Welcome to Letou Choose and a Premier League update. Today, we’ll look at the table and see how your favourite club has fared with just two games to go.
The Champions are Arsenal, winning the Premier League for the first time since 2003-04 led by the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Özil. Wenger has rotated plenty over the season, in fact only Cech, Alexis, Hector Bellerin and Koscielny have started more than 30 games.
Joining Arsenal in next seasons Champions League competition will be Liverpool some 10 points behind with the influential Mo Salah only scoring 11 and assisting seven goals. Further back are Manchester United and Chelsea, who round out the top four. Chelsea are fourth but have a comfortable eight-point cushion over Stoke City back in fifth.
Stoke have done brilliantly to be holding onto fifth but they do have Carabao Cup winners Manchester City breathing down their necks only a single point behind. By virtue of winning the League Cup, they are assured a Europa League place. The biggest disappointment of the season has to be Tottenham Hotspur, who are seventh and have dispensed with the services of Mauricio Pochettino in December, he was replaced by Jorge Jesus.
Level on points with Spurs are ourselves, Swansea City, in eighth. The ambition as the season has progressed is for us to finish in the top half and we are now guaranteed that whatever the two final results. West Ham United have been in third and fourth at various times this campaign so they have dropped off in recent weeks as they are ninth, with Southampton for company.
Then come the teams who have struggled and were threatened with relegation. Newcastle United, Huddersfield Town and Brighton have secured their status as Premier League teams following promotion, while Eddie Howe has steered Bournemouth to safety among the newcomers. Everton have been disappointing under Gerardo Martino and West Brom have Pochettino as their new boss after Pardew was sacked.
The four teams who could go down are Crystal Palace, Burnley, Watford and our opponents from earlier this week, Leicester City. My tip to escape relegation is still Leicester considering their last two games are against teams around them, they play West Brom and then Burnley – both at home. That last game against Sean Dyche’s team could be a relegation decider but what is concerning Foxes fans is that they have lost their last three league games by an aggregate score of 11 – 4.
With the European places virtually assured, all eyes will be on the teams at the foot of the league over the next few weeks.
