Chelsea beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in a Premier League match at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, April 3. The Royal Blues then drew 0-0 with Bentford on Sunday, April 6.
Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea now have 53 points from 31 matches and are fourth in the Premier League table. They are equal on points with Newcastle and a point ahead of Manchester City, who will try desperately to finish inside the top four.
In fact, only three points separate the four teams that are placed from fourth to seventh in the table.
It is going to be an enticing race for the fourth spot, with Liverpool, Arsenal and Nottingham Forest being almost certain to ensure UEFA Champions League qualification next season.
The Battle for a Top Four Premier League Finish
Either of the Sky Blues and the Royal Blues are among the favorites to finish inside the Premier League’s top four.
The Cityzens will have to deal with the absence of Erling Haaland, who suffered an injury to his left ankle in the FA Cup quarterfinal against AFC Bournemouth.
Haaland’s injury makes Chelsea the slight favorites to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Omar Marmoush, who has replaced Haaland in the starting XI, is in good form, though. He has already scored seven goals for the Cityzens and is likely to add to his tally in the upcoming matches.
Chelsea also have a pretty formidable side and have a plethora of options on their bench.
However, they are a bit too reliant on key players like Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez to get maximum points in a match.
Palmer has been a bit underwhelming of late, but Fernandez’s form seems to have picked up.
Newcastle United and Aston Villa are fifth and seventh, respectively, in the Premier League table.
Newcastle are on a roll at the moment, having won the EFL Cup already. The Magpies are in a better position to finish inside the top six, and even finishing inside the top four cannot be ruled out.
Even Aston Villa have been bolstered by the inclusion of Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio in their attack.
Both of them are good form at the moment and might help Villa play UEFA Champions League football for the second successive season.
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The Premier League Title Has Been All But Decided
Liverpool are almost sure to win their 20th Premier League title this season unless there is a flurry of upsets to disrupt their run.
Arsenal should finish second for the third successive season, and Nottingham Forest should continue their wonderful run to ensure Champions League football next season.
Hence, the real thrill should be in finding out which team finishes in fourth position.
For Manchester City, it will be quite demoralising to miss out on Champions League football.
Chelsea have not played Champions League football during the past couple of seasons and would not like to miss out on it yet again.
It remains to be seen whether Newcastle or Aston Villa are able to upset the plans of the two aforementioned teams during the remainder of the season.
The neutrals will not mind watching either Newcastle or Villa in the Champions League next season, though.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Action Plus
Recording Date: 25.01.2025