This season’s English Premier League will come to an end this Sunday with 10 week 38 matches on the card. Crystal Palace will host Manchester United as Arsenal host Everton. Chelsea will take on Watford as Leicester City lurk horns with Southampton. Brentford and Burnley will seek to disunite Leeds United and Newcastle United respectively.
Table toppers, Manchester City will host Aston Villa as Norwich City ambush Tottenham Hotspurs. Brighton will take on West Ham as Liverpool tread tackles with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The center of attraction will be the matches between Manchester City and Aston Villa and Liverpool versus Wolves.
Only a point separates Manchester City from second placed Liverpool, who are gunning for a record quadruple. The Reds have already won the League Cup and the FA Cup. They will play against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final on May 28.
To make the quadruple dream a reality, Liverpool will have to defeat Wolves while Manchester City fail to defeat Aston Villa.
Aston Villa parade two former Liverpool players who are expected to spoil the party for the Citizens.
Aston Villa coach Steven Gerrard is a Liverpool legend fondly called Captain Fantastic. He played 710 times for Liverpool and scored 186 goals. He won the UEFA Champions League in 2006, two FA Cup titles in 2001 and 2006, UEFA Cup in 2001, three League Cup title in 2001, 2003 and 2012, UEFA Super Cup in 2001 and a Community Shield title in 2006.
Gerrard started coaching in 2016 and have learnt the intricacies of the job so fast that last season, he led Rangers to win the Scottish Premier League with 102 points without losing a single match.
On November 11, 2021, Steven Gerrard replaced Dean Smith, who was dismissed four days earlier. He has won 10 and drew five of the 27 matches he has overseen in Aston Villa.
Philippe Coutinho is a former Liverpool mid-fielder. He joined Aston Villa from Barcelona on January 11, 2022 and instantly hit the ground running. Coutinho has played 18 matches, scored 4 goals and provided 3 assists.
On the other hand, Manchester City play with power, pace and passion, crushing opponents with remarkable aplomb. For a club, that have won 28 league matches this season and have scored 96 goals, conceding only 24, Aston Villa should not be such a huge opponent for City on a very good day.
Despite being prolific, City have shown a tendency to crumble when you expect them sparkle. They have lost to Tottenham Hotspur home and away and to Crystal Palace at home this season. They have also drawn six matches including last weekend’s 2-2 draw with West Ham, where they would have won the league title if they had taken all three points.
If Steven Gerrard can come up with a tactical master-class combined with Coutinho’s moments of genius in the mid-field, Aston Villa can hurt Manchester City and hand the opportunity to win the title to Liverpool, if the Reds can defeat Wolves in Amfield.
