We go all the way now. No more of those international weekend interruptions that Ryan and I dislike until the title is decided.
First order of business: will Leicester be able to hang on? As things stand, Leicester could seal the title at the home of the League’s most successful team, Manchester United, on May 1. Their last five league victories have all been by 1-0 scores. It’s not pretty, but they’ve been able to get the job done. They have been resolute in defense, and it seems they have the mental strength to do so. It's not going to be easy, though — West Ham, chasing a European place, will be difficult opponents, while United, for all their travails this year, are still a quality team.
Spurs and Arsenal, though both three victories behind, may still be able to nick the title with games that are winnable on paper. But of course, the game is not played on paper, as their opponents also need the points. Yet the race for "runners-up" remains interesting. For Spurs, finishing above arch-rivals Arsenal for the first time in a generation would be cause for celebration. They’d have to watch their backs though, because Arsenal has finished the season strong in recent seasons; the Gunners look to stave off the end of St. Totteringham’s Day (the day when the Gunners are mathematically guaranteed to finish the season ahead of Spurs), the only other way they could salvage an otherwise disappointing campaign.
The fight for the last Champions League place is also still on. It’s a testament not only to how ridiculous the two Manchester clubs have been all season, but also to the improvement the Hammers have made. The Red Devils still have to go to hostile places like Spurs and West Ham. That second match, played in May, would be the Hammers’ last at Upton Park — expect no favors there.
Right below them, in a separate mini-league of their own, Liverpool, Stoke, Southampton and even 10th-placed Chelsea are battling it out to try and finish “best of the rest.” The seventh place might end up with a Europa League spot, depending on who wins the FA Cup.
Then there’s the relegation race. As ridiculous as this may sound, Crystal Palace is still winless in the League in 2016. The Eagles have been dragged into this relegation quagmire, a far cry from the form in the earlier part of the season that had them dreaming about European football. Palace will next play Norwich, while the Canaries play Sunderland in relegation six-pointers. Nineteenth-placed Newcastle host Palace on the last day of the month. Swansea, Watford, Bournemouth and Everton, the teams above them, are not fully out of the vortex that is the relegation dogfight yet either.
Sunderland go to Leicester next week, while on April 30, Norwich play Arsenal. The races for the title, for Europe and to avoid relegation remain impeccably intertwined. As two types of teams battle for points for various reasons, this season will go down to the wire. In a season that has seen many ups and downs, there might just be one or two more fairytales waiting to happen.
Fasten your seatbelts. It’s squeaky-bum time.
Why April will define this Premier League season
