Arsenal into FA Cup Final – against Villa; Chelsea and Man United stalemate – The National’s EPL predictions

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The National Deputy Sports Editor Thomas Woods makes his picks for Round 33 in the Premier League, April 18-19, plus an FA Cup semi-finals special that sees Arsenal into the final.

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Arsenal v Reading, Saturday: Arsenal are the Premier League’s form team and they should dispatch Reading with ease. Their opponents sit towards the bottom of the second-tier Championship and haven’t won in six games. With any luck, we’ll get something close to the last three games these sides played two seasons ago – Arsenal wins of 4-1, 5-2 and 7-5. PREDICTION: Arsenal, 3-0.

Liverpool v Aston Villa, Sunday: There will be two key factors in this game – the tussle between Martin Skrtel, back after a three-game ban, and in-form Villa forward Christian Benteke, and the fitness of Liverpool forward Daniel Sturridge. It seems Sturridge will miss out through injury while you’d fancy Benteke to make the most of his aerial prowess against a Liverpool side who often struggle with crosses and corners. Skrtel is their best defender and needs to play a blinder. PREDICTION: Draw, 1-1 (Villa win on penalties).

Crystal Palace v West Bromwich Albion : West Brom are safe from relegation, unless something spectacular happens. Which is lucky as they have fallen apart in their last three games. They’ve gone from conceding once in five games to shipping 10 in three matches. They meet a Palace side scoring goals for fun, on a four-game winning streak. PREDICTION: Palace, 2-0.

Everton v Burnley: The visitors are fighting for their Premier League lives and we’re getting to the stage of the season where form goes out of the window. Everton are unbeaten in four, but they are cruising in mid-table. Even with Romelu Lukaku likely to return up front for them, I’ll back the team with more to lose to get a point. PREDICTION: Draw, 1-1.

Leicester City v Swansea City: Talking of another team up against it, Leicester are making a real go of their fight for survival, having pulled off two wins on the trot (they’ve only won six all season). They are three points from safety, but have a game in hand on everyone else and five of their seven remaining games are at home. Swansea will be hard to beat but a point is likely. PREDICTION: Draw, 1-1.

Stoke City v Southampton: Stoke seemed to be cruising towards the end of the season while Southampton are only a point off a Europa League spot and have an outside chance of the top four. They could easily win their next five games before a trip to Manchester City on the last day of the season. PREDICTION: Southampton, 1-2.

Chelsea v Manchester United: Chelsea will win the title, but they might have to settle for a point against a surging United side who have beaten Tottenham, Liverpool and Man City in their last four games. Without Diego Costa, Chelsea have been more functional than spectacular, relying a little too much on Eden Hazard. PREDICTION: Draw, 1-1.

Manchester City v West Ham United: City’s slump in form has been drastic, with four defeats in the last six games ending their title hopes. But the fixture list has been kind of them, with three of their next four games at home against teams they should beat comfortable – West Ham, Aston Villa and QPR. Sergio Aguero was a bright spark in the derby defeat at Old Trafford and he could bag a hatful on Sunday. PREDICTION: City, 3-0.

Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur: Newcastle lost at Liverpool on Monday but they showed some fight with an 30-minute spell where they should have scored. They can build on that against a Tottenham side who seem to be too dependent on Harry Kane’s goals. He hasn’t scored in his last two games and neither have Spurs. PREDICTION: Draw, 0-0.