It’s the final round of Premier League fixtures for the 2016/17 season, which means one final round of predictions.
Arsenal 2 Everton 1
Why? Arsenal have found some momentum, winning their past four games, albeit not all convincingly, but they have kept their hopes of finishing in the top four alive going into the final day. It is no coincidence this has occurred with Alexis Sanchez finding his goalscoring form again. They should have too much for Everton, who have cooled down after a fine run of results earlier in the year.
Burnley 2 West Ham United 0
Why? It is a credit to the excellent work that Sean Dyche has done that Burnley can go into the final game of the season celebrating the fact they will be playing Premier League football in August. The key to their success has been their strong home form and another three points ought to come here against a lacklustre West Ham.
Chelsea 3 Sunderland 0
Why? The interesting thing here will be what side Antonio Conte puts out with one eye on next weekend's FA Cup final with Arsenal. The champions rested players, and although they made hard work of it, still beat Watford on Monday, and you imagine even if the Italian fielded a side made up entirely of youth players they would still beat relegated Sunderland. John Terry will likely feature in his final league game for the club before he leaves in the summer.
Hull City 1 Tottenham Hotspur 4
Why? Hull are already relegated and it is hard to see anything other than a painful final Premier League match, for at least a year, for Marco Silva's men as second-placed Tottenham should have far too much quality for them.
Leicester City 4 Bournemouth 2
Why? There are usually a lot of goals around on the final day of the season and this is a prime candidate for a glut of them to go in here. Leicester have ended the campaign strongly, with Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez both looking back to their best, while Bournemouth have been a lot of fun, with midfielder Joshua King a consistent scorer.
Liverpool 3 Middlesbrough 0
Why? Liverpool need to win to guarantee top four status and a place in the Uefa Champions League next season, so playing an already relegated side, who have not won on their travels since August is pretty much the ideal fit for Jurgen Klopp's men. With Philippe Coutinho back on form, the Merseyside team will be comfortable victors.
Manchester United 1 Crystal Palace 2
Why? Jose Mourinho's full focus is now on the Europa League final, so this will be another makeshift side selected. Palace showed at Liverpool last month what they can do against the better sides in the division. Christian Benteke and Wilfried Zaha will fancy their chances of ending United's league campaign on a dour note.
Southampton 1 Stoke City 1
Why? The ultimate mid-table showdown between two sides whose seasons have petered out after good results earlier in the campaign ensured they stayed up comfortably. This should be an unremarkable game, with Southampton hoping to end a goal drought at home that stretches back to April 5, when James Ward-Prowse scored their third goal in the 3-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Swansea City 2 West Bromwich Albion 1
Why? Given what he inherited when he took over in January after the firing of Bob Bradley, Paul Clement has done an excellent job to keep Swansea up. Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurdsson have offered the bits of quality that have earned Swansea key points and they will fancy their chances of ending the season in style against a West Brom outfit who are winless in eight games.
Watford 1 Manchester City 4
Why? City only need one point to be assured of their top-four finish, but they will expect to get all three at a Watford side that have lost their past five games. It is Walter Mazzarri's final game in charge before he leaves the club after a mixed season, and it is unlikely to be a happy exit with Gabriel Jesus, Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero likely to feature in the line-up.
gcaygill@thenational.ae
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