The most of football news are providing some calculations who will win the Premier League trophy this season. With only 10 rounds left in the Premier League, what do we expect to see in the remainder of the season? In this article, we will check out which teams we believe will end up in the top 4 on May 12th, when the 2018/19 EPL season ends.
First order of business; Who will win the league?
This has become one of the seasons, where there is no clear winner with only 10 more rounds to go. Usually, we are looking at a team that has accumulated a huge lead throughout the season and has already secured their spot at the top of the league, however this season, the race is still alive, with Liverpool and Manchester City racing to the finish line. As it stands now, Manchester City have reclaimed the no.1 spot in the league, where they sit with only 1-point lead in front of Liverpool, who dropped to 2nd due to some unconvincing performances behind them. How this title race will end is really up in the air. Manchester City can easily end up losing at least one more match in the span of the next 10, while Liverpool seems a bit lost and chaotic at the moment. It may be the pressure, or they just don’t have the quality to push on to win the title. No matter how this title race will end, the top two spots are reserved for Manchester City and Liverpool, except if we see some unusual turn of events.
With the top 2 spots filled, the only thing we need to figure out now is which teams will fill the remaining 2 slots that lead into the Champions League next season.
As of now, the 3rd team in the Premier League is no other than Tottenham, who I believe will remain there. Despite my predicted 3rd place finish, this one would end up being a disappointing one. Spurs have been extremely close to joining the race for the title, but a streak of two losses and a draw in the last three rounds resulted in Tottenham losing their chance to reach for the stars this season. As we await the 30th round, Tottenham are 9 points behind Liverpool, 3 points ahead of Manchester City, 4 ahead of Arsenal and 5 ahead of Chelsea, who are all strong competitors to grab the final place for Champions League promotion next season. If the deciding on who will end up the EPL champion was hard, here is when it becomes even harder. Out of Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United, two will end the season with a broken heart, but who is that?
Tottenham have got an exceptional team and I am frankly surprised they are not in the title run. They have got a strong attack, strong midfield and one of the best defences in the league. Despite their 0-1-2 run in the last 3, I am confident in saying they will get back up and strengthen their spot as the 3rd team in the league. Now we are left with the Chelsea, Arsenal and new and improved Manchester United who have been reborn under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.
First let’s touch Chelsea, who have been up and down this season, but seem to have run out of steam as the season comes to an end. With a 6-1-3 record in the last 10 matches played, they will not climb any higher up the leaderboard if they do not improve asap. Defeat against Bournemouth (4:0), a high defeat against Manchester City (6:0) and a subpar performance against Fulham on Sunday (1:2) do not give me much hope Chelsea can reduce the gap and catch up to Arsenal and Manchester United. While they do not have a particularly bad schedule in the remaining rounds of EPL, it will all come down how well will they perform against Liverpool and most importantly against Manchester United on 28th April.
Arsenal, much like Chelsea hold a mediocre record of 6-1-3 in their last 10 league matches, which once again does not look too promising. While Arsenal did not play particularly bad, they did show some subpar performances against teams that sit at the bottom of the league. Both Cardiff and Huddersfield gave them a run for their money, however, in the end, Arsenal managed to win, which is what matters. Unlike the other two teams, Arsenal has a much more forgiving schedule, with the only team that “should” cause them any problem is Manchester United, who Arsenal will face on March 10th.
And lastly, Manchester United, who has risen like a phoenix since they appointed a new coach. And we are not only taking morale but also in the league standings. A team that has not been too promising this season has improved drastically with an 8-2-0 run in the last 10 matches, which catapulted them into the top 4. While it’s far too late for them to run for the title, Manchester United is a strong team that has only one minor issue. And that is injuries. If Ole Gunnar Solksjaer can navigate United ship through the injury crisis, I have no doubts Manchester United will end up the season 4th, ahead of Arsenal and Chelsea, who have not convinced me in their recent fixtures.
