Race for top four – A Girl in Red

There was a lot of fuss regarding Manchester City’s European football ban due to their violence of FFP in the transfer window.

The club’s successful appeal to overturn the ban means 2nd placed City and champions Liverpool have booked their place for the Champions League next season.

Chelsea, Leicester City and Manchester United are fighting for the two remaining UCL spots.

Ole’s men failed to make the most of their opportunity to go 3rd after they were denied 3 points against Southampton earlier this week.

Manchester United team celebrates after scoring against PSG in CL.

Chelsea (2 pending games)
Liverpool: 23rd July
Wolves: 26th July
Chelsea is in third place with 4 points ahead of Leicester and United, both UTD and Leicester have a game in hand. Chelsea has Liverpool and Wolves to play before they know their fate for UCL football next season.

United (3 pending games)
Crystal Palace: 16th July
Westham: 22nd July
Leicester City: 26th July
The Reds can guarantee their spot in top 4 if they manage to win all three of their remaining games.

Leicester City (3 pending games)
Sheffield United: 16th July
Spurs: 19th July
Manchester United: 26th July
Leicester can probably manage to ease past struggling Spurs but they will have to put up a show if they want to win against United who are desperate to earn all the points from their last 3 games.

A maximum of 5 teams are allowed from a single league so if United or Wolves win Europa League or Chelsea manage to win the Champions League then both the winning team will qualify for the next season’s Champions League and fourth-placed team in the Premier League would earn a spot in the Europa League.

If Chelsea and Leicester City fail to lose points, Manchester United will have another chance of qualifying for the Champions League next season by winning the Europa League.

So if United manage to win the European title, they will qualify for next season’s Champions League no matter where they finish in the PL.

If Chelsea do win the Champions League and Manchester United or Wolves win Europa League then 6th placed team in the league table will not play be eligible for the Europa League.

But if Chelsea and United don’t manage to finish in top 4 and Chelsea and Man Utd/Wolves win the European cups then only top 3 will manage to qualify in the Champions League.

It’s very unlikely for Chelsea to win the Champions League considering their form. But United and Wolves have a chance to win the Europa cup if they continue their current form.

Manchester United concede a late equalizer due to defensive error in their last PL game.

How United can get affected financially if they fail to qualify.
Manchester United players will get a reduction of 25% in their salaries.
The club’s finances will get a huge dent if they don’t get revenue from UCL and failure to qualify for 2 consecutive seasons will also result in a 30% deal cut in the sponsorship with Adidas.

Tonight’s Premier League fixtures:
Everton vs Aston Villa. 10:30 pm IST
Leicester City vs Sheffield United. 10:30 pm IST

Late-night games:
Southampton vs Brighton. 12:45 Am IST.
Crystal Palace vs United. 12:45 Am IST

What do you think?
Comment down your reviews.

United will play Bournemouth on Saturday, their fifth game after Premier League restarted, from which they have taken 7 points and continued their unbeaten run.

Bournemouth on the other hand are in the relegation zone and haven’t managed to win a single game since their last five fixtures.

Ole reported no new injuries while giving the team news which will help him rotate the squad in the upcoming games.

“We’ve got many games coming up and we’ll keep chopping and changing and players are getting better and better – the ones who haven’t played,”
Ole told reporters.

It will be an easy affair for the Red Devils considering the form and winning streak. Bournemouth will be without their Callum Wilson who picked up his 10th booking which saw him miss the game against Newcastle and also forced to sit out on Saturday.

The Champions League spot has intensified after Chelsea and Leicester City failed to win yesterday after which United are just 2 and 3 points behind the respective teams.

Ole and team will make no such mistake and grab all the points from their remaining games (fingers crossed).

What’s the key to this terrific run of form you’re in?
“There are many, many things. The focus is on one game at a time and the boys are working hard now and they did so over lockdown. They’re fit and they’re confident. When you’re confident it’s so much easier to go into the next one feeling that little bit sharper. We’re getting fitter and fitter the more games we have now. I’ve just been impressed by the attitude and the mentality of everyone. We know it’s there and you just need to keep focusing on your job for Bournemouth then it’s the next one after that.”

We’re hoping we’ve not picked up any little knocks or niggles – how’s the fitness of the squad right now?
“Of course there are a couple of knocks. You do start feeling things now after a little bit so there might be a couple of changes, but let’s see. The boys who didn’t play on Tuesday want to play and are ready to step in if they have to.“

Predicted lineup
GK: David De Gea
Defence: Wan Bissaka. Victor Lindelof. Harry Maguire. Luke Shaw.
Midfield: Fred. Paul Pogba. Mason Greenwood. Bruno Fernandes. Marcus Rashford.
Striker: Martial.

Where to watch the game?
All the Premier League games are available on Hotstar but if you don’t have Hotstar subscription then try these channels Star Sports 1, Star Sports Select 1 and Star Sports Select 1 HD.

People watching in UK can watch on BT Sport 1.

Up next: United vs Bournemouth, Old Trafford, 10:30 IST.

Posts tagged Race for top four

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