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Title race, Champions League berth and battle for survival: All to play for on the final day of the Premier League

May 21, 2022
Henry Club

Will Manchester City be crowned the champions or Liverpool? Will Tottenham secure the point they need to seal the final Champions League spot ahead of Arsenal? And will Leeds United stay up or Burnley?

After 10 drama-filled months in a season full of twists and turns, the key questions are yet to be answered ahead of the final day of the English Premier League season. At stake are the title, the bragging rights of being among Europe’s elite, a place in the next season of the EPL and a financial windfall in each case.

Title race goes down to the wire

Position Team PWDL GD Pts

1. Man City 37 28 6 3 72 90

2. Liverpool 37 27 8 2 25 89

Fixtures: Manchester City vs Aston Villa; Liverpool vs Wolves

Prize money for champions: $54.4 million (runners up: $51.7 million)

This season’s title race between Manchester City and Liverpool harks back to the 2018-19 season, when City pipped Liverpool for the title by a solitary point on the last day of the season. On Sunday, history might repeat itself but things might not be so straightforward. Pep Guardiola’s side dropped points at West Ham in the previous match, opening a window for Liverpool to pip them to the post. But as Juergen Klopp said, it’ll be surprising to see City drop points in consecutive matches.

It was Klopp’s way of downplaying Liverpool’s chances. Having already won the League Cup and the FA Cup, Liverpool are chasing the elusive quadruple – with the Champions League final against Real Madrid scheduled for next Saturday – but even if they beat an out-of-form Wolves, they’ll have to rely on on club legend Steven Gerard, how the manager of Aston Villa, to steal a point at least from City.

The scenarios are simple:

1. If City win, the title is theirs;

2. If they draw or lose, and Liverpool win, then Klopp’s team will be crowned champions;

3. If both teams draw or lose, the title will head to Manchester;

4. If City lose and Liverpool draw, both teams will have 90 points but City will be crowned champions since they have a better goal difference.

The fight for CL birth

Position Team PWDL GD Pts

4. Tottenham 37 21 5 11 24 68

5. Arsenal 37 21 3 13 9 66

Fixtures: Norwich City vs Tottenham; Arsenal vs Everton

Champions League group-stage qualification prize money: $19.1 million

With Chelsea drawing with Leicester City on Thursday night, they have virtually secured the 3rd place and the right to play in the Champions League next season.

With just one more Champions League spot up for grabs, Tottenham and Arsenal will put all their might against Norwich and Everton, respectively. Spurs who are on 68 points have a better chance of making it to Europe’s elite club football competition when they play an already-relegated Norwich side. Meanwhile, Arsenal, who are on 66 points, will host an Everton side that has seen a recent upturn in form.

Only a Spurs loss to Norwich can open a window for Arsenal, who will have to win to finish fourth. If Spurs win or draw, the final Champions League berth will be theirs.

The fight for survival

Position Team PWDL GD Pts

17. Burnley 37 7 14 16 -18 35

18. Leeds Utd 37 8 11 18 -38 35

Fixtures: Burnley vs Newcastle United; Brentford vs Leeds United

Financial impact: The team that gets relegated will face an immediate hit of approximately £50 million

On Thursday night, Everton staged a remarkable comeback to secure their place in the EPL next season. This leaves Leeds and Burnley battling for survival.

Both of the clubs head into the last day of the season with 35 points, with Burnley holding a slight advantage due to their superior goal difference. Leeds will travel to Brentford while Burnley will play host to Newcastle.

While both teams desperately need three points, Leeds – winless in last five matches – are in a more delicate situation than Burnley due to their poor goal difference of -38. If both teams win or play out draws, Leeds will be the one to go down due to the aforementioned goal difference.

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Only a Leeds win and a Burnley loss on Sunday can keep the Whites in the Premier League. Even though Leeds’ survival looks tough, stranger things have happened in the Premier League.

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