I think the League table really flatters Arsenal and is unfair for Man U.
I would agree that they don’t “deserve” to be higher, but they deserve to be recognized which typically won’t happen unless they finish above someone “big”. I’d settle for them finishing above Arsenal.
So, after this weekend, there are 8 match days left (and several teams are going to have one or two make-up games as well!). Both ends of the table still have some uncertainty. My predictions:
- Chelsea will win the League; Sunderland will lose the League (20th place and relegation).
While Chelsea are letting some wobbles in, in the long run, I don’t think Tottenham have what it takes to hunt them down (see last season), and 'Pool and the Noisy Neighbors are just too far away. As for Sunderland, David Moyes is not a miracle worker (he just this weekend said that the team needs wins, not miracles, and then went on to say that Sunderland have been there before, so it’s no big deal). They are truly woeful this season, and I think it’s their turn to spend a year in purgatory.
- 'Boro and Swansea are my other picks for relegation.
'Boro is an easy pick. I read that they’ve had over 20% of their games this season end in nil - nil draws. That’s not going to get you 36 points, no matter how hard you want it to. Swansea, on the other hand, tried hard to get away from the zone, but are now being sucked back in. I think they made their move too early, sacking Bradley and bringing in Clement; now other teams who made their moves later are surging past them (or, in the case of Palace, finally waking up and realizing that Big Sam won’t be the man you want to face in the morning if you aren’t putting in your best effort). I think Hull City (I insist upon calling them that) will push past the Swans. There’s an outside chance that Burnley could end up passed up by everyone, and be the ones to go down (no wins away yet), and interestingly, the Hammers are doing a very good impression of trying to see if getting to 33 points and then quitting is actually enough to stay up!
- The top places are pretty much set, though I think Liverpool will get the qualifying spot for the Champions League.
Liverpool’s game in hand will come in handy there. United are simply too far back, now; they needed to win this last weekend to have any hope of escaping the Europa League spot. And it is with some shock that I have to accept the Arsenal will be in sixth place (both they and United have two games in hand, so United should manage to stay in fifth). Not sure who gets the spot opened up by United managing to qualify in two ways for the Europa League. If Arsenal finish sixth, I think it’s a foregone conclusion Wenger is going to have to step aside, bringing to a close the era of managers who last any decent length of time at a club. 
- My beloved Foxes will finish ninth!
We’re finally showing the form we should have shown all season. Rather pisses me off, since there’s really no good reason they weren’t doing this all along. As this last weekend’s game against Stoke City shows, even a changed lineup could manage the results needed. But we’re in the running for the biggest shebang of all, and relegation seems to have been put behind us, so let’s go Foxes!
As a Southampton man I want to shake a defiant fist in your general direction but having watched yet another dismal home showing of squandered opportunities and gradual loss of creative energy as the match progressed, I am reduced to hoping for less lofty heights than ninth for Saints.
Or Bournemouth played a very good match, especially in the second half. They really should have won. Credit Southampton’s twelfth man, the groundskeeper.
Cherries were indeed the better team for most of the match. I’m a little disappointed by that.
Def for the first half. Bournemouth was better in the second half. It was a very entertaining match. Both sets of supporters can be happy with the result. I like the young Bournemouth coach.
I’ve been an Eddie Howe fan for a few years now, since growing an appreciation for his team’s persistence and hustle. Can’t find a cite but there have been rumors of Soton intending to make a run at him at the appropriate time in the future, even though Eddie has said he would never take the job there because of what the rivalry means to Bournemouth supporters. Which is sort of a cool thing to say.
And today, Leicester City once again prove that the two-thirds of the season they had simply bottled it in the League and didn’t care. I think 36 is enough we are now safe. Sunderland, on the other hand, are in serious bad news.
Pretty spectacular outburst from Spurs yesterday, going from down 1-0 in the 88th minute to winning 3-1. OK, it was just Swansea, but still.
I would place it in the top 25 sports moments I have witnessed. It was a pretty spectacular comeback.
Spurs fans WOULD get excited about taking 88+ min. to break down the 18th worst team in the League. 
I still vividly remember going to a Los Angeles Raiders game where they came back from several touchdowns down to beat the Jets. It was a meaningless game but i talked about it for weeks because it was so cool.
Great comebacks are great no matter what.
Man, I’m bad at trash talk. I should have probably gone with “says the guy who’s excited about his team finishing 9th.”
You mean the guy who’s excited about his team finishing 9th (and possibly winning the UEFA Champion’s League)?
If you get past Fake Madrid then you actually have a chance. I don’t see Barca or Real defence stopping an on form Vardy and big hard tacklers are Messi and Neymar’s weakness.
Am I doing this math right? 2 wins and a draw for spurs over the remaining 7 games makes it mathematically impossible for Arsenal to finish above them?
I feel like that can’t be right.
It’s not, quite. Spurs currently have 68 points. 2 more wins and a draw would give them 75. Arsenal currently have 54, but crucially still have 8 games left, if they win them all that would give them 78. Even if they only had 7 left themselves, they could still reach 75 and overtake Spurs on goal difference (they would only need a couple of big wins to do so).
Even so, surely Spurs can’t throw away a 14 point lead (11 if Arsenal win their game in hand) with only 7 to play. It must be bigger than the gap was at the same stage last season.
United’s best chance of returning to the Champions League next season remains the Europa League title. They’ll do well to get a point on Saturday at home to Chelsea, likewise away to City, Arsenal, and Spurs. So even if they avoid tripping up against Burnley (away), Swansea, Southampton, and Palace, that would see them finish on 73 points (and that’s probably optimistic). In all likelihood behind Chelsea, Spurs, Liverpool (who have an easy run in, their toughest game probably being West Brom away), and City (also an easy run-in apart from their game against United). If United do win the Europa, would that push the 4th placed Premier League team out of the CL, or do they just get bumped to an earlier qualifying round?
I found this long document that goes over the Champions League set up. From what I can tell, the relevant piece is:
So to me it looks like winning the Europa title would get ManU in, as well as the top 4 in the Premier League.
If both United and Leicester win then the 4th place team drops out.