20 February 2020, by: Leonard Solms

Champions League Qualification: EPL Top 4 Race

The race for UEFA Champions League (UCL) spots in the Premier League has taken two dramatic twists within a matter of days. First, Manchester City were banned from the UCL for two seasons due to Financial Fair Play breaches. Then, Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Fourth-placed Chelsea leads 11th-placed Burnley by only seven points with 12 games to go. It is not inconceivable that any team in between these positions could claim a Champions League spot.

Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham appear to be the frontrunners when factoring in both squad quality and league position. Sheffield United are currently a point above Manchester United, but do not have as much experience in such situations as the Red Devils.

Chelsea and Spurs face off on Saturday in another absolutely crucial game. The Blues sit fourth on 41 points with fifth-placed Spurs on 40. Both are on course to qualify for the Champions League unless City successfully appeal their ban.

City themselves are scheduled to visit the Bridge on 21 March in a fixture which Chelsea will need to hold their own in. The Blues also have a scheduled visit to Anfield on 9 May and could be juggling their Premier League games with Champions League and FA Cup commitments.

Other potential banana skins include the home games against Everton on 8 March and Wolves on the last day of the season, as well as the trip to Sheffield United on 25 April.

Manchester United will visit Everton on 1 March before the Toffees travel to Stamford Bridge. Apart from still being in the FA Cup, the Red Devils are also trying to get their hands on the Europa League.

It doesn’t help that United also have to host the Manchester derby on 8 March and visit Spurs a week later before hosting Sheffield United on the 21st. Their season will end with a tricky visit to Leicester to follow several winnable fixtures.

Spurs will be in action against RB Leipzig on Wednesday before visiting Chelsea, making life more complicated for José Mourinho. The Portuguese tactician will at least have home advantage as he attempts to navigate tricky fixtures against Wolves on 1 March and Manchester United a fortnight later.

The visit to Sheffield United on 4 April will be followed by a home game against Everton a week later. There is also the North London derby against dark horses Arsenal on 25 April at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The home game against Leicester on 9 May is another potential banana skin for Spurs. The Lilywhites have a difficult run-in, but at least they will spend plenty of time on familiar territory.

A crucial period for Sheffield United, if they want to upset the apple cart, will be fixtures from 21 March to 9 May, as they have seven consecutive Premier League games scheduled against fellow top four contenders (if you include Burnley in that category).

Arsenal have improved under Mikel Arteta, but they are likely to struggle to get back into contention. Apart from Europa League commitments, the Gunners have plenty of tricky league fixtures ahead towards the end of the season.

Although Arsenal have several winnable fixtures on the horizon for the moment, the tough ones will come thick and fast towards the end of the campaign as they face Wolves, Leicester, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City within a short period of time. This will be the real acid test of just how far they have come.

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