Premier League title race might be done and dusted. But with 11 games to go, at least one Champions League place is still up for grabs.
If Manchester City’s European ban is upheld, the fifth place in the Premier League will get clubs in the Champions League.
Contrarily, if it only the top four, then, there is still a lot to play for. It is the only thing to be decided at the top of the table with Liverpool so far ahead.
The rest of the top three, Leicester and City, to me, they look pretty good and safe. But after that, it is up for grabs.
With 11 games to go, eight points separate eight teams from Chelsea in fourth to Everton in 11th.
Needless to say, it is exciting to watch this season’s Premier League because of two things. One, you have got the likes of Sheffield United punching above their weight. Two, the big clubs involved in this particular race have all been in a bit of a mess at different times this season. They were expected to be doing much better than this.
Who will take up the 4th and 5th place?
Chelsea-44 points
The Blues have had extremely good results and also some very bad ones. The club has no problem in creating chances. Instead, they do not convert enough of them and they have looked fragile defensively at times.
It generally feels like the fourth place is theirs to lose. But, what Lampard does with Olivier Giroud now is going to be interesting. Maybe he is exactly what they need for the last couple of months of the season. An experienced head to come into the side and carry on a bit of momentum to get them over the line.
Man Utd-41 points
Bruno Fernandes seems to hold United’s key to finish the season on a high note. If he continues to shine, he can inspire them. If he doesn’t, then, they are in the same boat they were in before he joined in January when they lacked creativity.
The problem with United has been you cannot trust them. They put a couple of wins together and you think they have cracked it only for them to lose to someone where you just didn’t see it coming.
This has been their trend and it’s upon them to prove they can carry this on.
Tottenham-40 points
Tottenham has got injury problems. However, it doesn’t look good how Mourinho deals with them. He blames all their problems on being without the likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min.
Rather than mourning, Mourinho’s job is to get the best out of the other players in his squad. In this case, it would be wise to rule him out of the two positions.
Sheffield United-40 points
Sheffield is doing better than anyone could have expected. Chris Wilder is the type of manager who has a great start and needs to finish it off.
He will keep demanding from his players and there is no reason for them to tail off. They have one of the best defense in the Premier League and they create chances as well.
In this case, it is my expectation for them to accumulate plenty more points before the end of the season.
Clubs such as Arsenal, Burnley and Everton are trailing behind with 37, 37 and 36 points respectively. Let’s wait and see who will make it.