a drop in relegation.

Unsurprisingly, they were totally unable to replicate the frankly unsustainable defensive record that had led them to seventh place last year, but they have the opportunity this weekend to fix their nerves. In the absence of Cardiff this weekend, Burnley's victory would earn them 36 points, eight more than the happy Grandpa Brexit band Neil Warnock, on the verge of survival.

All the odds, against a Bournemouth team that threatened at one point to get a good start in seventh place this season, before a five-game losing streak and a win – against Huddersfield, of course, it's still against Huddersfield – in eight games since smashing the Chelsea 4-0 in January.

Football League to watch – Norwich v QPR
It's the only one on TV to start, so unless you actually leave your house, it's the only choice.

Again. Not bad. The pioneers of the promotion, Norwich, have the advantage of playing first this weekend, which will allow, provided they do not lose the spirit, to take another step towards promotion and put increased pressure on Leeds and Sheffield United, who will have to react later in the day after – paper – much more difficult missions to Birmingham and Preston respectively.

QPR, for its part, has won only once in the last 15 games, leading to the dismissal of Steve McClaren on April Fool's Day. Poor Steve.

John Eustace temporarily takes over a team that should already be far enough away from the relegation zone to keep things from getting too hairy. I never know, though …

European game to watch – Barcelona v Atletico Madrid
The last chance for a real tragedy late in the race for La Liga while Atleti goes to Barcelona with eight points behind the top of the table.

Even another draw after this very ridiculous 4-4 at Villarreal this week would probably be good at Barca, keeping this cushion of eight points in front of what seems simple enough. The victory over their closest opponents, however, will really allow Messi and his teammates to fully focus on the largely open Champions League and on the immediate task ahead against Manchester United again suddenly deadly.

Dave Tickner


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