London, May 9: The title race is done, three teams have already been relegated, yet the Premier League isn’t quite limping to the finishing line.
The race to secure the final four Champions League qualification places, along with champion Liverpool, is maintaining the interest in England’s top league with three rounds to go. In fact, it’s hardly been tighter.
Six clubs are involved – Arsenal, Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa – and two will miss out on securing a spot in Europe’s lucrative elite competition.
As well as that, Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton and Fulham are in a four-way fight for eighth and qualification for a potential Conference League spot, which would be a big deal to the four somewhat unheralded but improving clubs.
Then there’s some individual milestones to reach. Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah takes centre stage here, as he leads the Golden Boot race for the top scorer and also has his eye on a Premier League assist record.
Champions League Qualification
Arsenal, in second place, is a near-certainty to qualify for the Champions League so more scrutiny is on the five teams below, with third-place Man City and seventh-place Villa separated by just four points.
The biggest game this weekend sees fourth-place Newcastle host fifth-place Chelsea on Sunday. They are both on 63 points, one below City and two clear of sixth-place Forest, which is at home to already-relegated Leicester on Sunday.
Chelsea might have the toughest run-in, having to play Manchester United at home and Forest away. Newcastle also has to play Arsenal away and Everton at home.
City can go a long way toward securing a top-five finish by winning at already-relegated Southampton on Saturday, before closing games against Bournemouth at home and Fulham away.
Forest can put things in its own hands by beating Leicester ahead of games against West Ham away and then Chelsea at home, which could essentially wind up being a Champions League playoff.
Villa closes with a run of Bournemouth away, Tottenham at home and Man United away, and is the outsider for Champions League qualification.
Tottenham and Man United are both likely to be more focused on the Europa League final, where the winner also gets a Champions League spot.
Other European Competitions
If Man City wins the FA Cup after reaching the final against Crystal Palace, there’s a strong possibility that eighth place secures a place in the Conference League – Europe’s third-tier competition.
Bournemouth currently occupies eighth on 53 points, one ahead of Brentford and Brighton and two clear of Fulham.
Playing in the Conference League should excite Bournemouth and Brentford, in particular, as they have never played in a European competition.
Brighton played in the Europa League in the 2023-24 season, while Fulham reached the Europa League final in 2010.
Golden Boot
Salah, the newly crowned “Footballer of the Year” in England, leads the Premier League’s scoring chart on 28 goals – five more than Newcastle striker Alexander Isak. Man City’s Erling Haaland has 21.
Salah has either won outright or shared the Golden Boot on three occasions – 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2021-22 – and is set to stop Haaland from winning it three straight seasons.
Another race will likely be on Salah’s mind, too.
The record for assists in a single Premier League season is 20, held jointly by Arsenal great Thierry Henry and Man City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne. Salah is two behind, ahead of remaining games against Arsenal at home, Brighton away and Palace at home. (AP)
