Today it is the turn of the Barclays Premier League and this division will see, depending on European and domestic cup results, the top four sides qualify for Champions League football next season, with the fifth placed side heading to the Europa League. At the bottom we will, again, see three drop down and into the Sky Bet Championship.
Relegation:
As always we will start with the teams in danger of relegation. Aston Villa confirmed their spot with a defeat away to Manchester United but the writing has been on the wall for a while now and it shouldn’t have been a shock to anyone. With the new TV deal coming into being next season this is one of the wort seasons to drop out of the league and with Aston Villa being in this division since its creation in the early 1990's, it is even sadder.
Joining them will be two from Norwich City, Sunderland and Newcastle. I think Crystal Palace, nine points ahead of the drop, needing only four points if the bottom sides win all their games, are safe.
Starting with Norwich, currently in the safety position by a point, have played a game more than the other two and face Arsenal away and Manchester United at Carrow Road in the next two fixtures. With that in mind I think a point from those two wouldn’t be bad. A win in their last home game, to a mid table Watford, I think will give them a good shout at staying in the division.
Before their first game away to Arsenal, Newcastle will play two games and Sunderland will travel to Arsenal. Starting with City tonight, Newcastle need to start picking up points, and fast. Despite this I can see Norwich going into that first game with Arsenal with the same point advantage over Sunderland, both now having played the same amount of games and the same points, but a game in hand, over Newcastle.
For Benitez the next two games should be wins if they have a chance of surviving but on the last day they host Tottenham, who could still be chasing that Premier League title. I do have a nasty suspicion though that the difference between safety and relegation could come down to goal difference, and at the moment that would be Sunderland.
Champions and European spots:
Despite having a decent lead in the title race I think Tottenham made a statement last night against Stoke. Games remaining are all, and must be winnable. That with us yet to see how Leicester will react without Jamie Vardy, either for one or two games, will be interesting. If they draw against Swansea and lose against United then that would be enough for a focused Spurs to head into the final game, away to Newcastle on level terms with Leicester, who go to Chelsea. Will Chelsea help Spurs to the title or will their minds already be on the Euro’s or sandy beaches?
Either way, both will have Champions League football next season, but who will join them? Arsenal and City are the most likely but, with two English sides still in European football, City being one, fourth may not be good enough. This makes the penultimate game of the season, between the two, a potential decision maker. The negative for City, although its at their ground, is it will take place only four days after either getting to a Champions League Final, or a Semi Final defeat, either of which could be difficult to then get the focus on the Gunners visit.
Next up is the fifth place position and I actually think this will head into the final game with Liverpool in a great position. Again, they have European involvement to distract a little but I think Klopp can certainly get his sides to balance the two competitions. West Ham and United will probably still be within touching distance of Liverpool going into the final game, but with Liverpool hosting Villa can anyone else see them not getting the result they need?
Champions: Tottenham.
Runners Up: Leicester.
Third and Fourth: Manchester City and Arsenal.
Fifth Place: Liverpool.
Relegated: Aston Villa, Newcastle, Norwich City.
Jason is a Freelance Soccer Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @PACityboy and www.facebook.com/jasonbardwell1979
No comments:
Post a Comment