01.05. (Sun) 17:10 Manchester City - West Ham United

DID YOU KNOW?

Manchester City are looking favourites to claim the fourth place in the league which would be City’s highest finish since ex-player Tony Book was manager back in 1977.

West Ham have been on a terrible run of late; their last win of any kind was on March 5 when they defeated Stoke City 3-0, six games ago.

This fixture has been kind to City. They have not lost against the team from the capital at home since they met in the FA Cup in March 2006. West Ham won that day 2-1 with Sun Jihai being sent off.

Avram Grant’s record against City is dead even, two wins and two defeats. However, the two victories both came whilst the Israeli was in charge at Chelsea. Indeed, one of the victories was a 6-0 drubbing of City by Chelsea.

Carlos Tevez’s importance to the Manchester outfit cannot be over-emphasised. He leads the league goal scoring charts with 19, Mario Balotelli is second on six, and perhaps surprisingly Yaya Toure comes in third with five. With City having an eye on FA Cup glory too, the need for the likes of David Silva and Edin Dzeko to get among the goals increases.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Manchester City (4-3-3)
Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Lescott, Kolarov; Toure Y, de Jong, Barry; Johnson A, Silva, Balotelli.

With Carlos Tevez missing with a hamstring injury, many City fans fear that the Argentine has played his last game for the club. Rumours concerning the striker's future just refuse to go away and Tevez is unlikely to play again this season.

Roberto Mancini is not expected to make any changes to the side which won at Blackburn last Monday and will be anticipating a comfortable home win which should all but clinch Champions League football for the Citizens next year.

West Ham United (4-4-1-1)
Green; Gabbidon, Jacobsen, Spector, Da Costa; Behrami, Hitzlsperger, Boa Morte, Kovac; Cole, Ba.

Avram Grant is certainly being restricted in his team selections as the Hammers continue to fight against the drop to the Championship. Football Writers Association Footballer of the Year Scott Parker is still out with an Achilles injury.

Also in the sick bay are Mark Noble, Garry O’Neill and Matthew Upson. With such players unavailable to him, that fight is getting increasingly difficult.

Prediction

You never know what you’re going to get from Manchester City. They could be fabulous and destroy the opposition like they did against Sunderland, who it must be said are far higher in the table than West Ham, or they could be average and laboured like they were at home to Blackburn and Birmingham. If they are in the former mood, game over for West Ham, the Citizens will romp away with this as they continue to build momentum for the FA Cup final against Stoke.

Man City 4-0 West Ham

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01.05. (Sun) 15:05 Arsenal - Manchester United

DID YOU KNOW?

In-form Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has scored in three of his last four games against the Gunners.

Stuttering Arsenal have won only one of their last seven league games – drawing five in total.

Flawless Manchester Unted have kept clean sheets in their last three games.

Manchester United have won the last four encounters against Arsenal – the last time they won five on the trot was between 1983 and 1985.

Arsenal have drawn their last three games at the Emirates, scoring only one goal - and that from the penalty spot.

Robin van Persie is the Gunners' top scorer with 19 goals in all competitions this season.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Szczesny; Sagna, Djourou, Koscielny, Clichy; Song, Wilshere; Walcott, Fabregas, Nasri; Van Persie.

Johan Djourou continues to deputise for Thomas Vermaelen, who came through 90 minutes of a reserve game in midweek (coincidentally against Manchester United) following his lengthy spell on the sidelines, but is unlikely to be considered ready for a return to Premier League action just yet. In the Belgian's continued absence, Arsene Wenger is expected to keep faith with the side that ran out losers to Bolton earlier in the week.

Manchester United (4-4-2)
Van der Sar; Rafael, Smalling, Vidic, Evra; Valencia, Anderson, Carrick, Nani; Hernandez, Rooney.

It seems unlikely that Sir Alex Ferguson will risk playing Rio Ferdinand three times in a week, so Chris Smalling will probably come in. Otherwise, Michael Carrick will have the opportunity to build on his accomplished midweek performance in the Champions League while Dimitar Berbatov will likely feature on the bench after returning from injury.

Prediction

Recently the visitors have affirmed their ability to grind out narrow victories. With the Gunners poor at home recently, it’s not difficult to envisage a smash and grab job for United that will see them put their rivals' desperate hopes of Premier League title contention to the sword.

Arsenal 0-1 Man Utd.

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01.05. (Sun) 15:00 Milan - Bologna

DID YOU KNOW?

AC Milan have won three of their last four meetings against Bologna.

The league leaders have conceded only 23 goals in the 2010-11 campaign.

Massimiliano Allegri's men have scored 14 goals in their last four matches at San Siro.

Milan have yet to concede a goal from the penalty spot this term.

