Premier League Fixtures 18th April

Portsmouth v Aston Villa
It seems Portsmouth might be able to play in the Europa League after all if they can persuade the FA to accept a late application for Europe – which they can only do if the FA are satisfied that Portsmouth’s finances will be in order by the end of May. So Aston Villa need to make sure they finish in sixth place, just in case. Chelsea are already guaranteed European football so Portsmouth – if their application is successful - will be given the Europa League place whether they win the FA Cup Final or not.
So it would be a good idea for Aston Villa to win this match and in theory there’s no reason to assume they won’t. But if Portsmouth can beat Tottenham Hotspur (who are pretty good now, ask Arsenal and Chelsea), they can definitely beat Aston Villa. And Aston Villa, like last season, are on a bit of an end-of-season slump.
James Collins told the Birmingham Mail that if Aston Villa win all their five remaining games they could get into the Champions’ League. But he said that before Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea. Who knows what he thinks now? A Europa League place however is more than possible and we know James can do the business at both ends (by which I mean he can score and defend, I wasn’t trying to be dirty).

Wigan Athletic v Arsenal
Wigan are just four points outside the relegation places and although they look pretty safe now, it will certainly not be the case if they lose this match and Hull win their game in hand. I know Hull winning is a big if (I wish it wasn’t, I would love Hull to stay up although I am pissed off with Iain Dowie for dropping Boaz Myhill) but Wigan need to start picking up points.
Unfortunately for Wigan, they’re playing Arsenal and they can’t have any points. I’m not giving up on Arsenal winning the League until it’s mathematically impossible and I definitely think they could still get second place. And even if they finish third, they can still try to get as close to the top two as they can.
Even if Wigan see sense and play Jason Koumas I still don’t want them getting any points. A hat-trick for Jason and 4+ goals for Arsenal is fine.