March 15th 2018

There are FA Cup quarter finals this weekend with three of the top 4 contenders – Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea – playing against Brighton, Swansea City and Leicester. FA Cup competition is the last chance both for the Red Devils, Spurs and Chelsea to win a trophy this season. While they compete for the oldest trophy in English football, Liverpool will have the chance to go back to the 3rd place in the table and to close the gap to the 2nd places Manchester United.

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AFC Bournemouth vs West Bromwich Albion

Do you thing that West From can be already considered a EFL Championship team? I do. The 8 points between them and the 17th placed Southampton are too much and I don’t believe that the Baggies will make it. It is unfortunate for the West From fans as no one believed that the Midlands club will be fighting for relegation this season.

Bournemouth are fine at the moment and will be fine at the end of the season if they play at the same level as they did until now.

Draw: 1:1

Huddersfield Town vs Crystal Palace

This is a game that both the Terriers and the Eagles need to win. Palace are not in a good run at the moment, but have a chance to win against direct competitor. It looks to me that Huddersfield are the better team at the moment, despite that Crystal Palace have more experienced players who have higher market price.

Huddersfield to win: 2:1

Stoke City vs Everton

I’m very interested to see what will come out of this fixture. Two teams with similar playing philosophy – a very physical footballing style – play against each other. One of them Stoke City are very likely to join West From in the Championship next season.

Within the last 6 games Everton have 3 home wins out of three fixture and 3 away loses out of three games played as visiting side. Under Sam Allardyce the Toffees have returned to the middle of the table, which would be considered as good season for them, considering the fact that they were at the bottom of the table in the middle of September.

As two teams who play unimpressive football are about to meet, I think that splitting the points is a very like outcome.

Draw: 1:1

Liverpool vs Watford

On paper Watford are a team which could go win a point at Anfield. However, Liverpool are a good team at the moment and their players should be very motivated to win 3 points and leave the disappointing 2:1 lost at Old Trafford in the past. The Jurgen Klopp’s player cannot afford to drop point if they want to finish in the top 4 at the end of the season. Liverpool are at the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season and wit ha bit of luck plus all the hard work needed when any team plays at this level, they could go to the semi-finals. The Champions League semi-finals or even the final are not enough, however. They do not guarantee a place in the next years tournament.

So, Jurgen Klopp needs to make sure that Liverpool would add another 3 points in the scoresheet. This is what this game is all about. It looks like that his team has become more consistent, despite that there are still some individual mistakes that make Reds to fail in some games.

Liverpool to win: 2:1

FA Cup Quarter-finals

Swansea City vs Tottenham Hotspur

Swansea have one one loss (4:1 away at Brighton) within the last 8 games. They still haven’t secured their Premier League status as they have only 31 points in the league. However in this FA Cup quarter-final Swans can afford to focus and give Tottenham a fight. I got;t believe that Spurs will miss the only chance to progress towards winning a trophy this season. FA Cup and top 4 finish will be good achievement for them.

Tottenham to win: 1:3

Manchester United vs Brighton & Hove Albion

“Liverpool are in to the next phase of the tournament? Yes, this is true, but they do not have the FA Cup either,” Mourinho told BT Sport, after Sevilla kicked out Manchester United out of the Champions League at Old Trafford. “We still have the top four in the league to fight for and the FA Cup too so it’s not the end of the world. It is disappointing but it happens. I don’t want to make a drama of it. That’s football”, said also Mourinho to the Red Devils’ fans who don’t remember their club to be humiliated like that for more than two decades.

Playing down Man United’s Champions League exit against a good, but not a top club like Sevilla, does not make Mourinho any favor. His has been doing terrible job at Manchester in terms of the way the team plays. In terms of winning trophies, the Portuguese could claim the clubs is going good under his management. However, United must overcome Brighton, the Premier League newcomers who would not be afraid to go to Old Trafford and try to get a result. There is only one game at the FA Cup quarterfinals-finals, which is probably better for the Mourinho’s men than a two leg quarter-final.

Manchester United to win: 2:1

Wigan Athletic vs Southampton

It is likely that Wigan and Southampton would play against each other in the EFL Championship next season – the Wigan as promoted side, the Saints are a relegated one. Southampton have appointed a proven manager in the like of Mark Hughes. One of his first comments were “I bring experience of the Premier League. I understand what it takes in this league to win games. But first and foremost I think it’s about coming in and maybe being that different voice, that different message from myself and the staff, that will enable the players to recognise and focus on what needs to be done in this key period of the season.”

The Saints need someone like Hughes who knows how to manage in the Englands top flight and to keep them there. They are simply not a Championship side, despite that the club’s management made a lot of mistakes within the last few seasons, which created a risk for Southampton to be downgraded as a club. This game is an opportunity for the Southampton players to progress towards the FA Cup final.

Southampton to win: 1:2

Leicester City vs Chelsea

It is a very interesting game. Chelsea haven’t had a lot of time to recover physically after the difficult Champions League game, they have played against Barcelona at Camp Nou. The FA Cup is now the only chance for Antonio Conte to win a trophy this season. However, my personal feeling is that it is more important for Chelsea to make it into the top 4 rather than to try to win the FA Cup. Paying in the Europa League would be setback for the Blues who used to be among the best clubs in Europe within the last decade. Chelsea player cannot afford to get kicked out of another tournament in less than a week, however. If they do that, many of them will not be at Stamford Bridge next season.

Leicester City owners have announced that they are shifting the club’s focus towards winning any of the domestic cups. The Foxes have a good team, not a better one than Spurs, Chelsea or Manchester United, but if they got pass Chelsea, with a bit of luck the Antonio Conte’s men can progress to the FA Cup final. I think that the Blues are too good for them, however.

Chelsea to win: 1:2

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