The temperature continues to rocket in the English Premier League this midweek, with a huge pair of derbies among six fixtures played out between Tuesday and Thursday.
It’s Liverpool and Manchester United who kick off the EPL action with their north west derby at Anfield on Tuesday night.
Jurgen Klopp was left beaming by his side’s progression to the FA Cup final at Wembley last weekend, while the Red Devils were once again indebted to the hat-trick heroics of Cristiano Ronaldo as they returned to winning ways against basement boys Norwich at Old Trafford.
A whopping 19 points is the difference between the foes, as United scramble for a top four finish with the Reds pushing all the way for the title.
It remains just as intense on Wednesday as London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal collide at Stamford Bridge.
The race for Uefa Champions League qualification is wide open, although the Blues have just about maintained their supremacy in the battle despite the government sanctioning of Russian oligarch former owner Roman Abramovich.
Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, however, have capitulated in losing four of their last five, leaving their top four bid very much in the balance.
Leaders Manchester City will have taken careful note of one of the London side’s recent vanquishers, Brighton, who visit the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
The Seagulls repeated their capital city feat at the weekend in seeing off lacklustre Tottenham but will have to go some to make it three on the spin away from home, with Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions smarting from two draws in three as well as FA Cup semi-final defeat to title rivals Liverpool.
Time is running out for those at the wrong end of the EPL table, too.
Goodison Park breathed a huge collective sigh of relief as Everton pinched victory over Manchester United last time out and they’re back on home turf on Wednesday.
Mid-table Leicester are the visitors, with Frank Lampard’s Toffees sitting three points clear of the drop zone and an unthinkable relegation to the Championship.
Burnley are scrambling to overhaul the Merseyside club and gave up yet another winning position to draw at West Ham on Sunday.
It continued a familiar theme despite having sacked long-serving boss Sean Dyche just two days earlier, with Thursday night’s Turf Moor tussle with Southampton taking on do-or-die properties, whatever the Everton result 24 hours before.
Newcastle and Crystal Palace, meanwhile, have found completely different ways of reaching 37 Premier League points so far this season.
The pair meet at St James’ Park on Wednesday separated by only goal difference, with the Magpies making it back-to-back victories at the weekend thanks to a last-gasp winner against Leicester.
Patrick Vieira must ensure his Eagles don’t drift to the finish line with little now to play for following their FA Cup semi-final exit to Chelsea at Wembley on Sunday.
English Premier League predictions for 19 – 21 April
Prediction methodology explained: The expected win percentage is based off publicly available odds. For example, if a team’s odds are 2.30, the expected chance of winning is 43%. If the odds are 1.62 the expected chance of winning is 62% and so on. These are accurate at the time of writing, but are subject to change. Where there is no value listed, the odds were not available at the time of writing.
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Liverpool | 74 | 67 |
| Manchester United | 13 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Chelsea | 54 | 39 |
| Arsenal | 23 | 80 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Everton | 44 | 37 |
| Leicester | 31 | 36 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Newcastle | 44 | 50 |
| Crystal Palace | 31 | 32 |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Manchester City | 85 | 85 |
| Brighton | 6 | |
| Chance of winning (%) | Usual win % with these odds | |
| Burnley | 36 | 36 |
| Southampton | 38 | 45 |