The Fight for the Final Four

The end of the Premier League season is approaching, and teams are down to their last eight games. Changing positions has become a now or never type deal, and things are so close the tension is palpable. Currently, there are two fights, and we take up the story to see which four teams are going to finish on top this season.

The first battle is to determine who lifts the silverware, and while there are other teams that could make a late charge, the likelihood is a head to head battle between current title holders Manchester City and current first place team Liverpool. The top spot has been alternating between the two for weeks, and there is no way to tell at this stage who is going to come out on top. The Citizens are looking to retain their title and take the trophy for a second year, while Liverpool have worked hard and got closer than they have ever come in many years, they really want that win. Jurgen Klopp is going to be behind his team and pushing hard for this prestigious title, but there are some concerns that Pep Guardiola might have his heart elsewhere as this is a victory he has already achieved. Perhaps his focus will be on the Champion’s League instead, and that may lead to City losing focus in the title race.

Below them, the battle for the remaining top four places is fierce and hotly contested with four teams all in reach and all equally determined to secure third or fourth place for themselves. Sadly with just two places on offer, there will be two left out in the cold, but currently the third to sixth place line up features Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea with just four points separating them. There is a feeling among pundits that United deserve their place after one of the biggest mid-season turnarounds ever seen. When Manchester United sacked Jose Mourinho in December following a disastrous start, they obviously hoped for better fortune, but no-one could have predicted that miracle worker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would weave such magic, and take them back into the top four race. In fact, when he left Mourinho said that only a miracle would see them finish in the top four and they certainly seem determined to do so, and potentially such a placing would also secure the permanent job for Solskjaer.

Of course, this is not the feeling among fans of Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea, and their players will also be determined to ensure they finish in the top four. Predicting who will win is an impossible task as all teams are capable, so only time will tell. In the meantime, we just hope that they can hold their nerve and keep things together as this is the sort of situation that causes some ‘bottling’ in the football world. Unintentional slips and trips due to mounting pressure is something that all four of the teams are looking to avoid; the biggest question is just who can keep their nerve?