EPL Week 29: Slow Days, Big Prizes

Surprising results across many of last week's matches have created the drama for this slow week of league action. With some of the top teams still playing out their FA Cup hopes only 3 matches will take place both Saturday and Sunday, but mid- and bottom-table clubs will still be vying for their big prizes: European places and avoiding relegation. Action at the top of the Premiership is limited to Arsenal visiting Wigan in the final match on Sunday, fresh off their 2-0 road win over AC Milan in Champions League play.

The battles for Europe and Relegation come clattering together Saturday as Liverpool meets struggling Newcastle United (still looking for it's first points take under returning manager Kevin Keegan), a back-to-life Reading side hosts a Manchester City side that will be happy to take their show on the road after a disappointing 0-4-2 spell in recent home ties, and a confident Blackburn side will face 2nd-bottom Fulham at home. Sunday sees European hopeful and current 4th place side Everton travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Roy Keane's Sunderland, another team in crucial need of points. Wigan will seek to make it's own help in the relegation fight when the Latics welcome Arsenal to the JJB, but the Gunners' 2-0 victory in Milan at the San Siro may have undone the emotional damages of the previous two weekends' league draws with Birmingham and Aston Villa.

European hopefully will be especially wary of Liverpool this week, who will be making up their game in hand tomorrow evening in a mid-week clash with West Ham prior to the Saturday meeting with the Toon Army. By the end of the week they could see themselves in 4th place and only 2 points behind Chelsea (albeit with 2 games in hand for the Blues), but it would be a big boost to a Liverpool side in much better form recently.

One race that won't be any closer to decided after week 29 is the Premiership title, as contenders Manchester United and Chelsea (who already has 1 game in hand), will play FA Cup Quarterfinal ties on the weekend. However, even while the big guns play elsewhere, there still everything to play for in this week's Premier League ties.