Race for the Top 4 in the Premier League this season – Chelsea, Chelsea, Man Utd, Spurs or Wolves?

Andy Clark
It seems like no one wants fourth place and the final Champions League spot in the Premier League this season. Liverpool, Manchester City and Leicester are all certs to be taking part in Europe’s top competition next year. But who will be joining them? We’ve had a look at the contenders and weighed up their chances.  

Chelsea (current top 4 odds – 4/7)

Chelsea seem the best bet to finish fourth this season. They have a six point cushion on fifth place Manchester United, and that will be hard to close. The Blues’ problem is they just can’t win at home. They’ve lost to Southampton, Bournemouth and West Ham at home in the last two months, and blew the lead twice as recently as Tuesday night against 10 man Arsenal at the Bridge. A complete contrast to the Chelsea of old. Tammy Abraham has picked up an injury. Although the severity of that is still unknown, manager Frank Lampard has spoken of his desire to dip into the transfer market to get a striker in. https://twitter.com/lampardsmen/status/1219748062484205568?s=21 It needs to be done quickly with just eight days until the window closes. Chelsea certainly need reinforcements.  

Manchester United (current top 4 odds – 6/1)

Despite how terrible they actually are, Manchester United, unbelievably, sit fifth in the table. It seems unlikely, especially after the long-term injury of Marcus Rashford, that they will get fourth, but they have to be considered given their league position. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær received backing from the United board on Thursday after an embarrassing 2-0 home defeat to Burnley the night before, but they’re only hurting themselves by keeping him on. They’ll need to pick up form and find a winning formula quickly if they want to be playing in the Champions League next season.  

Tottenham (current top 4 odds – 4/1)

Spurs were Chelsea’s main contenders for a while but have dropped off following draws with Watford and Norwich and losses to Southampton and Liverpool. They haven’t been brilliant since José Mourinho arrived in North London. Problems with Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane’s hamstrings haven’t helped things, but it would be considered a huge success if they were to get into the top four this season. Spurs face Chelsea, United and Wolves in their next six Premier League games, so it could be do or die for Mourinho’s men.  

Wolves (current top 4 odds – 10/1)

The dark horses in this battle to finish in the top 4 this season are Wolves. Nuno’s men had a slow start to the season but have picked up recently and fancy their chances against anyone on their day. Doing the double over Manchester City shouldn’t go unnoticed, and the team will fancy their chances of stopping Liverpool’s unbeaten run when they face off at Molyneux tonight. They’ll go fifth if they can do that, and, with Manchester United and Tottenham still to play, their fate is, pretty much, in their own hands. The battle for fourth is well and truly on. Every team has their own issues; Chelsea can’t win at home, Spurs have inside problems, Wolves are inconsistent and United are just rubbish. It will simply come down to who wants it more.