Chelsea, Spurs, Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Man Utd – who will finish in the top four?
The battle for the top four and the Champions League football that comes with it is stupidly tight. Take Chelsea out of the equation and just five points cover the next five teams.
This weekend two of the contenders meet when Liverpool host Arsenal. With just 12 games to go it feels like the result could prove crucial to the final standings.
Ahead of that meeting we take a look at how the six teams in the mix are faring, who they have left to play and why supporters of the respective clubs have reasons to fear and others to cheers in their pursuit of the top four.
CHELSEA
Fixtures…
West Ham (A), Stoke (A), Crystal Palace (H), Man City (H), Bournemouth (A), Man Utd (A), Southampton (H), Everton (A), Middlesbrough (H), West Brom (A), Sunderland (H) + Watford (H) to be rearranged* Games against fellow top six sides in bold
Form…
We don’t even need to go through this – Chelsea are nailed on to qualify for the Champions League and they’ll almost certainly do so by winning the title. Antonio Conte’s side remain in incredible form and in addition nearly all of their toughest games are out of the way.
Key man…
Antonio ConteThe Chelsea manager has kept a cool head throughout the season (aside from when he’s losing the plot on the touchline) by simply focusing on the next game. It’s worked superbly so far and has stopped the Chelsea players from believing their own hype. He just needs to maintain that outlook for a few more weeks.
Chief reason to be optimistic…
They’re in the best position of the contenders!And for the doom mongers…
The only way we can see Chelsea collapsing is if Diego Costa suffers a complete meltdown in training and two-foot tackles every other member of the squad, thus ruling them out of the remaining games. Very unlikely, although not totally impossible.
Premier League top six
1st: Chelsea – 63pts
2nd: Spurs – 53pts
3rd: Man City – 52pts
4th: Arsenal – 50pts
5th: Liverpool – 49pts
6th: Man Utd – 48 pts
TOTTENHAM
Fixtures…
Everton (H), Crystal Palace (A), Southampton (H), Burnley (A), Swansea (A), Watford (H), Bournemouth (H), Leicester (A), Arsenal (H), West Ham (A), Man Utd (H), Hull (A)Form…
A defeat to Liverpool followed by a loss to Gent in the Europa League had Spurs fans fearing the wheels were coming off what has so far been an impressive season. But a convincing FA Cup victory over Fulham and a hiding of Stoke seems to have them back on track and currently second in the Premier League table.Key man…
Harry KaneThe England striker is on fire right now, notching three hat-tricks this year including in his most recent outing. If he continues to score like that then Tottenham should surely secure a Champions League berth.
Chief reason to be optimistic…
Injuries have hurt Spurs this season but right now all their key players are available and if they remain so should see them through.And for the doom mongers…
Spurs went into meltdown at the end of last season – a repeat of that could be catastrophic with the chasing pack so close.
MAN CITY
Fixtures…
Sunderland (A), Stoke (H), Liverpool (H), Arsenal (A), Chelsea (A), Hull (H), Southampton (A), West Brom (H), Middlesbrough (A), Crystal Palace (H), Leicester (H), Watford (A) + Man Utd (H) to be rearrangedForm…
Pep Guardiola’s side look to be on song right now with just one defeat in 2017. The attacking verve with which they started the campaign looks to be returning with the goals currently flowing – as was seen during the recent 5-3 Champions League tie with Monaco.Key man…
Leroy SaneThe summer signing from Schalke faded into the background following his £37million arrival but as the season has progressed the more integral he’s become. The 21-year-old has begun to find the net on a regular basis and become a potent threat for opponents to deal with.
Chief reason to be optimistic…
No squad is littered with more talent than the side assembled at Man City. On the bench in their last Premier League outing was over £100m worth of talent, including Sergio Aguero, Nolito and Vincent Kompany.And for the doom mongers…
The run of Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea looks daunting – if it goes badly they might not recover.
ARSENAL
Fixtures…
Liverpool (A), Leicester (H), West Brom (A), Man City (H), West Ham (H), Crystal Palace (A), Middlesbrough (A), Sunderland (H), Tottenham (A), Man Utd (H), Stoke (A), Everton (H)Form…
Talk to any Arsenal fans right now and it’ll seem like the world has ended. Okay, there have been a couple of bad results but losing away to Bayern Munich and Chelsea aren’t exactly the most shameful results. Take out the defeat to Watford and Arsenal are unbeaten since before Christmas.
Key man…
Mesut OzilArsenal’s disappointing results in the last few weeks haven’t been helped by their most expensive player going missing. Ozil seemed to be reaching new levels at the start of the season when he started adding goals to his game – scoring nine in his first 20 outings. But that seems a long time ago now with the World Cup winner failing to find the back of the net in his last nine outings. When he’s on song, invariably, so are Arsenal.
Chief reason to be optimistic…
They always finish in the top four.And for the doom mongers…
The uncertainty around Arsene Wenger will leak onto the pitch and see them stutter.
LIVERPOOL
Fixtures…
Arsenal (H), Burnley (H), Man City (A), Everton (H), Bournemouth (H), Stoke (A), West Brom (A), Crystal Palace (H), Watford (A), Southampton (H), West Ham (A), Middlesbrough (H)Form…
Let’s not even go there. It’s as if the punch was spiked at Liverpool’s New Year’s Eve party because ever since then they’ve been dreadful. In their 12 games this year they’ve won just twice – and one of those was against Plymouth.Key man…
Roberto FirminoLiverpool’s front-three were crucial to the superb displays seen from Jurgen Klopp’s team in the first half of the season but things have gone wrong. First Philippe Coutinho was injured and then Sadio Mane went to the Africa Cup of Nations. They’re all back together now but they currently look like strangers. The one consistent in the side has been Firmino but his goals have become few and far between – the Brazilian finding the back of the net in just two of his last 19 outings. If Liverpool’s first-choice central attacker can address that problem they have a real chance.
Chief reason to be optimistic…
Klopp has the aura of a manager who could galvanise this misfiring side and send them on a run of positive results. It needs to happen quick though.And for the doom mongers…
A back five of Simon Mignolet, Nathaniel Clyne, Joel Matip, Lucas Leiva, James Milner.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Fixtures…
Bournemouth (H), Southampton (A), Middlesbrough (A), West Brom (H), Everton (H), Sunderland (A), Chelsea (H), Burnley (A), Swansea (H), Arsenal (A), Tottenham (A), Crystal Palace (H) + Man City (A) to be rearrangedForm…
Jose Mourinho’s side haven’t lost a match (aside from to Hull in the EFL Cup which didn’t matter) since the start of November. There have been a few too many draws in there but this is a team to be reckoned with – as their EFL Cup victory proved the other day.Key man…
Zlatan IbrahimovicWhere would Manchester United have been without him? The Swede seems to be improving as the season goes on – remarkable considering his age. If he can continue to inspire his team-mates and come up with crucial goals he’ll have a big influence.
Chief reason to be optimistic…
Aside from Chelsea they are the form side.And for the doom mongers…
Despite all the talk of improvement, somehow Manchester United are still sixth. Games very late in the season against Arsenal, Tottenham and Man City (once it’s finally rearranged) have the potential to be their undoing.(Metro, Uk)
No comments:
Post a Comment