Premier League: Race for Top four heats up

As we progress towards the business end of the Premier League season, the race for the top four is heating up. Out of the four spots in the top four, two are already booked by Manchester clubs. Manchester City the runaway leaders are on their way to win their fifth premier league title as they sit on top of the table with 74 points in 32 matches played. Manchester Utd is in the second position with 63 points in 31 matches played. 

The race for European places heats up as there are six contenders for only two spots. In normal circumstances, the top four teams in the Premier League qualify for the group stages of the Champions League.

Currently, Leicester City and West Ham hold the third and fourth positions. West Ham under David Moyes has surprised everyone with their performances this season. At the start of the season, no one would have predicted that West Ham is going to be in contention for European spots. Leicester on the other hand is desperately trying to hold on to the third position. They don’t want to repeat last year’s failure after they missed out of the top 4 after disastrous last 8 games of the season.

Chelsea is currently in fifth with 54 points position, just one point behind West Ham. Followed by defending champions Liverpool in sixth with 52 points. Tottenham is in seventh with 49 points as their chances of qualifying took a major blow after the 1-3 loss against Man Utd on Sunday. Everton still has 2 games left in hand if they manage to win both two games, they will be just two points behind West Ham.

Why Is Qualifying for European Places Is So Important?

Qualifying for the Champions League is at the top of the agenda for Europe’s biggest clubs and with good reason: the financial rewards are extremely lucrative. Teams are guaranteed millions for just reaching the group stage and after that, results, as well as television money, dictate what the final prize fund will be at the end of it all. The 32 teams that reached the group stage received a minimum payment of €12.7m each, which could be boosted by bonus payments – €1.5m per win and €500,00 per draw at that stage.