Chelsea and Fulham are in the raceChelsea and Fulham are in the race
Chelsea and Fulham are in the race | Getty Images
A look at the remaining fixtures of those involved in the Premier League’s top four and European race.
The Premier League’s top four race is the most exciting race of the lot, with the title race likely a foregone conclusion, while none of the bottom three look like putting up a genuine fight.
Chelsea are currently in control of a top four spot, while Fulham are on the periphery of the race, also battling for one of the Europa League or Conference League spots. As things stand, the Premier League’s fifth place would be enough for a Champions League birth, while the Europa League and Conference League spots would shift to one place lower, but teams will want to make absolutely sure by finishing fourth. Here we compare each of the run-ins of the contenders.
3rd - Nottingham Forest - 54 points
Man Utd - Home
Aston Villa - Away
Everton - Home
Tottenham - Away
Brentford - Home
Crystal Palace - Away
Leicester City - Home
West Ham - Away
Chelsea - Home
Forest have some tough games in their run-in, but they do have a head start and they have shown real consistency in beating mid-table and bottom half teams while also challenging others. Can they hold their nerve? They hold the cards currently.
4th - Chelsea - 49 points
Tottenham - Home
Brentford - Away
Ipswich Town - Home
Fulham - Away
Everton - Home
Liverpool - Home
Newcastle United - Away
Man Utd - Home
Nottingham Forest - Away
Chelsea should be confident of going on a run before the Liverpool game, and they will need to to keep control of fourth spot. From the Liverpool game, things get much more difficult down the stretch, facing the leaders and two top four contenders.
5th - Man City - 48 points
Leicester City - Home
Man Utd - Away
Crystal Palace - Home
Everton - Away
Aston Villa - Home
Wolves - Home
Southampton - Away
Bournemouth - Home
Fulham - Away
City have one of the friendlier run-ins. Aston Villa and Fulham stand out as their toughest game, and derbies are usually close, but beyond that, they will be licking their lips.
6th - Newcastle United - 47 points (one game in hand)
Brentford - Home
Leicester City - Away
Man Utd - Home
Crystal Palace - Home
Aston Villa - Away
Ipswich Town - Home
Brighton - Away
Chelsea - Home
Arsenal - Away
Everton - Home
Newcastle have a fair few tricky games on their remaining run-in, with Aston Villa, Brighton, Chelsea and Arsenal to play, while Everton will also be tricky. They have their destiny in their own hands to flip it around, but they will need to earn it.
7th - Brighton - 47 points
Aston Villa - Home
Crystal Palace - Away
Leicester City - Home
Brentford - Away
West Ham - Home
Newcastle United - Home
Wolves - Away
Liverpool - Home
Tottenham - Away
Brighton will need to earn it over the next few weeks to stay in the race, and their toughest test comes at the very end of the season when they face Newcastle, relegation-threatened Wolves, Liverpool and then Spurs. That’s a tough run-in.
8th - Fulham - 45 points
Arsenal - Away
Liverpool - Home
Bournemouth - Away
Chelsea - Home
Southampton - Away
Aston Villa - Away
Everton - Home
Brentford - Away
Man City - Home
Fulham have the toughest run-in of the lot. They have shown they can compete with some of the best, but this may be too difficult a run-in to overcome. They play five teams who are either top four contenders or in the top two from in their last nine games.
9th - Aston Villa - 45 points
Brighton - Away
Nottingham Forest - Home
Southampton - Away
Newcastle United - Home
Man City - Away
Fulham - Home
Bournemouth - Away
Tottenham - Home
Man Utd - Away
Villa have big potential but they seem to be concentrating too much on the Champions League, which is an Unai Emery trademark. They have a tricky run-in, facing five top four contenders in their next six games, and they finish the season against two teams who will be desperate to finish well in Tottenham and Manchester United.
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