Feeling Blue in England
As if it wasn't settled before, Chelsea's 0-0 draw with Arsenal at the Emirates all but guarantees the Blues the Premier League title this year. While I hate to admit it, this is definitely the appropriate finish to the season; Chelsea took care of business against all of the smaller teams, and did just well enough against the bigger teams to prevent them from stealing any crucial points. Arsenal had their bad spells, City slipped up occasionally against the Burnleys of the league, and United was never really going to challenge for the top spot.
While Liverpool has an outside chance at cracking it, I think it's safe to say the top-4 is relatively wrapped up. We know who's going to the Champions League, so let's take a look at the Europa League situation.
As it stands, Liverpool and Tottenham would qualify for Europe's secondary club competition. However, if Arsenal were to win the FA Cup, that would allow the 7th-place team into the Europa League, as well. Similarly to the United/Liverpool situation, it can be safely assumed that Southampton have the 7th spot secured over the likes of Swansea and Stoke; their form has petered out over the past couple months, but they are still very deserving of a Europa League bid. As a Saints supporter, I'll be rooting for Arsenal in next month's final just in case, but I will also be confident that Southampton can overtake Spurs for 6th place before the season is over.
Now let's go to the bottom. I don't know how it happened, but Leicester City has had a meteoric rise off the foot of the table. One month ago, the Foxes found themselves in last place with a meager 19 points, but four consecutive wins have taken them out of the relegation zone and into 17th. It is nearly impossible for any Premier League team to win four in a row, let alone the last place team. I think this momentum will carry them to survival, so let's turn to the other teams in serious danger. I believe that the current bottom three will remain there until season's end, but let us analyze the other two teams in true danger: Aston Villa and Hull City. History tells us that the Villains should stay up, but history is not helping them now. With the FA Cup final on the horizon, one would hope that they don't get too distracted and forget about their battle for survival. On the other hand, Hull have only one thing to focus on, but their run-in is looking very tough. They have five games remaining, against Liverpool, Arsenal, Burnley, Tottenham, and Man United. Barring some epic performances, they'll probably gain a maximum of two points from the four games against the big boys; this makes Burnley's visit to the KC Stadium crucial, but I think Hull can get those three points. My gut tells me that Sunderland, QPR, and Burnley will be relegated, but don't be surprised if Hull find themselves below Sunderland come the end of May. The Black Cats have a tough run-in of their own, too, which is why I tend to favor the Tigers.
Recap of predictions:
Champions League spots:
1) Chelsea
2, 3, 4) Arsenal, City, United (no particular order)
Europa League spots:
5) Liverpool
6) Southampton
7) Tottenham (only a Europa League place if Arsenal beat Villa in FA Cup final)
Relegation spots:
18) Sunderland
19) QPR
20) Burnley
Thank you all for reading. Let me know if you agree/disagree, and please follow the blog's new Twitter account @FightingBlog!
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