Liverpool have been the runaway leaders of the Premier League for some time now. Arsenal and Nottingham Forest's bids to challenge the Reds fell short, whilst Manchester City were written off by Christmas. Despite, losing to Fulham last weekend, it is still a question of when Liverpool will win the title.
It is the same at the opposite end of the table, the question is when Ipswich Town and Leicester City will have their relegation confirmed. Southampton were relegated last Sunday and with Wolverhampton Wanderers pulling away, Ipswich and Leicester are also doomed to return to the Championship.
The most intriguing question is who will qualify for the Champions League. England are set to be given an extra qualifying spot, so the Premier League's top five will be in European soccer's most prestigious competition.
Premier League table
TEAM | RECORD (last five games) | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
Liverpool | W-W-W-W-L | 73 |
Arsenal | D-D-W-W-D | 62 |
Nottingham Forest | D-W-W-W-L | 57 |
Chelsea | W-W-L-W-D | 53 |
Newcastle | W-L-W-W-W | 53 |
Man City | W-L-D-W-D | 52 |
Aston Villa | W-L-W-W-W | 51 |
Fulham | W-L-W-L-W | 48 |
Brighton | W-W-D-L-L | 47 |
Bournemouth | L-D-L-L-D | 45 |
Crystal Palace | W-W-W-D-W | 43 |
Brentford | D-L-W-L-D | 42 |
Man United | W-D-W-L-D | 38 |
Tottenham | L-D-L-L-W | 37 |
Everton | D-D-D-L-D | 35 |
West Ham | W-L-D-L-D | 35 |
Wolves | L-D-W-W-W | 32 |
Ipswich | L-L-L-W-L | 20 |
Leicester | L-L-L-L-L | 17 |
Southampton | L-L-L-D-L | 10 |
1. Who will qualify for the Champions League?
Newcastle United moved up to fifth with a 3-0 win over Leicester City on Monday night. As things stand, Eddie Howe's side will be back in the Champions League. This is crucial if the Magpies are to build on their EFL Cup win success. Newcastle's star players such as Alexander Isak will be more likely to stay if they are in the top European competition and it will enable them to attract and buy better players for the club. The Magpies are a very wealthy club but have been unable to spend big yet due to the Premier League's profitability and sustainability regulations.
Manchester City are just behind Newcastle but have had mixed results recently with two wins, two draws, and one defeat in their last five games. City have been a shadow of themselves this season but Pep Guardiola has been trusted to rebuild their roster. However, without Champions League soccer, the calibre of players City will be able to sign will be limited. The Magpies still need to play Aston Villa, Chelsea and Arsenal, whilst City should win their remaining fixtures. Therefore, Man City might be able to still qualify for the Champions League at Newcastle's expense. Chelsea are on the same amount of points as Newcastle, so also have a tense final few months of the season to come.
Arsenal and Nottingham Forest have been the only two clubs to mount a challenge to Liverpool for the title this season. They are second and third respectively but their Champions League places have not yet been confirmed. Arsenal are all but secured in the top five as they are 10 points ahead of sixth-placed Manchester City. Forest are still in danger of dropping out of the top five, especially after losing to Aston Villa last Saturday.
Villa and Fulham still have an outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League. However, it is looking increasingly unlikely for Brighton & Hove Albion and AFC Bournemouth as both sides have been on poor runs of form recently.
2. When will Liverpool win the title?
Liverpool have been Premier League champions in waiting for some time now. It was expected at the start of the season that Manchester City and Arsenal would battle it out for the title again. However, City have been poor and the Gunners have paid the price for not signing an additional striker. No one could have expected Liverpool to do so well in Arne Slot's first campaign with the club. It was expected that they would be in a period of transition after the great Jurgen Klopp departed.
If results go in Liverpool's favor, then they could win the title on April 20 — the day they should routinely defeat Leicester City. The Reds lead the division by 11 points and no team has surrendered such an advantage in the history of the Premier League. Liverpool do play Arsenal on May 11, where the Gunners could delay the inevitable if the Reds have secured the title officially already by then.
3. When will Ipswich and Leicester be relegated?
Just like Liverpool eventually winning the title, it is only a matter of time before Ipswich Town and Leicester City are also relegated. Southampton's relegation was confirmed on Sunday following their 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Leicester have just seven points more than the Saints, so they will soon also be officially heading back to the Championship.
Ipswich has just three more points than Leicester, but this is not enough to give them any great outside chance of survival. Wolves have won their last three games and could be mathematically safe by May 2, this would condemn Ipswich and Leicester back down to the Championship.
It is a shame to see all three promoted sides go back to the second tier. However, such is the gap between the quality of the top two divisions in English soccer that it is becoming an almost impossible task to survive following promotion.