The conclusion of matchday 35 in the Premier League has brought about an interesting set of results at the top end of the table. The fortunes of the teams fighting for the Premier League title, Champions League qualification, and Europa League qualification have changed compared to the last match day.
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The Premier League Titel Race: Man City in the driving seat
The best Premier League odds for the title race back Manchester City to come out on top. The odds are:
- Manchester City – 1/10 (1.10)
- Arsenal – 8/1 (9.00)
The Premier League title race is approaching its climax and it promises to be a very thrilling battle between Manchester City and Arsenal to the end. A comfortable 2-0 win over Newcastle United means that Arsenal are only one point behind Manchester City. Pep Guardiola’s team do have a game in hand, but they also have a commitment along the way. Furthermore, City will be away from home in three out of the remaining four league matches and this is likely to have a sizeable impact on the outcome.
Arsenal can only focus on league action and the Gunners will be at home in two of the remaining three league matches. Mikel Arteta will see this as a huge positive given that Arsenal have suffered just one league defeat at the Emirates Stadium in the last 12 months.
Race for the Champions League places is heating up
The Premier League odds for the top four finish after an enthralling gameweek 34 are as follows:
- Newcastle United – 1/8 (1.12)
- Manchester United – 3/10 (1.30)
- Liverpool – 15/8 (2.87)
- Brighton – 50/1 (51.00)
- Tottenham – 500/1 (501.00)
Manchester City and Arsenal have qualified for the Champions League next season. The battle for the top four goes into the last three weekends as well. The results after matchday 35 only served to increase the competition even further.
The wins for Liverpool, Tottenham, and Brighton coupled with defeats for Manchester United and Newcastle United have reduced the gap between the third and seventh places down to just 10 points. Even Aston Villa might have been in contention for the fourth place, but their loss against leaves the Midlands outfit with too much to do.
Newcastle United and Manchester United have received a major wake-up call that finishing in the top four is not a foregone conclusion. Newcastle’s lead over Liverpool is now just three points even if the Reds have played a game more. The loss against Arsenal is a major blow to Newcastle’s confidence and a lot hinges on how the team would tackle the games against Chelsea and Brighton.
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Manchester United are the latest team in a mini-crisis moment following back-to-back defeats at the worst possible time in the campaign. The losses against Brighton and West Ham mean that the Red Devils have only picked up one victory in the last four league outings. However, United will be at Old Trafford for three of the remaining four games.
Liverpool are certainly the team with momentum among the Premier League top four contenders. Even though will be playing away from Anfield in two of the remaining three matches, it is quite conceivable that Jurgen Klopp’s men can pick up a victory in all of the remaining games.
Spurs might have picked up a crucial win over Crystal Palace but it is hard to see them get ahead of Newcastle United and Manchester United. The North London outfit might have left themselves with too much work to do in the remaining three games.
Even though Brighton have put up a valiant effort and the win over Manchester United keeps them just seven points away from Liverpool with three games in hand, the Seagulls may not be able to sustain this run for long – especially following the confidence loss from the heavy defeat against Everton and their difficult line-up of games.
The Battle for Europa League Football
Just like the title race and top four race, the Premier League top six contenders are:
- Liverpool – 1/500 (1.01)
- Brighton – 8/13 (1.61)
- Tottenham – 5/4 (2.25)
- Aston Villa – 16/1 (17.00)
- Brentford – 500/1 (501.00)
Spurs received a huge boost in the efforts to finish in the top six following the win over Crystal Palace. Meanwhile, Brighton were able to away from the challenging match against Manchester United with a victory. Both these results have made Brighton and Spurs strong contenders to finish in the top six.
Aston Villa have done exceptionally well to keep themselves in the race with just a handful of matches left, but Unai Emery’s team have to depend on several teams dropping points in order to get into the top six. This is looking unlikely even after Brighton’s big loss against Everton.
Brighton no longer appear to be in a strong position for the Premier League top-four race and this is also reflected in the latest Premier League odds. The reaction from the Seagulls to the heavy loss against Everton will ultimately decide their ability to finish in the top six and qualify for the Europa League.
