Manchester City and Liverpool's meeting in the Capital One Cup final disrupts the

Premier League fixture list slightly in the season's 27th week. It also provides City's
title rivals the chance to open up even bigger leads ahead of the fourth-placed team.
Of the main contenders, both Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur are best
positioned to do that. They each have winnable home fixtures where nothing less
than three points will be acceptable from genuine contenders.
But it's Arsenal's title hopes that will be under the closest scrutiny when they travel to
take on Manchester United. The Red Devils may be experiencing some tough times
under manager Louis van Gaal, but Arsenal haven't won a league game at
Old Trafford since 2006.
Here are the full fixtures for Week 27, along with picks for each game, followed by a
focus on the key players:

Date

Time (GMT / ET)

Match

Pick

12:45 p.m. / 7:45 p.m.

West Ham United vs. Sunderland

West Ham 1-0

3 p.m. / 10 a.m.

Leicester City vs. Norwich City

Leicester 2-1

3 p.m. / 10 a.m.

Southampton vs. Chelsea

Chelsea 0-1

3 p.m. / 10 a.m.

Stoke City vs. Aston Villa

Stoke 2-0

3 p.m. / 10 a.m.

Watford vs. Bournemouth

Watford 1-0

Saturday, Feb.
27
Saturday, Feb.
27
Saturday, Feb.
27
Saturday, Feb.
27
Saturday, Feb.
27
Saturday, Feb.
27

5:30 p.m. / 12:30 p.m. West Bromwich Albion vs. Crystal Palace

Draw 1-1

Sunday, Feb. 28

2:05 p.m. / 9:05 a.m.

Manchester United vs. Arsenal

Draw 1-1

Sunday, Feb. 28

2:05 p.m. / 9:05 a.m.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Swansea City

Spurs 1-0

Premier League Fixtures: Week 27 Picks

PremierLeague.com

Olivier Giroud, Arsenal

Last season's 1-1 draw was a rare mild success for the Gunners at the Theatre of
Dreams in recent times. Theo Walcott's shot deflected off Tyler Blackett to earn
Arsenal a point, although the north London side might have won it had
Olivier Giroud converted a late chance at the near post.

Frank Augstein/Associated Press

Giroud is one of many Arsenal attackers currently struggling to find the net.

The French striker's exasperating miss might have been the precursor for Arsenal's
biggest problem this season, namely an inability to find the net consistently.
Manager Arsene Wenger's side has drawn a blank in league action on seven
occasions this season, per results from the club's official site, with three of those
blanks coming away from home.
Wenger needs his primary centre-forward to start firing again. Giroudhas netted 12
league goals this season, according to WhoScored.com. He's also the team's most
prolific attacker across all competitions, perSquawka:
But the former Montpellier man hasn't scored in England's top flight since bagging a
brace in a 3-3 draw at Liverpool back in mid-January.

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Still, Giroud remains vital to Arsenal's title bid. The towering Frenchman is the key to
what's been a more direct style of play in recent matches. Wenger's men have
loaded more crosses and more long passes toward the box to take advantage
of Giroud's aerial prowess.
The 29-year-old must rediscover his scoring touch and test an injury-hit United
defence that is struggling at the moment.
Arsenal currently seem built to scrape a narrow win away from home. But if they are
held again, it will be the season-long struggle to score that dents the Gunners' title
hopes.

N'Golo Kante, Leicester City

If relegation-threatened Norwich City are going to cause high-flying Leicester any
problems, they will rely on their talented midfield. The Canaries boast some fine
technical players in the middle, schemers Foxes linchpin N'Golo Kante will have to
control.

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Midfield engine Kante is the main force behind Leicester's title bid.

Norwich need goals, and Jonny Howson and Wes Hoolahan both have the guile to
create ample chances. It will be up to Kante to cut off the supply from the middle by
harassing City's ballplayers whenever they are in possession.
It's a remit Frenchman Kante is familiar with this season. His energy levels are
incredible, and the 24-year-old rarely gets it wrong when making a tackle.
In fact, former Manchester United centre-back-turned-BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand
believes Kante knows no equal as a ball-winner in today's game:
It's lofty praise, but the former Caen man has certainly established himself as the
stabilising force among Leicester's title hopefuls. Another busy and intelligent
performance from Kante will get the Foxes three more priceless points and keep
Leicester's surprise title bid stron