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The 2022-23 Premier League season is currently at its business end. Fans are already anticipating a nail-biting climax as the race for the title between Manchester City and Arsenal becomes an intensively competitive one.
There is so much at stake as the final four or six matches remain in the league. Title glory, Champions League spots, European places and the battle to avoid relegation are all on the line. This is the time of the season when teams at the bottom end of the table can easily cause an upset.
Fixtures involving the big six have now reached fever pitch. Manchester City, Newcastle United, Arsenal and Manchester United are all keen to take all three points from their remaining fixtures of the season. Dropping points at this point in the season can prove costly. With a lot at stake, we should all expect drama, twists, turns, and most of all, no lack of passion.
Premier League top-four battle
The 2022-23 campaign has been a disappointing one for some teams. Liverpool's chances, for instance, of finishing in the top four slots have been severely hampered by injuries, inconsistent play, and a lack of investment. Apart from the fact that only six out of 28 Liverpool players haven’t missed a game due to injury, it would be fair to say there’s more than one issue at Anfield.
Comparatively, Chelsea have suffered the worst woes, despite spending over £280 million on bringing in new players. The Blues have crashed out in every competition, finding themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Manchester City and Arsenal have already clinched a spot in the top four. Only five teams remain in contention for the last two spots in the top four. Manchester United and Newcastle are being tagged as favorites to join the Gunners and The Citizens for a top-four finish.
Manchester City: Title winners
Manchester City will make history in the Premier League by becoming only the second team to win three consecutive Premier League titles since Manchester United. After dominating the Gunners on Wednesday night (April 26), their remaining six fixtures will feature them playing against weaker opposition.
The Citizens are currently experiencing a fantastic end to their 2022-23 Premier League campaign, having won their last eight games. Erling Haaland has been scoring goals for fun and recently became the first Premier League player in 92 years of English top flight football to score 50 goals across competitions.
With a one-point lead and a game in hand, we can expect City to win all their remaining games and cruise to a fifth title in six years.
Arsenal: 2nd-place finish
If Arsenal want to become champions, they’ll have to win five of their remaining six matches. Although not impossible, it can be very difficult based on their current form and the teams they will face in their remaining games - Chelsea, Newcastle United, Brighton & Hove Albion, Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Unfortunately, the odds of them winning all these games are significantly low.
Confidence has dropped among the Arsenal team after they were removed from top spot by City. Their last four matches have ended in a draw and one defeat while conceding 11 goals altogether. The Gunners have been able to secure only three points out of a possible nine.
Newcastle United: 3rd-place finish
Pundits may have tipped Manchester United to finish third in the Premier League table. However, in contrast to Manchester United's remaining games, Newcastle United seem to have a much simpler task ahead of them.
Liverpool are the only team capable of beating Newcastle at home in the Premier League this season. The Magpies will also play four of their final seven games at home. Three away games against teams like Southampton, Everton, and Leeds United would not be very challenging contests.
The Magpies will edge out Manchester United and finish in third place this season. United have been inconsistent in their last 10 games, so this will pave the way for Newcastle to finish ahead of them.
Manchester United: 4th-place finish
United are faced with the difficulty of match congestion against teams currently in the top half of the table. These fixtures are deemed to be tightly contested as Brighton, Chelsea and Fulham are all battling for European top-flight football qualification.
The Red Devils have the best chance of securing a top-four finish above Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Aston Villa. They only need to win three of their remaining eight games to make this possible.
Battle for Survival: The bottom three of the Premier League
The fight to avoid relegation for the 2022–23 Premier League season is quite an interesting one. With five games remaining for some teams and a point difference of 10, teams from 15th to 20th-placed Southampton find themselves in danger of being relegated.
Five of the eight teams battling to avoid relegation have had their managers fired in the 2022-23 Premier League season. As a result, we’ve been able to set a record in history for the most managers sacked in a single Premier League campaign (12).
Southampton F.C: 20th-place finish
The Saints currently find themselves seated at the bottom end of the table with just 24 points. It seems as if the club are only concerned about upsetting the top six teams. Having beaten Chelsea around mid-February this year, three out of their last 10 games for Southampton have all ended in draws. Manchester United, Arsenal, and Spurs have all dropped points respectively against them.
To make matters worse, the remaining four fixtures on their roster are against Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Brighton and Liverpool. These teams all have something at stake and hence this would be a tightly contested fixture-list for the Saints.
Nottingham Forest: 19th-place finish
Nottingham Forest don't have a great record against the big six in the league. As the season comes to a close, they have Arsenal and Chelsea to play in their remaining fixtures. Forest may be able to secure a point against Chelsea and possibly a win at home against Southampton. But that won't be enough to see them through.
The last time Forest were able to pick up a point in their away outings was around January against Bournemouth. There’s no way the Tricky Trees can fight their way out of relegation this season and a 19th-place finish is on the cards.
Leicester City: 18th Place Finish
Since acquiring the services of new manager Dean Smith, the Foxes have been able to silence the boo-boys. They've been able to show themselves strong against all teams in the second half of the Premier League table.
Evidently, the fight for the 17th-place finish in the table will be between Leeds United and Leicester City. As we all expected, the game between Leeds and Leicester on Tuesday night proved decisive, leaving just one point difference between the two teams.
It hasn't been a good season for the Foxes and it would be sad to see them relegated from the Premier League after a successful 10-year stint. Having won the 2016 Premier League title after a reciprocal 10-year absence, the Foxes have been dwindling gradually in form.
Besides rumors spreading around top players leaving at the end of the season, their star marksman Jamie Vardy is 36 years old now. We may miss the Foxes for the next 2-3 seasons as they try to build a new compatible and competitive squad.
