The battle for the top four in the Premier League is still ongoing, after all of the contenders to get third and fourth lost during the weekend.
Manchester United were shockingly thumped 4-0 by Everton, Arsenal were beaten at home for just the second time in the league this season, after they lost 3-2 to Crystal Palace. Tottenham were unlucky to get out of the Etihad with no points, after they lost to Manchester City 1-0 on Saturday, whilst Chelsea dropped points at home to Burnley on Monday, with them getting just a 2-2 draw.
Due to these results, the chase for the top four currently stands at:
All of the teams that are challenging are in pretty bad form going into the final matches of the season, but Tottenham and Arsenal are surely in the best position out of the four.
Tottenham still have Brighton and West Ham at home, with a trip to Bournemouth afterwards, and then a home match against Everton in the final match of the season. However, with Spurs progressing through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, their focus might be taken away from the Premier League, as their two legs against Ajax edge closer and closer.
Chelsea are the only team in the top four to have only three games left to play, and therefore their position may be the most unclear out of the four challengers. Chelsea have lost their way in recent matches, not looking comfortable at all defensively. To make things worse, they have some very tough tests coming up for them, with an away trip to Old Trafford up next, in what will surely decide the fate of one of the two teams, as well as a home fixture against Watford, and an away trip to Leicester to end the season. Apart from this, Chelsea have a tricky Europa League semi-final coming up against Eintracht Frankfurt, who have impressed throughout the season. For Chelsea, it is all about prioritising, and whether they will put all their eggs in one basket, or not.
Arsenal may be sitting in fifth, but they have the best set of fixtures out of the four challenging for the Champions League places. Arsenal have trips to Wolves and Leicester City, before facing Brighton at home, and then having a difficult away trip to Burnley for the final game of the season. Whilst on paper this may seem as a reasonably comfortable end to the season, Arsenal have been dreadful away from home, winning just six of the 16 away games that they have had so far, keeping a clean sheet for the first time away from home on their previous trip to Watford, when they won 1-0. To make things tougher for Arsenal, they now have to find a way to prioritise, with them having a very tough semi-final coming up against Valencia, which is sandwiched in between the Leicester and Burnley games.
Manchester United might have no European commitments for the rest of the season, but they have the toughest set of fixtures out of all of the rest. Up next for United if the Manchester Derby, which is not only a crucial match for the race for the top four, but also for the Premier League title, with City firmly in contention against Liverpool. The Manchester Derby will prove to be very difficult, especially with Solskjaer expecting a reaction to the humiliation that the team suffered against Everton last weekend. After that, United have an intriguing clash with Chelsea at home, which as said before, will decide the fate of one, if not both of the teams. After those tough fixtures, United have a pretty easy run-in, with an away fixture against already-relegated Huddersfield coming up, and then a home match against Cardiff City to end the season. Cardiff might be low down in the table, but they are still fighting to survive in the Premier League for another season, and may cause an upset, especially if United continue to play as they have been doing in the past few weeks.
The top four race is set to go right until the final match of the season, but with the teams challenging all seemingly out of form, it may all come down to the ones that are able to grind down results, rather than those that perform the best.
Whatever the case, this Premier League season has been an exciting one for sure, with plenty of ups and downs for all of the teams contesting for the top four.
