After what has been a controversial, entertaining and exciting PL season, we now head into the final weekend, before closing out the 2023/24 season. Midweek saw a number of matches played which were postponed or rescheduled for one reason or another during the season and we now have every team on 37 matches, with one more to go. A number of major issues have already been decided, but there are still one or two things to be resolved.
Will Man City lift the trophy again?
Starting at the top of the standings, the league’s biggest winner has yet to be decided. Manchester City are firmly in control after their midweek victory at Tottenham and they head into this final round with a two-point gap over Arsenal as they seek a record fourth consecutive title. The top two teams have home matches to conclude the season and Manchester City know that a victory, whatever it is, against West Ham will ensure the title stays in Manchester. Arsenal must win their game against Everton and hope City make a mistake, their superior goal difference means a draw for City and a win for Arsenal will bring the title back to north London. Few will expect West Ham to hold off Manchester City, but this is David Moyes’ last game in charge and he will surely want to go out with a bang, although West Ham will finish in ninth place no matter what. arrives on the last day.
The CL places were confirmed when Tottenham lost at home to City in midweek, meaning Aston Villa finished a very impressive season with a top four finish and CL football for next season. Alongside them is Liverpool, whose season ended when many expected Jurgen Klopp to go out in a blaze of glory. They won the EFL Cup but that’s all they will claim this year, but they will at least want Klopp’s final game to be an entertaining win against Wolves.
Battle for European places
The battle for the EL and ECL places is still on, Tottenham are fifth, three points ahead of Chelsea, the latter having a better goal difference. Spurs will therefore need at least a point against bottom club Sheffield United to guarantee EL football. In form Chelsea had a very good end to the season and now have four consecutive victories, a form which has propelled them ahead of Newcastle and Manchester United. They could finish fifth but they could also be caught by Newcastle who are three points behind and have a superior goal difference. Chelsea have home advantage when they take on Bournemouth while Newcastle travel to west London to face Brentford. After beating Newcastle in midweek, Manchester United can still advance to European football via their league place, although they have a vastly inferior goal difference to Chelsea and Newcastle. United will qualify for the EL if they beat City in the FA Cup final, but if they fail to do so, seventh place in the league will guarantee ECL football.
Comfortable in the middle table are West Ham, Brighton, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace, all of whom can be pleased with their performances over the year, meeting and sometimes exceeding expectations. Wolves’ recent poor form has seen them drop to thirteenth place and Fulham have had an up and down season one place below them. Everton have been fighting hard all season and had to deal with a points deduction, but Sean Dyche has done a great job once again and they have four wins from the last five meaning they will finish 15th or 16th. It’s been a bit of a disappointing year for Brentford, who have certainly missed talisman Ivan Toney for most of the season. Nottingham Forest are another team who received a points deduction, but they almost avoided relegation, going into the final day of the season with a three-point advantage over Luton and a superior goal difference.
The battle for relegation
Finally, the last three teams who will play their football in the league next season. This time, it’s the three teams who went up and the same three who came down. In many ways this was an expected result, with all three significantly weaker than other teams in the league, but it highlights the gap between the Championship and PL. Sheffield United have been poor all season and have only managed to accumulate sixteen points and three wins. They have conceded a large number of goals, 101 before this final match day, and have broken a number of unwanted records. Even Chris Wilder’s return as manager hasn’t helped them and they will need to regroup if they are to have a strong season in England’s second highest division next year. Burnley were only marginally better, winning five, but they were the team many thought had the best chance of staying top. Vincent Kompany remained faithful to his principles and this set them back. So it remains to be seen if he will get another chance to promote them again next season. Luton have gained many fans this season for their efforts in the PL. They were a refreshing addition to the league and overperformed in many ways as most people thought they would be the weakest of the three promoted teams. It turns out that they simply failed and will have to return to the league next season.
The focus will be on the top two teams on Sunday afternoon, with the progress of their two matches key to deciding who wins the coveted PL trophy. All neutral fans are hoping for some drama, some twists and turns in the day, but regardless, it’s been a very entertaining season and as the saying goes, a team always finishes where they deserve in the standings, the luck balances out. during the year.
Last updated: 05/16/24
