Last week, we went swimming inside uncharted waters in an attempt to predict the top four at the end of the league. There are nine fixtures to go and the door to the trophy cabinet has swung wide open. Chelsea have a game in hand and are still clear favourites, but recent results have seen Arsenal, Manchester United and even Liverpool nursing flimsy hopes of some miraculous win. In our predictions, City will finish second, Liverpool third and Arsenal in their mandatory fourth place. But Manchester United will not want to read this. They even disproved pundits last week with a convincing 3-0 beating of Tottenham Hotspur. The detail of the top four will shape up fully in the next two weeks. Saturday Man city 2-2 West brom 3pm Manuel Pellegrini will not be on the job next season unless he can fashion out some miracle starting today. City now have no room for further slip ups after going down 1-0 at Burnley last weekend, before being outplayed and humiliated by Leonel Messi’s dazzling display for Barcelona in Uefa Champions League in midweek. Now Alan Pardew visits The Etihad with his Baggies side to try and compound Manchester City’s misery. To beat West Brom, Pellegrini will have to do the impossible. That impossible is relegating skipper Vincent Kompany to the bench. Although the Belgian is the perfect commander, his game reading is suspect and he always creates holes. His ‘assist’ for Burnley is one such evidence. Newcastle 2-2 aRSENAL 5PM Arsene Wenger returned from France looking more wrinkled than ever after his Gunners were eliminated from Champions League in the same round for the fourth straight time. Focus now turns back to FA Cup and the league, where Arsenal, a point behind second-placed City, believe they can pull out the finishing kick to finish second. That quest starts today when Arsenal travel to St James Park to face the Magpies. This is a stadium where Arsenal sweat for their wins, but losing has always been out of the question. Still, much will depend on Wenger’s tactic. Newcastle have Senegalese strike Papisse Cisse still suspended, while Arsenal have full squad with the exception of the long injury culprits like Mikel Arteta. If Wenger goes for the double of Welbeck and Giroud, they will struggle to beat Newcastle. Sunday L’pool 2-0 Man Utd 3.30pm Manchester United turned up for football last week, pinning Tottenham Hotspur to the wall to underline their quest for a top four finish. Louis van Gaal continues to hold faith in Marouane Fellaini as his striking option after losing faith in Colombian hitman Radamel Falcao. With Robin van Persie out injured, Fellaini has been the strike partner for Wayne Rooney. Against Spurs, the magic was in starting Juan Mata and the Spaniard’s creative influence was immense. Now United face a side that is yet to lose in the league this year, a side that is playing with confidence after a poor start. Hull 1-3 Chelsea 6pm The last fixture of the game week will see top leaders Chelsea go all out to arrest the rot at the Tigers, who are without Nikica Jelavic after the striker had knee surgery and will be out for six weeks. Mourinho, though, has his own woes. He has somewhat been playing Ramires in midfield against the ugly stat that says Chelsea struggles when the Brazilian starts. To make matters worse, the ghost that contains Cesc Fabregas in the second half of the season is back to claim its prey. The Spanish midfielder has been a shadow of himself since the turn of the year. If the Tigers put up a fight, they can pull out a draw. Barcelona 3-0 Real 10pm Going to look mad for it. Real Madrid have not been up to task in the second half of the season. After chalking up wins, they finally fell flat in Madrid derby when Atletico pumped four past Iker Casillas. The trouble for Real goes beyond just an inexplicable poor run. Carlo Ancelotti has been trying hard to find out what is wrong with Real but there seems to be no immediate answer. Cristiano Ronaldo continues his petulance after falling behind Messi in the scoring charts. Last week, he showed the worst of his side when he flayed his arms in frustration after Bale scored. If the World Player of the Year carries that frustration to Camp Nou, it will play into Barca’s hands in a game where Messi is expected to fashion the kind of game he did against Manchester City on Wednesday. Messi is imperious and at the best of his form at the moment. Barca will score at least three goals. OTHER FIXTURESSPURS 2-3 LEICESTER STOKE CITY 1-0 PALACESOUTHAMPTON 3-2 BURNLEYASTON VILLA 1-1 SWANSEA WEST HAM 3-0 SUNDERLANDQPR 1-0 EVERTONLYON 4-1 NICE HANNOVER 2-1 DORTMUNDSCHALKE 1-1 BAYER AC MILAN 2-1 CAGLIARI ATL. MADRID 3-1 GETAFE *SEAMAN IS A LIVERPOOL FAN
