Arguably the best league in the World resumes June 17th after almost three months of break due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
The English Premier League resumes top-flight football, joining counterparts from Germany, Spain and Italy. Some fans do say football isn’t back until English clubs are seen on TV.
Among the top leagues in Europe, It’s only the French Ligue 1 season that has been cancelled.
Wednesday 17th of June would see two outstanding fixtures take centre stage at a different time interval, first, Aston Villa host high flying Sheffield United at Villa Park.
A must-win game for Aston Villa if they are to survive relegation this season, Etihad is the venue for the second Premier League game on the 17th, Manchester City in a bid to further delay Liverpool from winning the league hosts struggling Arsenal by 8pm UK time, on paper, Manchester City are expected to walkover Arsenal.
EPL Title and Top four
Liverpool are on a quest for their first-ever Premier League title and would be looking forward to wrapping the title race as soon as possible, pictures have surfaced on the Internet of Liverpool being written on the Premier League trophy but until it’s mathematically impossible for Manchester City not to win the trophy, Liverpool are not yet English Champions.
The title race looks almost over, as it is difficult to see Liverpool capitulating with the finish line almost in view. There are still Champions league qualification spots up for grabs, third and fourth position are not yet secured with Chelsea, Manchester United, and Leicester City having strong claims to a top-four spot.
Tottenham and Arsenal also have an outside opportunity to make top four, there are seven points between Chelsea who are fourth and Spurs who is eighth on the table, Arsenal, on the other hand, is a position and a point behind Spurs on the log with an outstanding game against Manchester City at hand.
For both London Clubs making top four looks like an uphill task, perhaps both Jose Mourinho and Mikel Arteta should focus on getting Europa league tickets for their respective clubs.
Europa League
Europa League qualification is also getting intense at this stage of the competition, only the fifth-place team is guaranteed automatic qualification ticket for the Europa League in the Premier League, there is a spot reserved for FA cup winner then the final spot which is sixth or seventh depending on wins the FA Cup, would have to go through preliminary rounds before playing in Europa League group stage.
Wolves and Sheffield United have turned out to be the breakout teams of the season most especially Sheffield United who just gained promotion to the Premier League, against all odds are vying for European ticket.
Leveled on points with Wolves, three points behind Manchester United who are fifth and with a game at hand against nineteenth place Aston Villa, The Blades should they maintain their impressive run before the season was halted are on course for European action come next season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers have continued from where they stopped last season, finished seventh last campaign, Wolves are on course for a better finish and to play continental football two seasons in a roll.
Europa spot is still up for grabs for teams in the lower half of the table, Everton who is twelfth is just seven points behind Manchester United who are fifth and six points behind Wolverhampton who are sixth. Wolves, Sheffield, Spurs, Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Burnley and Everton all have the opportunity to play Europa League football next season.
Relegation Fight.
Newly promoted sides Norwich City and Aston Villa are deep into the relegation fight, For the Villains who spent almost a 100 million on player transfers, it is not a good sight for them.
Norwich are twentieth with twenty-one points, Aston Villa are nineteenth with twenty five-point and a game in hand against fellow promoted side Sheffield United.
Should the Villains win their game at hand, they would move away from the relegation zone temporarily and be placed sixteenth.
Bournemouth are Eighteenth, Watford Seventeenth, Westham sixteenth and Brighton in Fifteenth spot. Relegation fight looks tough, it’s difficult to say which teams would be relegated and which ones would remain in the Premier League.
A win in the next round of fixtures for all the relegation-threatened side would see significant change on the League’s table. It’s at this point all relegation-threatened team has to treat the rest of the remaining games for the season as a final.
The odds on Liverpool winning the league at this time is low, as the Reds should easily win games as they look to wrap up EPL title, but there are still other teams who are fighting for key positions that can fetch good money if they are staked on. Teams like Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers who are on the quest for Europa League qualification are solid teams that can give you good returns when the EPL resumes.
The two Manchester Clubs are also into consideration, Manchester City would love to keep their position as second, on the table, they should have no trouble winning, Manchester United on the other hand are fighting to return to Champions League, with Paul Pogba back in the squad, his combination with January signing Bruno Fernandes would be interesting to watch.
The Foxes are another good team, currently third on the log, Leicester City under Brendan Rodgers seek to return to the Champions League, putting your money on the Foxes could bring good returns.
Chelsea shouldn’t be forgotten too, the Blues under club legend Frank Lampard are also on course for Champions League football next season should they maintain their position on the table.
At this point of the season, the best clubs to put your money on are the relegation-threatened teams. Past season have shown EPL fans that it’s at this stage relegation-threatened teams pick form, teams like Aston Villa should be monitored, likewise Bournemouth, Westham, Brighton and Watford. They know what is at stake and it is at this point of the season they pick form.
