Premier League Fixtures 9th May Part 2

Manchester United v Stoke City
Manchester United need to win to have any hope of taking the League title for the fourth consecutive year. Or if they like they can go for the draw and hope Wigan batter Chelsea 10-0 but I wouldn’t rely on that if I were you.
Stoke’s win over Fulham midweek took them up into 10th place but if they could drop to 13th. But I hardly think finishing 13th counts as second season syndrome.
Ryan Giggs could start for Manchester United. Owen Hargreaves could be in line for another cameo appearance after making his injury comeback very late in Man Utd’s last game. Michael Owen won’t play again this season. So there go my very small chances of seeing an almost-Welsh player at the World Cup. My hopes rest on the inexperienced Ryan Shawcross (England) and the injured Rhys Williams (Australia) now.
Speaking of Ryan Shawcross, he might not play for England but he will almost certainly play for Stoke – wearing the captain’s armband again as he faces his former side (who quite want him back). Danny Collins will probably be on the bench though.

West Ham United v Manchester City
A win could push West Ham up to 14th, which would be a great achievement considering all their problems this season. They could also be in with a very faint chance of Europa League football through the Fair Play League – they’re four points behind Burnley with 40 to play for.
Manchester City will finish 6th if they lose and Aston Villa win. Sadly, I think quite a lot of people would like to see that happen.
Danny Gabbidon will probably be on the bench for West Ham but Jack Collison, who has just had knee surgery, is likely to be out until the New Year. It’s horrible news for Wales, not great news for West Ham – but most of all, it must be so disappointing for Jack. He could play for another 15 years but life can go pretty slowly when you’re that age. I feel like I’ve been 22 for ages. And it’s only going to take longer when you can’t play football.
Craig Bellamy doesn’t seem to be a doubt for Manchester City after all but he still won’t be able to play for Wales against Croatia because he’s visiting his charity in Sierra Leone. Why doesn’t he just go the week before instead? Or as soon as the League finishes?

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Sunderland
A win for Wolves could lift them to 16th and if they behave they might also have a small chance of Europa League football through the Fair Play League. They’re only four points behind Burnley and they could get up to 40 points from this match. I wonder, if you play your eleven least dirty players in a match where you have nothing to play for, does that count as playing fair?
Sunderland have a chance of finishing in the top half of the table.
David Jones is probably the most likely to start for Wolves of the four ‘Welsh’ players. Dave Edwards will probably be on the bench but Wayne Hennessey was left out last week and Sam Vokes has been left out for ages. Sam is one of the players tipped to leave in Wolves’ summer clearout.