Premier League Games of the Week: Week 27
Raj Ramanathan
The Premier League, a league that comes close to no other in terms of excitement and skill. Whether it's the top six teams or the bottom six, each team fights regardless of the reward. This induces fans from all over the world to step inside a world of possibilities from the comfort of their own home. We hold our breath and watch from the sidelines as match week 27 takes place.
The Games of the Week
Chelsea (9-7-9) v Leicester City (7-3-15)
Chelsea: The victorious Chelsea side comes into this game with an upper hand coming in the form of rejuvenated coaching. Graham Potter has shown what the Chelsea squad is capable of doing. The Chelsea team came off of a 1-0 win against Leeds United, with Fofona scoring the goal off of a header. Critics said that this was the make-or-break game for Potter’s career, the expectations are for them to continue winning but only time will tell. The new signings are yet to make a difference worth the grand price tag they came with, yet fans hold out hope for them. Enzo Fernandez has shown power and passion through his first few games but has been limited in goal-scoring opportunities. Alongside him plays Joao Felix who showed some quality against Leeds, he was able to get a few shots with one hitting the crossbar. The pressure of being a new signing rises, along with the pressure of the coaching staff. On the flip side of this matchup enters a rebuilding team. Leicester City has a few players who can make a difference, but in the Premier League that is simply not enough. Players like Maddison continue to show why they belong in the top league with the top teams. However, players like Vardy, Iheanacho, and Ndidi underperform throughout the season. The defense gives the rest of the team hope by limiting the number of goals, yet they continue to lose. Last week they lost to Southampton, the number nine team, just one higher than Chelsea. This loss comes at the expense of only one goal, this shows that they still have a chance but they need to step up if they aim to do so. With thousands of eyes on these teams, it will come down to a game of composure on either side. I see Chelsea squeaking by, but no doubt it will be a close encounter.
West Ham (10-4-11) v Aston Villa (6-5-14)
Aston Villa: West Ham has shown glimpses of potential throughout the season, with players like Paqueta and Rice. These players alone cannot save a helpless West Ham team, this showed last week when they fell to Brighton 4-0. Despite losing last week I still believe that West Ham has the quality to beat Aston Villa. If they continue to make use of players like Soucek, and Zouma. Zouma is back from injury and is confirmed to play against Aston Villa. This will hopefully provide relief to the visibly frustrated Rice. The team also hopes to see Soucek enter this game 100%, especially after last week's physical game. Aston Villa on the other hand has come off of a win against Everton last week with a successful team effort. Overall players on the team all played well and showed a newfound team chemistry. Thanks can be said to the security blanket known as Emi Martinez who solidifies the goalkeeper spot. When tested, Martinez proved why he won the Golden Glove award at the World Cup. Tyrone Mings can also be thanked for Aston Villa’s clean sheet. He continued to provide goal-line saves and created chances for through balls. For this matchup, we expect a change for Aston Villa in terms of midfielders. Emi Buendia proved to coaches what impact he has on the team, his link-up play with McGinn throughout the game resulted in a goal. Aston Villa will step into this game as underdogs but emerge victorious through the tough battle is what I believe.
