Premier League
Premier League final day preview: Leeds, Leicester and Everton in battle to beat the drop
The final day of the 2022/23 Premier League season is finally upon us. While this year’s champions have already been confirmed, there’s still all to play for at the bottom of the league as three clubs fight to preserve their Premier League status.
We preview the fixtures in question below, all of which are Sunday 16:30 kick-offs.
Everton v Bournemouth
Everton go into this fixture knowing that victory will guarantee them Premier League survival for another season, while a draw could mean relegation is Leicester City beat West Ham at the King Power Stadium.
Having initially made Goodison Park a fortress upon Sean Dyche’s arrival, winning three of his first four games (all by 1-0 scorelines), the Toffees have been uncharacteristically generous to visiting teams in their last three home fixtures, picking up zero points and shipping 10 goals in the process. They begin as comfortable 2/5 favourites to secure those all-important three points against a Bournemouth side who confirmed their Premier League status a few weeks ago.
Gary O’Neil’s side have slightly let their standards slip, after a brilliant run of six wins in nine games that all but confirmed their survival this season, losing their last three on the bounce. The Cherries have curiously not drawn a game since early February (a run of 15 games) and one would suspect their hosts on Sunday will be wanting the security of a victory to guarantee their Premier League status. As such, a win for Bournemouth is priced at 6/1, with a draw 15/4.
With Dominic Calvert-Lewin unlikely to start for the Toffees after picking up another knock, it may fall to one of Everton’s industrious midfielders to step up to the plate on Sunday. We like the look of Dwight McNeil’s price of 11/5 to find the net anytime in a game that may only need one goal to be decided. A typically Dyche-esque scoreline of 1-0 is also available at 7/1.
Leeds v Tottenham
Leeds find themselves in a pretty desperate position after surrendering a 1-0 lead at the London Stadium last Sunday. A win would have taken them out of the relegation zone going into the final week, but three goals without a reply from West Ham means Sam Allardyce’s men are the firm 1/33 favourites to go down from the three remaining clubs in question.
The west Yorkshire outfit need a win to have any chance of staying up, priced at 17/10 against a timid Spurs side, while they will also be reliant on Leicester and Everton dropping points in relatively preferable home fixtures. Although they are unbeaten in their last two home games, they remain winless since Allardyce took the reins. Even if performances have slightly improved, they continue to leak goals at too frequent a rate, shipping at least two in seven of their last eight fixtures.
Spurs find themselves in the humbling position of needing a good result to have a shot at finishing eighth and qualifying for the third tier of European football next season. After interim manager Ryan Mason instilled some new life into the squad in his first couple of games in charge, their last two fixtures have conveyed that this club is very much ready for the season to end, whether they make the Europa Conference League or not.
Spurs start as 11/8 favourites at Elland Road on Sunday, with a draw available at 14/5, but expect a roaring Leeds home crowd to immediately put this fragile squad on the back foot. Such fragility and desperation may see an abundance of goals, so over 3.5 goals at 13/10 also looks reasonably priced.
Leicester v West Ham
Leicester find themselves in a similar position to Leeds knowing that only a win will give them any chance of survival, with their odds of 1/6 to be relegated on Sunday suggesting that the 2015/16 champions may have already run their race in the Premier League. Things were looking optimistic under Brendan Rodgers in February after consecutive high-scoring wins against Tottenham and Aston Villa but a run of eight defeats in nine games has seen the Foxes slowly gravitate towards a desperate relegation scrap, with new manager Dean Smith likewise unable to properly steady the ship since his arrival.
The Foxes start Sunday’s clash at the King Power Stadium as the odds-on favourites for victory against a West Ham side who will undoubtedly have one eye on their Conference League Final on 7th June, coming in at 10/11 in front of what will be a demanding home crowd. Unfortunately for Dean Smith’s men, they haven’t kept a clean sheet at home since against Leeds on October 20th, so will likely have to outscore their opponents to hold their side of the survival bargain.
West Ham would be forgiven for already looking ahead to their trip to Prague in a fortnight’s time, but have nevertheless arrested their domestic form which, at one point, was looking potentially fatal for the east Londoners. Successive home victories against Manchester United and Leeds successfully secured another season in the top flight for the Hammers, which was frankly the bare minimum coming into the season, and they start Sunday’s fixture as 13/5 outsiders for a victory that would relegate their opponents, while a draw at 29/10 likewise wouldn’t be any good for the hosts in what amounts to a last roll of the dice for Dean Smith.
