EPL (Week 32) Preview - 5 Questions

1.) Is Manchester City's title defense over?

Manchester City haven't just been in a rut the past few game weeks, the Sky Blues have been in a full throttle meltdown. Their latest set back was a damning 2-1 loss at the hands of Crystal Palace Monday night. With the gap from leaders Chelsea now at 7pts, who still possess a game in hand, any title defense now looks well and truly over. Not only that but Manuel Pellegrini must be scratching his head as to how City went from being Chelsea's closest rival in 2nd, to allowing Arsenal and Manchester United to slip past them in the standings. If City aren't careful, what once looked like a promising season could turn into a fight simply for 4th place.

2.) Is the top 4 locked down at this moment?

As it stands, only two points separate Manchester City in 4th to Arsenal in 2nd. While the gap from 5th placed Liverpool to the top 4 is now at seven points, only one point separates them from Tottenham and Southampton respectively. This has to be one of the most exciting finishes to a season in recent memory as multiple teams will jockey for position right to the death. But is a seven point gap now too much to over come with so few games left in the season? Liverpool, Tottenham and Southampton will certainly think not, however unlikely that event may be. Needless to say, the stage is certainly set for a grand stand finale.

3.) Did Jose Mourinho's Chelsea win the title Week 31?

As stated above, with City's damning loss at the hands of Crystal Palace, Chelsea have now opened a 7pt gap from their closest rivals Arsenal in 2nd, while still possessing a game in hand. Chelsea still face Manchester United and Arsenal, but one has to think Chelsea have already wrapped up the title. Barring some epic meltdown of gargantuan proportions, Mourinho can look forward to putting yet another trophy into his already impressive collection. He always wins big in his second season though, right?

4.) Which teams are looking at the drop come end of the season?

With so much talk about the battles for position in the top 4 and Europa League slot, one cannot fail to miss the battle to avoid relegation. Leciester City sit on 22pts with a game in hand and are currently propping up the table. However only three points separate Burnley in 19th from Sunderland in 15th. West Bromwich Albion cannot fully count themselves safe on 33pts in 14th place either. At this point I'd say the Foxes have battled hard all season, come away with some surprise wins, entertained in most matches, but are most likely not going to avoid the drop. Although one will need a crystal ball to predict what is going to happen between 19th and 15th place. Either way, we are in for one exciting finale in come the end of April.

5.) How did your team fare in the double week?

The big names provided the punch that we all hoped and expected. Charlie Austin and Christian Benteke fully justified their inclusion for your Week 31 teams. However in the lust for double game players, many of us benched or removed top single game players such as Eden Hazard, Alexis Sanchez, and Olivier Giroud to name a few. I finished on 167pts thanks to the inclusion of 8 DG players. But my closest rival in my private league finished on 218pts with only 6 DG players, largely thanks to bang on picks such as Ozil, Hazard, and Schmeichel. Thus proving that DG weeks are almost always worth the investment, but picking the right players is always the toughest battle.

Kellz