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The current season of the Premier League has been one of the most entertaining in recent times. Manchester City and Liverpool are vying for the top honors while Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United are trying to squeeze into the top 4 places. With three gameweeks left after the midweek fixtures, nothing is certain yet. Let us take a look at what is at stake going into the final three weeks of this humdinger of a season:
The Titanic clash for the title
Manchester City and Liverpool are involved in a never before seen tussle for the Premier League. The fact one of the teams can get 97 points and still finish runners-up is unheard of, and that is where Liverpool find themselves. Manchester City completely decimated the league last season and are well on the way to repeat the same. But Liverpool had other ideas and have stuck with the most expensive squad in the league. The fact that the top 2 teams are 21 and 19 points respectively ahead of the rest shows the disparity among the teams. It also shows that if not for Liverpool, City would most likely have repeated their last season heroics.
Manchester City have a game in hand, where they face local rivals Manchester United(A). They end their league assignments with matches against Burnley(A), Leicester City(H), and Brighton & Hove Albion(A).
Whatever happens in the remaining fixtures, we can only bow to the two teams that have given us this rare spectacle.
The Top 4 scrap
The race for the Top 4 positions is contested by four teams this season. Tottenham Hotspurs, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United are all desperately looking to get into the coveted Champions League places. Though looking at these teams, it looks like no one wants to break away from the pack and confirm their status in the Top 4.
Tottenham Hotspurs have, for a vast majority of the season, been holding onto the 3rd place. That is without any significant reinforcements in the summer and also playing their home games at the Wembley. At one point, they had a sizeable lead over the others, but due to lack of away form, they have let their advantage slip. Tottenham faces Brighton(H), West Ham United(H), Bournemouth(A), and Everton(H) in the last four fixtures.
Arsenal have been kind of an enigma this season. They started their season by losing against Manchester City and Chelsea. Then they went on a long stretch undefeated. After that, inconsistency has been the norm for the Gunners. Arsenal end their league campaign with fixtures against Wolverhampton(A), Leicester(A), Brighton(H), and Burnley(A).
The infamous Jose Mourinho “3rd season syndrome” finally has its latest victim, Manchester United. An indifferent start to the start, lethargic displays and the eventual sacking of the “Special One” were the highlights of the first half of the season for the Red Devils. The appointment of their prodigal son Ole Gunnar Solskjaer did infuse some life into the stuttering campaign, but in recent times even that has proved to be a false dawn. Manchester United have the toughest assignment in the last four fixtures as they face Manchester City(H), Chelsea(H), Huddersfield(A), and Cardiff City(H).
The best of the rest
The 7th position in the Premier League has its pros and cons. The pros are that the team finishing in 7th place can claim to be the best of the rest and also qualify for the Europa League. The cons are interlinked with the Europa League. The second tier European tournament is not best-formatted one and the midtable teams of the Premier League are ill-equipped to handle both tournaments.
Watford, Everton, Leicester City, and Wolverhampton Wanderers are all within striking distance of finishing 7th.
Everton faces Crystal Palace(A), Burnley(H), and Tottenham(A) in the last three fixtures. Watford rounds off their campaign with matches against Southampton(H), Wolverhampton(H), Chelsea(A), and West Ham(H). Rejuvenated Leicester City ends the season with matches against Arsenal(H), Manchester City(A), and Chelsea(H). The newly promoted and giant-killers Wolverhampton Wanderers face Arsenal(H), Watford(A), Fulham(H), and Liverpool(A) in the last four fixtures.
The relegation battle
The only thing that the current season has been devoid of has been a proper relegation battle. Huddersfield and Fulham have been well below par and are rightly relegated to the Championship. Cardiff are just hanging on by the skin of the teeth in their bid to stay afloat in the Premier League. Apart from Cardiff, Brighton and Southampton are the only two teams in danger of being relegated as the third team.
Cardiff ends their campaign with fixtures against Fulham(A), Crystal Palace(H), and Manchester United(A). Brighton faces Tottenham(A), Newcastle United(H), Arsenal(A), and Manchester City(H) in the remaining fixtures. Southampton have an outside chance of getting relegated and they have matches against Watford(A), Bournemouth(H), West Ham(A), and Huddersfield(H).
Sportskeeda
