The Race For The Top Four Intensifies
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With just under a month left of this incredible Premier League season, things are starting to get particularly tense for everyone connected to a club that currently finds themselves lying in the top six of the table.
The majority of that tension is being felt in both the Liverpool and Manchester City camps, especially when you consider that the two outfits are gunning it out, in what can only be described as the tightest title race for years.
However, you can hardly say that things are all that relaxed for the clubs that sit anywhere between third and sixth in the table at present and it is the battle to be in next season’s Champions League which is the focus of this article.
With four teams fighting over two berths, it means that not everyone can reach the promised land of Europe’s premier club competition and although winning the Europa League also offers a back-door entry, it is a top four finish which is the main objective.
Going into this weekend’s meetings, it is Tottenham who find themselves in the driving seat, albeit only just and without Harry Kane for the rest of the season, you do wonder if they have enough to get themselves over the finishing line.
They may well have made light work of Huddersfield last weekend, but that is not necessarily a barometer of the challenge that they will face in these last five games of this captivating Premier League season.
While, the first of those five matches takes them back to the Etihad and the scene of that incredible Champions League fixture in midweek, a fixture that may see City go on and exact same revenge for their European exit.
If Tottenham do drop points, then Arsenal will look to take full advantage and with a tie against Crystal Palace up next, the Gunners will be confident of continuing their impressive home form and solidifying their current top four standing.
However, its not just a North London lock for third and fourth place, as both Chelsea and Manchester United cannot be discounted either. Although, at the same time, you do wonder if the fact the Blues have played a game more will then go against them.
Their recent defeat to Liverpool has made life a lot more difficult for Maurizio Sarri’s men and they will have to be considered the outsiders in this particular race, while questions will also be asked of Manchester United’s recent performances.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has undoubtedly done a tremendous job at Old Trafford, but it looks as if the Red Devils are hitting the wall at just the wrong time of the season and they know that a top four finish is no longer in their own hands.
There’s no longer any margin for error and we are at the point, where draws will almost feel the same as defeats. There will certainly be dropped points between now and the final day, it just remains to be seen just who will be celebrating on May 12th.
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