Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are now in a four-way battle for two Champions League qualification places, so let’s look at their respective remaining fixtures.
As it stands, Tottenham Hotspur sit on 61 points, Arsenal on 60, Manchester United on 58 and Chelsea on 57, but with a game in hand. If the Blues win their extra game, all four teams would have just three points or less between them.
There isn’t much to split them in goal-difference terms either. Tottenham have 25, Arsenal 24, Manchester United 18 and Chelsea 19.
As a result, it could come down to the fixtures each team has left to play. Let’s have a look at them, with matches against the ‘big six’ in bold and matches against top-half teams in capitals.
Arsenal
- WOLVES vs ARSENAL (postponed, new date TBC)
- Arsenal vs Newcastle United
- Everton vs Arsenal
- WATFORD VS ARSENAL
- Arsenal vs Crystal Palace
- LEICESTER CITY VS ARSENAL
- Arsenal vs Brighton
- Burnley vs Arsenal
Chelsea
- Chelsea vs Brighton (postponed, new date TBC)
- Everton vs Chelsea
- Cardiff City vs Chelsea
- CHELSEA VS WEST HAM
- LIVERPOOL VS CHELSEA
- Chelsea vs Burnley
- MANCHESTER UNITED VS CHELSEA
- CHELSEA VS WATFORD
- LEICESTER CITY VS CHELSEA
Manchester United
- MANCHESTER UNITED VS WATFORD
- WOLVES VS MANCHESTER UNITED
- MANCHESTER UNITED VS WEST HAM
- Everton vs Manchester United
- MANCHESTER UNITED VS MANCHESTER CITY
- MANCHESTER UNITED VS CHELSEA
- Huddersfield vs Manchester United
- Manchester United vs Cardiff City
Tottenham Hotspur
- Tottenham vs Crystal Palace (postponed, new date TBC)
- LIVERPOOL VS TOTTENHAM
- Tottenham vs Brighton
- Tottenham vs Huddersfield
- MANCHESTER CITY VS TOTTENHAM
- TOTTENHAM VS WEST HAM
- Bournemouth vs Tottenham
- Tottenham vs Everton
On paper, Manchester United and Chelsea have the toughest fixtures, with two big-six clashes and three other top-half matches each. Though Tottenham have the two most difficult big-six clashes, their fixture list is otherwise very straightforward, and they have the advantage of already being out in front.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s fixture list lacks any of the really big games, but still contains major tests away to the likes of Wolves, Watford, Leicester City and even Everton. Let’s see how the next month goes before drawing any conclusions.