Fast and furious, like the Hollywood blockbuster, is the English Premier League. Every week there is a massive upset, a high-stakes clash and a golazo or two. It can get difficult to keep track of all that is happening, but thetatesman.com is at hand to ensure you are in touch with major headlines.

The high points from Gameweek 34 are:

Manchester Derby: Much hype about nothing

Footballing derbies always have plenty of fuss around them in the build-up, but there comes a time when the odd one turns out to be an anti-climatic experience. The Manchester Derby at the Etihad was, undoubtedly, a damp squib with no goals on display despite having some of the most expensively assembled XI’s in the history of the Premier League slugging it out. Jose Mourinho’s United were competitive in the first-half and while the smash and grab was on in the second period as well, Marouane Fellaini’s dismissal in the closing stages all but confirmed the result.

The away side had just three attempts on goal and while the hosts had the lion’s share of possession, fans don't come to see pretty passes, they want goals and plenty of them!

Christian Eriksen: The Premier League’s best No.10?

Is he? Well, alongside Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, Spurs’ Danish maestro is certainly in the discussion. After his stunner against Crystal Palace, which kept Spurs title hopes alive, we take a look at the stats that matter.
 
Eriksen has eight goals and 12 assists in the league, while Coutinho has 10 goals and six assists and De Bruyne has four goals and 13 assists. Eriksen and De Bruyne play a slightly less direct role than the Brazilian, which perhaps explains their relative lack of goals compared to Coutinho. But if one compares overall goals and assists, Eriksen (20) is ahead of De Bruyne (17) and Coutinho is further behind (16).  All three sides have been free scoring in the league with Liverpool (70) leading the charts, Spurs a close second (63) and City a little way back (63), which only makes crowning the league’s best playmaker an even more difficult task.

Surprisingly, neither of them made the PFA team of the year and right now it seems to be too close to give any one player the edge. 

Crystal Palace: Liverpool’s Kryptonite?

Ask Crystal Palace to name one opponent they would love to play each week and pat would come the reply: Liverpool. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but how else do explain Liverpool’s three defeats in their past five games against the Eagles? 
The Reds were in decent form, unbeaten in seven games prior, and despite Philippe Coutinho setting them on their way with a stunning free-kick, allowed the visitors to come back into the tie, eventually losing 2-1. Their top-four hopes are hanging in the balance and their inability to beat opponents from the lower half of the table may well come back to bite them as the season nears its conclusion.

Swansea, Burnley and Hull: Three-way playoff to avoid last relegation spot

With Middlesbrough and Sunderland on the verge of relegation, who will be the third team to join them in the Championship next year?

Swansea, Burnley and Hull have all played 34 games each, with the Burnley in 16th place with 36 points, followed by Hull (33 points) with Swansea (31 points) occupying the final relegation spot. Out of the three, Burnley have the easiest fixtures and Swansea have the toughest. Which would suggest the Swans are favourites to go down, but stranger things have happened in the Premier League and this is another battle which will go down to the wire.