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Ilkay Gundogan shining light for City as they close on title

Ilkay Gundogan is most in-form midfielder in Premier League

Fantasy managers have just two more weeks to adjust their teams with the goal of becoming FPL champion, and some stars have shone during the run-in.

Manchester City are on the brink of their third straight Premier League title and Ilkay Gundogan has recorded consecutive double-digit point tallies, and has the second-best form among midfielders, scoring 7.4 Fantasy points per match across the last month.

Brentford striker Ivan Toney will miss the rest of the season after being suspended from footballing activities for eight months as a result of breaking betting regulations.

Saturday

Tottenham Hotspur v Brentford (8.30am)

Tottenham have taken just one win in their last six games and have fallen away from their top-four target.

Hugo Lloris, Ryan Sessegnon and Rodrigo Bentancur are out this weekend, while Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga are doubtful.

Brentford shut out West Ham last time to keep their slim European qualification hopes alive. Thomas Strakosha, Pontus Jansson, Christian Norgaard and Keane Lewis-Potter are injured for the Bees this time out.

These clubs have drawn two of their three Premier League battles.

Prediction: 1-1

Bournemouth v Manchester United (11am)

Bournemouth have taken 36 of their 39 league points under current coach Gary O’Neil, with ten of their 11 wins coming under his watch.

Ryan Fredericks, Junior Stanislas, Marcus Tavernier and Hamed Traore are out this weekend for the Cherries, while Antoine Semenyo is doubtful with a leg injury.

Manchester United got back to winning ways with a home success over Wolves. Tom Heaton, Lisandro Martinez, Donny van de Beek and Marcel Sabitzer are out for the Red Devils’ final away game of the campaign, while Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay are doubtful.

United dominate this rivalry, winning eight of their 11 league meetings with the South Coast side.

Prediction: 0-2

Fulham v Crystal Palace (11am)

Fulham have picked up consecutive wins to maintain outside hopes of European qualification next term. Tim Ream, Daniel James and Andreas Pereira are out this weekend for the Cottagers.

Crystal Palace have won five of their eight games under Roy Hodgson. James Tomkins, Nathan Ferguson and Luka Milivojevic are out for the Eagles, while Wilfried Zaha and Jeffrey Schlupp are doubtful.

Palace edge this match-up, which pits West against South London, with four wins to Fulham’s three from nine contests.

Prediction: 2-2

Liverpool v Aston Villa (11am)

Liverpool have won seven straight matches to stamp themselves firmly into contention for Champions League qualification. Calvin Ramsay, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic are out for the Reds this weekend, while Roberto Firmino and Darwin Nunez are doubtful owing to lack of fitness and a toe injury respectively.

Aston Villa could qualify for European football for the first time since 2011, and their chances were enhanced with the home victory over rivals Tottenham. Philippe Coutinho is the only injury doubt for the trip to Anfield.

Liverpool dominate this series, winning 32 of their 55 top-flight meetings with Villa.

Prediction: 2-1

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Everton (11am)

Wolves were beaten at Manchester United, but hit the magic 40-point mark with their last win over Midlands rivals Aston Villa. Francisco Oliveira and Sasa Kalajdzic are out with knee injuries this match.

Everton’s Premier League place still hangs in the balance after just one win in five games. Seamus Coleman, Ben Godfrey and Ruben Vinagre are out this week for the Toffees, while Andros Townsend, Vitaly Mykolenko and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are doubtful.

Each club has won six of their 17 total meetings.

Prediction: 1-0

Nottingham Forest v Arsenal (1.30pm)

Nottingham Forest are still in with a fighter’s chance of survival after their away draw with Chelsea. Dean Henderson, Neco Williams, Scott McKenna, Giulian Biancone, Omar Richards, Chris Wood and Emmanuel Dennis are out with various injuries, while Jack Colback and Gustavo Scarpa are doubtful.

Arsenal have taken just two wins from their last seven games and the title has slipped out of their hands. Takehiro Tomiyasu, William Saliba and Mohamed Elneny are out this weekend, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Martinelli are doubtful.

The Gunners have won seven of the 11 meetings with Forest.

Prediction: 1-3

Sunday

West Ham United v Leeds United (9.30am)

West Ham are all but mathematically safe six points clear of the relegation zone. Gianluca Scamacca is out with a knee injury, while Vladimir Coufal and Michail Antonio are doubtful.

After a home draw with Newcastle, Leeds remain in the drop zone with just one win in their last nine league games. Stuart Dallas, Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra are out through injury, Junior Firpo is suspended, while Liam Cooper is doubtful.

Leeds have won 15 of the 25 encounters with the Hammers.

Prediction: 1-2

Brighton & Hove Albion v Southampton (10am)

Brighton smashed Arsenal at the Emirates to keep their push for a first ever campaign in European football alive. Tariq Lamptey, Adam Lallana, Solly March, Jakub Moder and Jeremy Sarmiento are out to injury, while Adam Webster and Joel Veltman are doubtful.

Southampton were officially relegated after their home defeat to Fulham. Romain Perraud, Tino Livramento, Mohamed Salisu, Armel Bella-Kotchap and Juan Larios Lopez are out to injury, while Che Adams is doubtful with a knock for this South Coast derby.

Brighton edge this derby, with three wins to Southampton’s two from 11 meetings, with six draws between the sides.

Prediction: 2-0

Manchester City v Chelsea (noon)

Manchester City have a chance to clinch their third straight league title with victory over the Blues this weekend. Nathan Ake is doubtful with a hamstring injury for Pep Guardiola’s side.

Chelsea got their first win under interim coach Frank Lampard at Bournemouth in their last away match. Marc Cucurella, Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Mason Mount and Armando Broja are out to injury this weekend, while N’Golo Kante, Kalidou Koulibaly and Mateo Kovacic are doubtful.

Chelsea lead this match-up with 27 wins to City’s 17 from 51 meetings.

Prediction: 2-2

Monday

Newcastle United v Leicester City (4pm)

Newcastle dropped points on the road to Leeds, and their top-four position could be in peril depending on results this weekend. Matt Ritchie, Jamaal Lascelles and Emil Krafth are out to various injuries, while Sean Longstaff is doubtful with a foot injury.

Leicester have just one win in 14 league games, and one more defeat could see them become the second side demoted to the Championship. Jannik Vestergaard, Caglar Soyuncu, James Justin and Sammy Braybrooke are out to injury for the Foxes, while Ryan Bertrand, Kelechi Iheanacho, Danny Ward and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are doubtful this weekend.

The Magpies edge this series with 14 wins to Leicester’s 12 through 31 encounters.

Wednesday, May 24

Brighton & Hove Albion v Manchester City (4pm)

City have won ten of 11 games against the Seagulls, but these sides have yet to play out a draw in this series.

Prediction: 2-2

Thursday, May 25

Manchester United v Chelsea (4pm)

Manchester United and Chelsea have drawn 26 times in their 61 contests, with the Blues taking 18 wins and United 17.

Prediction: 2-0

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Published May 19, 2023 at 7:55 am (Updated May 19, 2023 at 7:55 am)

Ilkay Gundogan shining light for City as they close on title

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