Gameweek 27 of the Premier League 2019-20 season concluded with leaders and runaway winners Liverpool coming from behind to beat West Ham 3-2 on Merseyside. Liverpool is 22 points ahead of second-placed City, who has looked shaky at times. But City did manage to win 1-0 over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium to increase the gap to 7 points between them and the foxes. It has all been a rollercoaster kind of a ride for all the teams in the middle of the table. The gap between fourth-placed Chelsea and eleventh-placed is just 8 points. It's just fair to say that the European positions could be up for grabs in the Premier League this season.
Here is the current league table after game week 27:
Liverpool and Manchester City are quite ahead in this race, and you just cannot see them falling out of the top four. The same cannot be said regarding Leicester in view of their recent dip in form. While Chelsea, United, and Tottenham are all up in the race, an inspired Arsenal side can just slot in at the last moment. Sheffield United and Wolves are having a dream run of their own. With Liverpool and City almost done, here we will look at all the details about the contenders in this race for the top four:
Leicester City:
Among all the betting sites at MyTopSportsbooks Leicester are the firm favorites to be in the top four in this season. With 50 points in their 27 matches this season, they are 7 points clear off fifth-placed United side. But with just one win in their last five games and Jamie Vardy's dip in form in the recent fixtures indicate that Brendan Rodgers will surely have a headache to deal with. But of all the other top four contenders, Leicester has the easiest remaining set of fixtures. They will face seven sides from the bottom half of the table. Their next three games are all against teams in and around the relegation zone. But they will have a tricky ending to the campaign, with all the last three matches against top-four contenders.
Chelsea:
Chelsea have collected a total of 44 points in their 27 matches so far. And have been constantly at the number fourth position for much time now. They have only one win in their last five games as United and co are slowly but steadily catching up. In the remaining fixtures, Chelsea will have to face the top two sides in Liverpool and Manchester City. But they will host the last two at home as well.
Manchester United:
United have claimed 41 points in their share of 27 matches and sit fifth on the Premier League table. They have two wins to their name in the last five outings. And look good under their new main man Bruno Fernandes. They have tricky matches in the next few weeks but one should keep in mind their tendency to play better against top teams. They won away at Chelsea and City, and are the only sides to take points off this Liverpool side in the league this season. To their dismay, they have only taken 18 points from a possible 39 against teams in the bottom half of the table.
Tottenham:
Tottenham have 40 points in their set of 27 matches in the league so far. Jose Mourinho is slowly but steadily turning things around at the London-based club. They have 3 wins and a draw in their last five matches and look set to finish the season on a high note. Tottenham will be without their star striker Harry Kane for much of the remaining season as well. They will face five from the top half and six from the bottom half in subsequent weeks.
Sheffield United:
With 40 points in their 27 matches as well, they are on par with Tottenham and just 4 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea side. They have been the surprise package for the season so far. Yet, the newly-promoted side will need something special to qualify for Europe this season. The Blades has the toughest fixture list of all the other top four contenders. With two wins and two draws in their last five games, it's safe to say that they are in decent form at the moment.
Wolves:
Nuno Espirito Santo's side have 39 points in their 27 games in the league and are in the run for European places as well. Wolves have already experienced European football in the UEFA Europa League this season. In the remaining matches, they have difficult games away at both Chelsea and Tottenham. They have two wins and two draws in their last five games and will surely make life difficult for the other sides.
Arsenal:
When Mikel Arteta took charge in December, Arsenal were closer to the last three than the top four. But things have certainly changed at the Emirates. They now have 37 points in 27 games and are just 7 points behind Chelsea at four. They have been unbeaten in their last five matches, with two wins and three draws in those games. They will have to face four of the current top six but will face all of the bottom three as well.
