Premier League: The Race for Top 4

The race for the top 4 is always one of the most exciting parts of any Premier League season. With just a few games to go this year, the Champions League spots are still up for grabs. Newcastle and Manchester United are in 3rd and 4th respectively and Liverpool and Brighton are still in contention for a spot in the Champions League. Let’s take a look into how each team have done during the race for top 4 this season.

Newcastle United – 3rd

Newcastle currently sit in 3rd position on 66 points. They were expected to flash the cash for this season after being bought by the Saudi Arabia state-run Public Investment Fund (PIF). They were fairly subdued, spending the 6th highest amount in the Premier League. Their biggest signing being Alexander Isak from Real Sociedad in Spain for £63m. They were also able to sign a number of squad bolstering players to greatly improve their depth.

Newcastle’s next fixture is against Brighton who have had a fantastic season themselves and have an outside chance of getting into the top 4. Newcastle will want to get back to winning ways after only earning a point against relegation threatened Leeds United. A win against Brighton would all but secure their place in the Champions League and would be an extra lure for any potential big name players they would want to bring in to compete again next season.

Key Information

Current position: 3rd
Points: 66
Next fixtures: Brighton (H), Leicester (H), Chelsea (A)
Form: WWWLD
Key Players: Bruno Guimaraes, Keiran Trippier, Nick Pope

Manchester United – 4th

Manchester United have had an inconsistent season by their standards. Currently sitting in 4th spot with 66 points, they’ll be keen to secure their place in the Champions League next season. United have had to deal with some big topics this year, there is the ongoing ownership saga that looks set to end soon with a number of buyers interested in the club. The Cristiano Ronaldo episode ended in the legend leaving for Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr after falling out with United manager Erik Ten Hag, saying that he didn’t respect the dutchman.

United ranked 2nd in the league for highest spend this season, bringing in players like Antony (£82m) from Ajax & Casemiro (£60m) from Real Madrid, Casemiro being the more successful of the two with incredible performances that have helped United into the Champions League places. United’s fixtures appear to be favourable in the race for top 4, as they travel to Bournemouth for their next game, who look to have escaped relegation.

Key Information:

Current position: 4th
Points: 66
Next fixtures: Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H), Fulham (H)
Form: DWLLW
Key Players: Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, David De Gea

Liverpool FC – 5th

Liverpool currently find themselves outside of the top 4 in 5th position after an inconsistent season. They have shown glimpses of the team they were just a couple of seasons ago but have also been lackluster in too many fixtures. The best example of this would be the 7-0 beating of Manchester United to losing to relegation battling Bournemouth 1-0. The Reds fans were hopeful at the beginning of the season that they could once again challenge Manchester City at the top of the league and with additions such as Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez, it seemed as though Liverpool would be ready for anything. They now need to win the remainder of their games and hope that either Manchester United or Newcastle United drop points in their remaining fixtures to have any chance of playing alongside the elite teams of Europe next season.

Liverpool will face an in-form Aston Villa side that are fighting for a European place themselves. The Reds then travel to already relegated Southampton and will hope to finish their season on a high.

Key information:

Current position: 5th
Points: 62
Next Fixtures: Aston Villa (H), Southampton (A)
Form: WWWWW
Key Players: Mohamed Salah, Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold

Brighton and Hove Albion – 6th

Brighton have been the surprise package this year and are right in the race for top 4. They have become known for finding some of the best players at cheap prices, their left back Pervis Estupinan came in for just £14.7m from Spanish side Villarreal. A solid midfield including Moises Caicedo and World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister has helped them to perform consistently in big games.

The Seagulls have arguably the hardest run in to the end of the season. Their next fixture being a difficult game at St James’ Park against Newcastle. Picking up 3 points there would put them in a great position to secure a place in the Europa League but potentially make a late run for top 4.

Key information:

Current position: 6th
Points: 58
Next fixtures: Newcastle (A), Southampton (H), Manchester City (H), Aston Villa (A)
Form: LWWLW
Key Players: Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo, Kaoru Mitoma

The race for top 4 is going right down to the wire with 4 teams competing for a spot in Europe’s Premier club competition. Brighton seem to have the outside chance, especially with their difficult run at the end of the season. It will be a hard task for Liverpool to catch the two United’s and will have to hope that either team loses some form in their last few games.