Premier League: Midweek News and Notes

We’ve had some midweek action on the pitch in the Premier League, with matches on Monday and Tuesday. There are a pair of matches on the horizon for Wednesday as well, with some implications in relation to the table to boot as the season winds down. With teams having just four or five matches left in the season, every contest and every point counts. Let’s take a look at what’s unfolded the last couple of days and on the horizon for Wednesday in the Premier League.

Early Week Premier League Results

West Ham 0, Crystal Palace 0: There wasn’t much in the way of offensive fireworks in this match. West Ham finished with a 4-1 advantage in shots on target in the match. Both sides had nine shot attempts in the contest. Konstantinos Mavropanos had the best chance for West Ham in the 44th minute only to be thwarted by Dean Henderson. He had another effort in the 68th minute but Henderson was again up to the task.

The match ended scoreless but still had an impact on the table. With the point they earned, West Ham ensured that Wolverhampton is locked into relegation. Crystal Palace moved into 13th place in the table with 43 points.

Brighton 3, Chelsea 0: Chelsea’s freefall continued as they suffered their fifth straight loss in Premier League play as they were blanked by Brighton. That loss marked the first time they have dropped five straight Premier League matches while getting blanked since 1912. Fans of the Blues turned on manager Liam Rosenior with a vengeance and one has to wonder if a change is coming. Ferdi Kadioglu gave Brighton a 1-0 lead in the third minute and that was the margin at the half. Jack Hinshelwood made it a 2-0 game in the 56th minute before Danny Welbeck tallied in stoppage time.

With the win, Brighton jumped into sixth place in the table with 50 points. Chelsea dropped to a three-way tie for seventh with Brentford and Bournemouth with 48 points. The Blues have played 34 matches, while Brentford and Bournemouth each have 33.

Wednesday’s Fixtures

Leeds vs. Bournemouth: Leeds is 2-0-2 in their last four Premier League matches entering this contest. That includes a 2-1 victory over Manchester United, followed by a 3-0 triumph over Wolverhampton. Thoe wins pushed Leeds to 15th in the table, eight points ahead of Tottenham to avoid relegation. Bournemouth is 6-0-7 in their last 13 matches, having not suffered a defeat since January 3. They come into this match off 2-1 road wins over Arsenal and Newcastle. Bournemouth is in a three-way tie for seventh in the table with Brentford and Chelsea.

Manchester City vs. Burnley: In a battle of sides at opposite ends of the table, Man City heads to Burnley looking to maintain their momentum. They downed Arsenal 2-1 in a showdown of the top two teams in the table over the weekend. Manchester City is 7-0-3 in their last 10 matches in Premier League play and would tie the Gunners for the top spot in the table with a win here. Burnley is 0-5-2 in their last seven after losing 4-1 to Nottingham Forest over the weekend. While the win here would be beneficial for Man City, the loss would be critical to Burnley. A defeat here would doom them to relegation. Even a win or draw may simply prolong the inevitable as a West Ham win over Everton Saturday would secure the same result.