Matchweek 30 will be a crucial one for a number of reasons. High-flying Manchester United will face their top 4 competitors Arsenal at Emirates in what will be the clash of the weekend. Brendan Rodgers will take charge of his first home match and will be desperate for all 3 points against a struggling Fulham side. And Liverpool will face Burnley at home looking to bounce back after a couple of draining weeks which now sees them one point behind defending champions Manchester City.
With just a day separating us from the start of the action, let us take a look at three players who are expected to play a key role for their side.
SADIO MANE (LIVERPOOL vs BURNLEY)
Roberto Firmino has played a total of 57 minutes over the last three matchweeks due to a slight injury, but he had failed to score in 3 matches prior to that as well. And with Mohamed Salah also scoring just the one goal in the last six matches, Sadio Mane might have to step up once again with his fellow attackers enduring a dry patch in front of goal.
Firmino is expected to start against Burnley which will see Mane shift to his favoured left flank. He has been productive in recent weeks and Klopp will need him to continue his form when the Clarets come visiting. With seven goals in his last seven games, the Senegalese will be the main man for the Reds.
GONZALO HIGUAIN (CHELSEA vs WOLVES)
The former Real Madrid striker has not yet looked his best, ever since making a loan move from Juventus in January. He had scored a brace against Huddersfield Town which many expected would be a start of a goal-scoring spree with the likes of Hazard and Pedro alongside him.
Unfortunately, that game was followed by a couple of turbulent weeks for Chelsea but with things looking settled right now and Higuain netting a smart goal against Fulham in his previous game, we think a home match against Wolves will be the perfect opportunity to build some momentum for Chelsea’s strikeforce as they look for a big finish to the season.
ROMELU LUKAKU (ARSENAL vs MANCHESTER UNITED)
The current Manchester United injury crisis gave a number of their fringe and young players a chance to perform and stake a claim. But most eyes were on the much talked about duo of Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku.
They got their chances, but only one player has been able to grasp it with both hands and feet while the other’s United career freefall continued. Lukaku has been absolutely majestic in the last three games scoring braces in each of them. He powered United to wins over Crystal Palace and Southampton while ripping apart PSG’s UCL dreams last night.
It will be interesting to see whether he can carry this scintillating form into another crucial clash against Arsenal or not.
