It was UEFA competitions’ Quarter-finals this week with two Premier London Derbies (PLDs) Clubs involved. In the Champions League Arsenal struggled to a 0-0 draw at home v Sporting (Lisbon) to give them a 1-0 aggregate win. In their Semi-final they will meet Atletico (Madrid) who will be difficult to score against and beat. If The Gunners progress to the Final it will be against either Bayern Munich, whom they beat and were second to them in the league stage, or Holders Paris-Saint-Germain (PSG). Crystal Palace lost 1-2 against Fiorentina of Italy in the second leg of their UEFA Conference Quarter-final but their 3-0 home leg win saw them through 4-2 on aggregate. Their Semi-final opponents are Shakhtar Donetsk of the Ukraine, a very experienced European football competitor. The first legs will be in the last week of April of both competitions.
There are two PLDs matches in this the 33rd round of the Premier League (PL). On Saturday 18 April it is Brentford v Fulham in West London, and on Monday 20 April Crystal Palace v West Ham United. The PL is very congested between places 6 and 12, and every game seems to be a 6-pointer. This is certainly so for Brentford (7th with 47 points) and Fulham (12th with 44). A place in European football and not just bragging rights is potentially at stake. Honours are even with one win each and a draw in the 3 seasons this has been played. Brentford may have the edge this time.
West Ham United have escaped from the relegation trio following a big (4-0) win over hapless Wolves, to be replaced by Tottenham Hotspur who lost 0-1 at Sunderland. There have been 3 home wins for Crystal Palace, 2 draws and 4 away wins for The Hammers including last season’s 0-2 victory. Will The Eagles legs, tired from their European travels, catch up with them, or will the visitors keep climbing the table?
Until next time enjoy your football. Andrew at premierlondonderbies.com .