In this final stretch of the Premier League season, with only three matchdays remaining, the title race is still wide open between Arsenal and Manchester City, the relegation battle between Tottenham and West Ham, and the fight for European spots.
Duel for the Title
Arsenal is in pole position to lift the Premier League trophy, twenty-two years after the “Invincibles” of Arsène Wenger and Thierry Henry won it in 2004 without losing a single game. The Gunners will reclaim the top spot if they win their final three matches against West Ham (current top relegation candidate), Burnley (already relegated), and Crystal Palace (15th).
Any slip up could revive Manchester City’s hopes, who are in second place with five points less but one more game to play (against Palace next Wednesday). City’s final fixtures against Brentford, Bournemouth, and Aston Villa, ranked 7th, 6th, and 5th respectively, pose a tough challenge. Guardiola emphasized the need to “put pressure on Arsenal by winning our games. That’s all we have to do. That’s all we can do,” he stressed.
In case of a tie in points, the title will be decided based on goal difference or goals scored, with direct confrontations as the ultimate tiebreaker favoring City.
Fight for the Champions League…
Behind the top three (Arsenal, City, and Manchester United), there are two, maybe three spots left for the next Champions League edition. Liverpool and Aston Villa, sitting in 4th and 5th with 58 points each, have a comfortable lead over 6th-placed Bournemouth and are on track to secure those places.
This could happen as early as this weekend if they win their respective matches and Bournemouth fail to beat Fulham (11th). The 6th place could also be qualifying for the major European tournament if Aston Villa finishes 5th and wins the Europa League final on May 20 against Fribourg.
… and for the Europa League and Conference League
As of now, excluding the scenarios mentioned above, the 6th-placed team qualifies for the Europa League and the 7th for the Conference League. There could be two additional English clubs in the Europa League: Chelsea if they don’t qualify through the league but win the FA Cup final on May 16 against Manchester City, and Crystal Palace if they win the Conference League final on May 27 against Rayo Vallecano.
Playing in Europe would be a first for Bournemouth (6th, 52 pts) and Brentford (7th, 51 pts), while Everton (10th, 48 pts) and Fulham (11th, 48 pts) haven’t been there since 2017/2018 and 2011/2012, respectively. Brighton (8th, 50 pts) and Chelsea (9th, 48 pts) are sandwiched between them.
Relegation Battle
With Wolverhampton and Burnley already relegated, there is one more spot left to drop down to the Championship (English second division). The current 18th-placed team West Ham and their main rival Tottenham, sitting 17th, are neck and neck before the final three matchdays.
West Ham slipped back into the relegation zone last weekend after a heavy 3-0 loss to Brentford, accompanied by Tottenham’s win against Aston Villa (2-1), their second consecutive victory. Tottenham will finish their season with three London derbies, facing Leeds and Everton at home and a trip to Chelsea in between. Meanwhile, West Ham will travel to Newcastle between home matches against Arsenal and Leeds.
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