With the resumption of the FA Cup at the weekend, which will
include mouthwatering semifinal matchups between Chelsea and Tottenham on
Saturday and Manchester City versus Arsenal on Sunday, and a slew of
rescheduled fixtures to squeeze in, a prolonged Matchday 34 of the English
Premier League kicks off on Saturday and will stretch well into next week, with
the title race once again back on, a relegation decider, and the biggest Derby
of the year all on the slate to round out a busy week. You won’t want to miss any of the action this
week, so tune in and catch all of the action throughout the week live on the
NBC family of networks or online at NBC Live Extra.
Tuesday (all times eastern)
2:45pm – Southampton
@ Chelsea – Stamford Bridge, NBC Sports Network
After dropping three points only once in the previous six
months to take what has several times throughout the season looked like an insurmountable
advantage at the top of the table, Chelsea walked away empty handed for the
second time in the last three weeks when they were unable to find a way to
breakdown a tactically sound Manchester United in a 2-0 defeat. With only a four-point advantage over the
charging Tottenham, who face a tricky London Derby away to Crystal Palace, the
Blues will try desperately to gain additional breathing room when they welcome
Southampton to Stamford Bridge.
The Saints had several chances to go ahead in the first half
at Manchester City last weekend but, unable to capitalize, allowed three second
half goals without reply to fall 3-0.
Always a well disciplined and technically sound side, they are unlikely
to struggle in back to back weeks however, they have lost their last two
Premier League meetings against the Blues and managed to take all three points
in only two of their previous sixteen meetings across all competitions (L9 D5)
and, save for this fixture last season, have not won in their previous six
trips to Stamford Bridge (L3 D3).
Wednesday (all times eastern)
2:45pm – Sunderland @
Middlesbrough – Riverside Stadium, NBC Live Extra
While Chelsea will continue to try to hold off Tottenham for
the league’s top spot, at the other end of the table both Middlesbrough and
Sunderland are hoping, maybe against hope, to somehow survive the campaign and
guarantee another year in England’s top flight.
The table bottom dwellers, who currently sit six and ten points from
safety respectively, will square off for a massive relegation showdown at the
Riverside Stadium Wednesday afternoon, with the end result likely to send at
least one of the sides, if not possibly both, down to the Championship for next
season.
Even with the parachute payments in place over the next
several years to help ease the burden of relegation, the new television deal in
place that we highlighted at the beginning of the season is likely to cost any
team that drops down in excess of $100 million dollars, desperately crucial
revenue to any small market team. Both
sides will like their chances in the mid-week, with Middlesbrough taking the
last two meetings but, prior to the recent setbacks, Sunderland going six
unbeaten against Boro (W3 D3) and unbeaten in their last four trips to the
Riverside Stadium (W2 D2).
Thursday (all times eastern)
3pm – Manchester
United @ Manchester City – Etihad Stadium, NBC Sports Network
While publicly Jose Mourinho may have labeled the victory as
just another game, he had to gain a measure of satisfaction after employing a
masterful tactical display that neutralized his former side and rejuvenated
Manchester United’s hunt for a spot in the top four ahead of their trip across
town for the 174th edition of the Manchester Derby, with the Reds
now just four points behind Manchester City and enjoying the added bonus of a
game in hand over not just their neighbors, but also two games in hand over the
injury ravaged Liverpool, who sit in third place and six points head of United.
Mourinho will need to dig into his bag of tricks if he hopes
to get a similar result in the mid-week, as he not only will come up against a
City side who have lost only twice in the league since the New Year (W7 D4) but
also his personal nemesis Pep Guardiola, who has gotten the better of his longtime
rival over the years head to head (W8 D6 L4) and, despite dropping only one of
their last five meetings with the Citizens across all competitions, they have
dropped two of their last three excursions to the Etihad Stadium (W1) and where
City has dropped only one game all season long (W8 D6).