Changing of the Guard in the Champions League

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At the time of writing, it appears as though Manchester City are going to win the Premier League title. Having played 22 matches they are 5 points clear of second place Manchester United with a game in hand and sit 10 points clear of defending champions Liverpool, also with a game in hand.

However, although we now have a clear favourite to win the Premier League this season the same cannot be said for the top four and Champions League qualification.

As things stand, second place Manchester United are 6 points clear of 5th place Chelsea having played the same number of games and at this point, we can predict Manchester United will take one of the remaining 3 Champions League qualifying positions.

Dropping into third place and this is where things become interesting as that position is currently held by Leicester City, who have 43 points. Fans of the Foxes have enjoyed Champions League football following their shock Premier League title but it would still come as a surprise if they were to finish in the top four this season.

3 Points below Leicester City in fourth place are defending champions Liverpool, who have suffered from injury problems in central defence this season plus seen their talented forward line misfiring throughout the campaign.

This is where things begin to get interesting as no more than 5 points behind Liverpool in fourth place, we have Chelsea, West Ham United, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Aston Villa. Of these teams, both Chelsea and West Ham United are just a point behind Liverpool having played the same number of games.

Everton are 3 points behind Liverpool but have two games in hand, with Spurs 4 points behind with one game in hand. We then come to Aston Villa, who are 5 points behind Liverpool but have two games in hand.

So, if Everton were to take 3 points from their two games in hand, they would move level with Liverpool on points and anything more than that would take them above their local rivals.

If Aston Villa can record victories in both their games in hand, they will move 1 point above Liverpool in the table. Spurs can also move within a single point of Liverpool if they can win their game in hand.

There are plenty of familiar top four teams in this group, including Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. However, there are a group of teams who are in an unfamiliar position, such as West Ham United, Everton, and Aston Villa.

This season has been strange for a number of reasons and it would not be surprising to see a shock team finish in the top four in the Premier League and qualify for the Champions League.

West Ham, Everton, and Aston Villa fans will all be dreaming of hearing the Champions League anthem ringing out at their ground next season.