My Leagues

Countries

Race for Top Four in the Premier League

Race for Top Four in the Premier League
3041

Despite failing to get over the line on the weekend, there is little doubt Manchester City are going to be crowned the 2020/21 English Premier League champions.

However, there is an interesting race developing just below them in the table as several clubs aim to finish in the top four and qualify for the Champions League.

Manchester United recorded a good 3-1 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon and results elsewhere secured their place in the top four.

The Red Devils will want to ensure they finish in second place and have matches at home against Leicester City, Liverpool, and Fulham plus Wolverhampton Wanderers away on the final day of the season.

So, Manchester United may have secured their place in the Champions League but they could still have a major influence on who finishes in the remaining two qualifying positions due to their upcoming fixtures.

At the time of writing, Chelsea are in third place on 64 points from 35 games played. They have Arsenal and Leicester City to play at home followed by Aston Villa away on the last day.

Chelsea have been in great form and they are well positioned to finish in third place. With Leicester City to play at home, a win in that game should be good enough for them to finish inside the top four.

With a 6 point cushion over West Ham United, who are currently in 5th place plus few injury concerns, Chelsea must be the favourites to finish third and qualify for the Champions League.

However, things are not looking so good for Leicester City, who are in fourth place on 63 points. Their previous fixture at home against Newcastle United seemed the perfect opportunity to further enhance their credentials for a top four place but they lost the game in spectacular style, going down 4-2.

The Foxes spent most of last season in the top four before dropping out right at the end of the campaign and will not want the same to happen again. Leicester City have three tough fixtures remaining against Manchester United and Chelsea away, followed by Tottenham Hotspur at home.

They also have an FA Cup final to take care of between the three Premier League fixtures and a few key players injured, with Harvey Barnes, Jonny Evans, and James Justin on the treatment table.

West Ham are in fifth place on 58 points and suffered a disappointing 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Everton on Sunday. That loss came on the back of defeats by Newcastle and Chelsea, results which have seen West Ham lose touch with the teams above them. They have a favourable run-in but may be forced to settle for a Europa League place.

Finally, we come to defending Champions, Liverpool. The win over Southampton plus defeats for Leicester City and West Ham have given The Reds some hope of finishing in the top four.

They have a game in hand on the teams above them but are currently 6 points adrift of fourth place Leicester City. However, they are unbeaten in six league games and aside from the match at Manchester United, their fixtures are favourable.

Liverpool certainly appear to be the team to watch and most likely to displace Leicester City in the top four this season, which would be huge for both clubs.

Premier League
OVERALL TABLE PTS GP W D L +/-
1
Manchester City 73 32 22 7 3 44
2
Arsenal 71 32 22 5 5 49
3
Liverpool 71 32 21 8 3 41
4
Aston Villa 63 33 19 6 8 19
5
Tottenham 60 32 18 6 8 16
6
Newcastle United 50 32 15 5 12 17
7
Manchester United 50 32 15 5 12 -1
8
West Ham 48 33 13 9 11 -6
9
Chelsea 47 31 13 8 10 9
10
Brighton 44 32 11 11 10 2
11
Wolverhampton 43 32 12 7 13 -5
12
Fulham 42 33 12 6 15 -2
13
Bournemouth 42 32 11 9 12 -10
14
Crystal Palace 33 32 8 9 15 -17
15
Brentford 32 33 8 8 17 -11
16
Everton 27 32 9 8 15 -16
17
Nottingham Forest 26 33 7 9 17 -16
18
Luton Town 25 33 6 7 20 -24
19
Burnley 20 33 4 8 21 -35
20
Sheffield United 16 32 3 7 22 -54

Top trends