With the Premier League season ending soon, teams at the top and bottom of the table are scrambling for points. Chelsea, with 81 points, are strong title favorites and are currently playing very well, winning 3-0 against Everton.

Tottenham are four points behind Chelsea and are the only team that can challenge Chelsea for the title this year. Spurs will almost certainly finish in first or second place, after beating Arsenal 2-0, to extend their Premier League winning streak to nine games. This is a remarkable accomplishment for Tottenham, as they haven’t finished in the top two or had a winning streak this long since the 1960-1961 season. The win also means that Tottenham will finish ahead of their north London rivals, Arsenal, for the first time since 1995. I credit much of the Spurs’ success to their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, who has transformed Tottenham into a top English club.

Liverpool and Manchester City both sit at 66 points, tied on goal difference at +28 and only separated by goals scored. This puts Liverpool ahead and in third place. Just behind them are Manchester United with 65 points.  Despite not losing in their last 25 Premier League matches, they are only in fifth place mostly due to their league-leading 14 draws.  In sixth, Arsenal trail behind the pack with 60 points, but they do have a game in hand over the top five. 

The Gunners have had a disappointing season so far, and the big decision for

Arsenal’s board is whether they will sack

Arsène Wenger, their long-time manager.

To me, the race for third through sixth is the most intriguing race. Two of these teams will find themselves in the Europa League, without being able to participate in the highly-coveted Champions League. The only exception is Manchester United, which could automatically qualify for the

Champions League by winning the Europa League this year. They are currently in the semi-finals stage of the competition.

Everton have already secured at least seventh place with 58 points, but has played one more game than all the teams in the top five, and two more than sixth place Arsenal.

Now to discuss relegation, the high-stakes game of musical chairs that will see three teams exiting the Premier League and entering the Championship – the second tier of English football. Sunderland have now confirmed their relegation as they sit in dead last, with just 21 points. In nineteenth place, Middlesbrough will need a major push and some luck to avoid the drop. The two teams scrapping to avoid finishing in eighteenth, the final relegation spot, are Swansea, with 32 points, and Hull City, with 34 points. Both teams play Sunderland, a great opportunity to pick up a win and three points. Swansea plays Everton and West Bromwich, teams in seventh and eighth, respectively. These matches may seem difficult, but they might be great chances to get points because both teams are largely stuck where they are and will have little to play for. Hull City, however, will play against Crystal Palace, in sixteenth place with 38 points, and will play against Tottenham on the final day. If Swansea can manage to collect a few points, the Crystal Palace vs. Hull City match becomes critical to all three teams’ chances to survive. 

Two other teams with a chance of relegation are West Ham and Burnley, with 39 points each.