EPL Power Rankings - Crunch Time

"I am DONKEY KONG!"

It's getting down to the wire. A rare misstep by Manchester City allowed United to open a 3-point lead for first. Arsenal continues its late surge, winning a fifth consecutive match. Tottenham did well to draw at Stamford Bridge last Saturday and hopes to cling onto fourth place. Chelsea continues its Champions League and FA Cup dreams but will be hard pressed to put out a winning eleven on all fronts. Liverpool has stumbled as of late, losing two matches to QPR and Wigan, so finishing in the top four seems impossible. To the rankings:

Manchester Teams... and everyone else:

(1) Manchester United – 73 pts – This is Sir Alex Ferguson's bread and butter.

(2) Manchester City – 70 pts – Stumbling against Stoke? Happens to everyone.

(3) Arsenal – 58 pts – Still on fire.

(4) Tottenham – 55 pts – Happy to get a point but could have taken three against Chelsea.

(5) Chelsea – 50 pts – Still within striking distance, but playing Champions League and FA Cup on top of league matches could take its toll.

(6) Newcastle – 50 pts – Valiant effort, but it will be difficult to run the table. Look to add to Liverpool's misery this Sunday.

(7) Liverpool – 42 pts – Speechless. Need to right the ship against Newcastle in our match of the week.

Getting really hard to tell these teams apart:
(8) Sunderland – 40 pts – Wow, pretty close to Liverpool. Might have to switch them?
(9) Everton – 40 pts – Win over Swansea, another winnable match against WBA could put them ahead of rival Liverpool!

(10) Swansea City – 39 pts – Will look to bounce back after a tough loss to Everton when they travel to Spurs.

(11) Fulham – 36 pts – No chance against United. A more favorable matchup this week against Norwich.

(12) Stoke City – 38 pts – Continues to pester the top four contenders, but they get relegation zone Wigan this week.

(13) Norwich City – 39 pts – Taking out Wolves was business as usual. Fulham will be a tougher call.

(14) West Bromwich Albion – 36 pts – Honestly could be the most boring team in the league.

(15) Aston Villa – 33 pts – Villans will look to ruin Chelsea's top four aspirations, but more than likely will fall short.

The Relegation Zone:

(16) Blackburn Rovers – 28 pts – Wasn't going to beat Bolton.

(17) Bolton Wanderers – 26 pts - Gutsy win after the Muamba incident. Something to play for?

(18) Queens Park Rangers – 25 pts – Back to losing.

(19) Wigan Athletic – 25 pts – Historic win against Liverpool. Highlight of their season.
(20) Wolverhampton Wanderers – 22 pts – It's official. Worst team in the EPL.

Matchup Predictions

Last Week’s Record 5-5 (Liverpool and Spurs are ruining me...)

Cumulative Record 19-20 (Ugh)

Saturday

Chelsea at Villa - 2-1 - Villa will present a challenge, but I see Chelsea stepping up after a nice Champions League victory earlier this week.

WBA at Everton - 1-3 - Everton should win at Goodison Park.

Norwich at Fulham - 0-2 - I keep picking Fulham; not sure why.

Sunderland at Man City - 1-3 - Don't see Man City losing this one at home.

Arsenal at QPR - 3-0 - Can't pick against the Gunners right now.

Stoke at Wigan - 2-2 - After that win against Liverpool, anything is possible for Wigan!

Bolton at Wolves - 2-1 - I don't know. Both these teams stink.

Sunday

Liverpool at Newcastle - 2-2 - Match of the Week! A hotly contested battle, but an unsatisfying ending for either squad.

Swansea at Spurs - 0-1 - I hate this matchup; it's a match my team usually loses.

Monday

United at Rovers - 3-0 - Nothing to see here.

Photos courtesy of FootyBlog.com and Checkyourodds.co.uk