April 2023

Around this time last year, Everton took on Crystal Palace at home and produced a maddening second half to stay up. At that point, then coach Frank Lampard got carried away in the euphoria and you could be forgiven for thinking the Toffees had won the league. Now under the far more methodical Sean Dyche, Everton come to London to play Palace knowing that they need a result even more than they did last year.

Crystal Palace News

Prior to a hat-trick of wins under Roy Hodgson, Crystal Palace looked certain for the drop under Patrick Vieira. Three stabilising wins, though, including a 5-1 trouncing of Leeds away from home, has left Palace in pretty good shape. Their last result, a 2-0 win away at Southampton, more or less guaranteed safety.

They come into this one knowing they need to find form at home, though, with home wins few and far between in 2023.

Everton News

This is the closest the Blues have been to a relegation in the best part of thirty years. They come into this game knowing they need some kind of positive result, but playing against a team with three wins on the belt and a positive feelgood factor around the place seems unlikely. Everton also have a fair few injuries building up, with only their decent record against Palace in recent memory something to hold onto.

Verdict

Everton look primed to be relegated after several years of flirting with such a disaster. Expect them to come out flying here, but if they do not score early their season-long issue of conceding on the counter is almost certain to pop back up. Home win.

Score Prediction: 2-1

Back in the relegation spots, Nottingham Forest know that they need to start picking up wins and soon. The Trent side are in a poor run of form, and the stay of confidence provided to their coach, Steve Cooper, was not exactly a ringing endorsement.

With Manchester United coming to the Midlands having endured their own mediocre run of results, Forest might never find a better time to play the Red Devils.

Nottingham Forest News

Given Forest signed what feels like two squads worth of players since last summer, they somehow have an injury crisis. The report for this game suggests a ridiculous eight players are definitely out, with a further four set to be touch and go.

It would be hard to say who is the most important given how chop and change the team has felt, but the loss of full-backs Renan Lodi and Serge Aurier alongside Willy Boly and Chris Wood means that Forest are depleted in both defensive and attacking areas. Emmanuel Denis is the one on the injury list closest to returning, but it is unlikely he will start.

Manchester United News

United come into this game with a few injuries of their own, with Marcus Rashford and Lisandro Martinez not both injured for the medium-term. Raphael Varane came off in midweek against Sevilla, too, and Alejandro Garnacho is unlikely to make it back in time for this one. Scott McTominay is touch and go, though it is hard to say for sure if he can recover in time for this clash.

Verdict

Both sides have been in pretty average form recently, but United have had the edge over Forest in league and cup play so far this year. Forest have had a decent enough run of form at home, but United should have too much for them in this one – expect a comfortable United win to further put the pressure on Cooper and co.

Score Prediction: 0-2

Sitting pretty at the top of the table heading into April, not even the most optimistic of Arsenal fans could have predicted this. As they take on a Leeds side in mid-table, the Gunners know that anything other than a win hands the initiative to Manchester City. With a few injuries building up, though, the Gunners will likely need to grit this one out if they want results.

Arsenal News

Arsenal are coming into this game missing as many as six main players: Mohamed Elneny, Eddie Nketiah, William Saliba, and Takehiro Tomiyasu are all ruled out of this game. Meanwhile, it is likely that both Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney will have to sit this one out as well. This leaves Arsenal with a lighter squad than one would want, but the return of the likes of Gabriel Jesus bodes well for a team fighting for the title.

Leeds United News

Leeds have a few injuries themselves, and will definitely be without the impressive Tyler Adams in midfield. Alongside him, Wilfried Gnoto and Maxi Wober are both likely to miss out on this game. This will leave Leeds with a pretty imbalanced team, and they will be relying upon the recent form of the likes of Jack Harrison to get them through a challenging match-up. With relegation battles against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest on the horizon, Leeds might hold their fire here in terms of squad risks.

Verdict

Leeds have been OK recently, but Arsenal have been clutch in the big games at home and have won handsomely with regularity. Expect Arsenal to dominate both ball and match, and with Leeds missing so many players it is hard to see them winning out over the 90.

Score Prediction: 4-1