The Premier League has less than a week to complete all the games of the season. At the moment, there are 12 games remaining, including the two upcoming Round 34 replay matches and 10 concurrent finales at the weekend. A small change has taken place with Manchester City beating Tottenham, with Tottenham in danger of losing European qualification, and with three teams competing for two places in the European Championship in the final two refills, United are all but certain to miss out on a top-seven finish and can only hope to beat Manchester City.
Manchester City beat Tottenham Hotspur away in the past replay game to return to the top of the table, with one game remaining, Manchester City are two points ahead of Arsenal, and a home win over West Ham in the final round will surely win the Premier League title for the fourth consecutive year and set a record for consecutive Premier League titles. Some disappointed Arsenal fans even denounced Son Xingmin on social media why a "simple" single goal could not be scored.
Interestingly, Pep Guardiola watched Akanji make a mistake during the game and substitute goalkeeper Ortega went down on the sidelines in an exaggerated manner after saving Son Heung-min's shot, seemingly not believing what was happening in front of him. This scene can be compared with Van Gaal's fall to the ground in the face of Arsenal in the past, and it also confirms the fierceness of the championship competition. Pep Guardiola praised after the game that Ortega was an incredible goalkeeper and quite reliable, and Arsenal would have been champions without his brave saves.
The title race has become quite clear, and the relegation team can be said to have been fully determined, Burnley and Sheffield United have been relegated early, although Luton Town is not completely desperate, but there is only one game left, three points behind, and 11 goal difference, if you want to be relegated, there is really only a mathematical possibility. The three promoted horses, going through the "Premier League one-year tour" together, and returning to the Championship again, will be the final ending.
After Tottenham's defeat to Manchester City, Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa became the four teams to represent the Premier League in the Champions League next season. Tottenham can qualify for the Europa League as long as they are unbeaten in their final game. However, Tottenham, which has recently lost to the top five giants in a row, still has a small probability story due to the low goal difference. If Tottenham loses in the final round, Newcastle and Chelsea win two in a row, and Manchester United win the FA Cup, then Tottenham will lose qualification for the three major European cups, with Newcastle and Manchester United in the Europa League and Chelsea in the Europa League. Will Postecoglou's Tottenham Hotspur go high and low and miss out on European competitions for two consecutive years?
Soon, the final two make-up matches will be played, due to the delay caused by the FA Cup semi-finals. Chelsea travel to Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United host Newcastle. Newcastle and Chelsea are currently sixth and seventh respectively on 57 points, with the former having a clear advantage in goal difference, while Manchester United are eighth with 54 points. If Tottenham's unlikely story doesn't happen, Newcastle, Chelsea and Manchester United would normally be battling it out for a Europa League and a place in the UEFA Europa League.
Since making their debut in the Premier League seven years ago, Brighton have met Chelsea 14 times, including the Carabao Cup, with eight wins, four draws and two defeats. The two sides have met twice this season, in the Premier League and Carabao Cup, with Chelsea winning both sides, notably at home in the league, with Brighton lucky enough to take all three points after a penalty awarded at 101 minutes was cancelled.
Brighton have been a bit of a disappointment this season, winning five of their first six games in the early stages of the season, including an away win over Manchester United, to give a glimpse of last season's strength. However, when the Europa League began, Brighton were clearly not used to playing on multiple fronts, and their results plummeted, winning just seven of their next 30 league games and now missing the chance to play in Europe again. In the last two games, Brighton met Chelsea and Manchester United in a row, and in the case of "no desire, no desire", there will not be much desire to win.
Manchester United's make-up game is the last home game of the season, and the departing Raphael Varane and Anthony Martial will bid farewell to the fans together at the Theatre of Dreams. It has been reported that Aaron Wan-Bissaka will also be involved, with United presenting a shirt with a Carabao Cup winner's photograph on it, possibly returning to Crystal Palace or being a quid pro quo for Aulise's transfer.
Since beating Newcastle in last season's Carabao Cup final, United have faced the same opponent three times in a row, all of which have ended in defeat, including a League Cup last-16 exit this season. Newcastle's Ashworth is set to move to Manchester United, and there is no shortage of stories to talk about between the two teams. Looking at the standings, Manchester United are three points behind Newcastle and Chelsea, and the goal difference is significantly behind, even if they are evenly matched. Therefore, a defeat in this game will leave Manchester United out of the league position to qualify for the three major European cups, leaving only one way to beat Manchester City in the FA Cup final to qualify for the Europa League.
Even if United can beat Newcastle, the situation is not optimistic, and they will need to surpass their opponents on points to overtake them in order to rise above the table. For a stormy Manchester United, it was almost an impossible task. Therefore, I believe that the whole Manchester United team has set their sights on the FA Cup final, and it is difficult for the league to squeeze into the top seven, how to arrange key defensive players such as Lima and Maguire who have recovered from injury, so that Casemiro can return to the midfield, is the most urgent problem for Ten Hag to deal with.