English Premier League top-four race and relegation battle intensify

LONDON – With leaders Arsenal and second-placed Manchester City occupied with the League Cup final on March 22, this English Premier League weekend turns the spotlight onto the congested top-five race and relegation scramble.

Arsenal sit top on 70 points, followed by City (61) and Manchester United (54) – the Red Devils took on Bournemouth on March 20 with the match kicking off after press time. Vying for the remaining Champions League positions are Aston Villa (51), Liverpool (49), Chelsea (48) and Brentford (45).

Lower down, the relegation picture remains volatile. Burnley, with 20 points, and Wolverhampton Wanderers (17) anchor the table while West Ham United (29), Nottingham Forest (29), Tottenham Hotspur (30) and Leeds United (32) remain perilously close to the drop.

Reigning champions Liverpool head to Brighton & Hove Albion on March 21 sitting fifth.

The Reds will hope to carry the momentum from their 4-0 Champions League win over Galatasaray on March 18 – which secured a 4-1 aggregate victory – into the match.

Pressure has been mounting on manager Arne Slot following Liverpool’s dismal title defence, and a European exit would have seen him come under closer scrutiny.

The team’s dynamic midweek display at Anfield gave the Dutchman a little breathing space, but he knows they must not lose focus in the battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

“Brighton have always been a team who want to play, make it intense, they have seen how intense our game was. We have played them twice, both were fascinating, high tempo, high pace,” Slot said on March 20.

“Both our games with them have been equal, we haven’t had a lot of luck but our games with them were equal and we won both (2-0 in the reverse fixture and 3-0 in the FA Cup).”

On what he expects from his team, the Liverpool boss added: “It is unbelievable we don’t score more but I don’t look at when the goals were scored, we need to be ready from the start, they will make it intense.

“We had a peak Wednesday game and now a 12.30pm kick-off against a team and fans who want to come at us straight away.

“We have to be ready to face that fight.”

Slot was also surprised when asked about whether he is looking forward to signing a new contract, should there be one despite his struggles this season.

“Is this how football works? We win one and talk about a new contract? We didn’t win just one by the way, we won more than everyone thinks last few months,” he said.

“You surprise me with this question, my focus is on Brighton and before then, it was getting something positive from this season.

“We have to fight in this season until the end, my focus is totally on that. We don’t talk about contracts here.”

Further down the table, Leeds, who host Brentford on March 21, are 15th on 32 points. They are three points above the drop zone, with their poor goal difference (-11) keeping them vulnerable in the relegation battle.

On March 22, Spurs host Forest in a high-stakes encounter.

Tottenham are 16th on 30 points, one point above the relegation zone. They have endured a lengthy winless run, with their last league victory coming on Dec 28.

Forest, just behind Spurs with 29 points, are equally imperilled. Defeat for either side could drag them into the bottom three by the end of the weekend.

At the same time on March 22, West Ham travel to Villa. The hosts are fourth on 51 points, two points ahead of Liverpool, but their form has dipped with losses in their last three league games and only two wins from their last 10.

The Hammers are 18th on 29 points and urgently need results to avoid dropping out of the top flight for the first time since 2011.

REUTERS, AFP