Bologna have conceded a league high 11 goals in the first 15 minutes of games this season.

The Rossoblu are currently riding a four-game losing streak.

Bologna have been outscored 9-1 in the last four matches.

Alberto Malesani's men have picked up only three points in their last five road games.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

AC Milan (4-3-1-2)
Abbiati; Abate, Nesta, Thiago Silva, Zambrotta; Flamini, Pirlo, Seedorf; Boateng; Cassano, Robinho

Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri will be without the services of two key strikers as Zlatan Ibrahimovic is still suspended while Alexandre Pato is nursing a thigh injury. The league leaders also have some problems in midfield as Mark Van Bommel is suspended and Gennaro Gattuso is out with a muscle strain.

Bologna (5-3-2)
Viviano; Cassarini, Moras, Portanova, Britos, Morleo; Mutarelli, Mudingayi, Della Rocca; Ramirez, Di Vaio

Bologna have no suspensions to deal with but will have to make do without Diego Perez who will join long-term absentees Gyorgy Garics and Antonio Busce on the sidelines.

 

Prediction

Milan could win the Scudetto on Sunday if they beat Bologna and Inter slip up against Cesena the day before. Even without Ibrahimovic and Pato upfront the league leaders have enough firepower to take care of business at San Siro.

AC Milan 2-0 Bologna

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01.05. (Sun) 13:00 Liverpool - Newcastle United

Newcastle United midfielder Kevin Nolan believes his team are in a better position after selling striker Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35 million (€39.5m) in the winter transfer window.

Carroll will be reunited with his former team-mates on Sunday when the Magpies travel to Anfield but Nolan believes the move was the right one for everyone involved.

"We have proved we are not just a one-man band. People blame Andy for going, but you can’t really blame anyone. You can’t blame the owners for the money they got," he said according to the Daily Mail.

"It was for the best for the club. It's worked out better that Andy has gone, although we’d love to have him still here.

"We’d probably have a few more points and would probably build a team which was going to be great around him.

"We’re in such a fantastic position, let’s just see what happens. The money we got was astronomical."

Newcastle sit in mid-table, having been promoted back to the Premier League last year, with Carroll one of the main reasons the Toon Army have done so well this season. But Nolan revealed that his former team-mate has been giving nothing away ahead of Sunday's clash.

"He’s been a bit sheepish with me this week. He has been in touch and texted, but we are not giving too much away to each other. He’s desperate to play and wants to see all the lads," he added.

"In my eyes it’ll hit him when he sees Newcastle the team he grew up with and loved for so long, playing against him."

Prediction

Liverpool will be looking for revenge over the visitors after being roundly beaten 3-1 at St. James' Park earlier in the season, and if recent form is anything to go by, Kenny Dalglish will be confident of keeping up their strong finish as the campaign nears its conclusion. Both sides will be playing for little more than pride but this will be no dud and I expect the hosts to overcome Alan Pardew's charges in a high-tempo clash at Anfield.

Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle

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01.05. (Sun) 13:00 Birmingham City - Wolverhampton Wanderers

DID YOU KNOW?

Birmingham's thumping at the hands of Liverpool last weekend equalled their worst result in the Premier League era - they also lost 5-0 to Manchester United in January.

The Blues' 34 Premier League goals has put them joint bottom of the scoring table with Wigan Athletic.

Wolves are at the bottom of the away table, having accumulated only eight points on their travels.

If league games ended at half-time, the visitors would be in a comfortable eighth place on 44 points.

In 127 meetings in all competitions, Wolves have won 61, Birmingham have won 38 and there have been 28 draws.

Cameron Jerome has not scored a goal in 20 games in the Premier League.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Birmingham City (4-4-2)
Foster; Carr, Johnson, Ridgewell, Parnaby; Larsson, Ferguson, Bowyer, Bentley; Phillips, Jerome.

Ben Foster's expected recovery from injury - picked up in last weekend's 5-0 defeat at Anfield - has eased a goalkeeper crisis. The England international should be joined by David Bentley after the Tottenham Hotspur loanee returned as a late substitute in the same game.

Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-5-1)
Hennessey; Foley, Berra, Craddock, Ward; Jarvis, O'Hara, Mancienne, Milijas, Hunt; Fletcher.

Wolves manager Mick McCarthy has crossed his fingers that Steven Fletcher would shake off the knock picked up in the mid-week 3-0 defeat to Stoke City as he is the only fit recognised striker. The damaging defeat at the Britannia Stadium should also lead to a shake up at the back.

Prediction

The firecracker atmosphere in the stands between the local rivals should provide far more entertainment than the fare on the pitch. Neither side has troubled the scoring sheets and a stalemate should be in the offing.

Birmingham 0-0 Wolves

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