Away from the relegation struggles and fight to remain in the league, top of the table teams are jostling for places in the Europa and Champions League competitions. Liverpool already walked away with the title, and they are all but assured of a place in the elite competition next season.
Manchester City might finish second but will have to wait for the outcome of their appeal in the Court of Administration. However, as it stands, they are also assured of a spot in Europe competition after winning the Carabao Cup.
Below Manchester City and Liverpool are teams fighting for a top-four finish. But who gets to cross the finish line first? Who kisses the unlucky badge?
Well, let’s find out!
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Chelsea
Frank Lampard charges continue to grind results even in the most unexpected ways. Against Crystal Palace, they looked vulnerable and outmuscled. Nonetheless, they still managed to squeeze past a hard-fighting Palace, bagging the vital three points in a 2-3 win.
Whole their defeat to West Ham was a significant setback to their top-four hopes, the Blues seemed to have recollected themselves, and are somehow grinding results at will.
The win against Crystal Palace was a major boost to their quest for a top-four finish. However, the North London team is also in contention for the FA trophy and will be facing Manchester United in the semi-finals.
They could also sneak their way into the Champions League by lifting this season’s trophy. Nonetheless, they will still have to go past Bayern Munich, who handed them a 0-3 defeat in the first leg of the last 16.
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Leicester City
Leicester has been a very inconsistent side since the Christmas break. And after staying in third place for a long time, they finally ceded ground for Chelsea, who rose above them this week.
The Brendan Rodgers side has four games left to the end of the season and will be looking to win three of those to secure a place in next season’s Champions League competition.
However, it isn’t an easy task considering the Foxes have only beaten Crystal Palace and Aston Villa since February.
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Manchester United
The Red Devils have had a fantastic run in the premier league, maintaining an unbeaten run in more than 15 games. As the league enters the homestretch, Ole Gunnar’s charges come up against the bottom place teams.
It looks quite easy fixtures for them on paper. However, they will have to dig deep to take home the maximum points.
But more than that, they could also find their way into Europe competition if they lift the Europa Cup or the FA Cup. They face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final and come up against Linz ASK in the last 16 ties.
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Wolverhampton
Wolves have now lost to successive matches to Arsenal and Sheffield United. While they still are in a pole position to qualify for the Europa League, the back-to-back defeats dealt a major blow to their Champions League qualification campaign.
They are still in contention for a Europa League spot with a return leg against Olympiakos later this month.
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Sheffield United
Sheffield United is a dark horse in the race for the Europa League competition. While they narrowly lost to Tottenham, they came up strongly against Burnley, picking up a point on the road.
And their last-minute goal against Wolves cemented their place in contention for a place in Europa.
