Chelsea's German head coach Thomas Tuchel gestures during the English Premier League football match between Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge in London on January 27, 2021. (Photo by Richard Heathcote / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by RICHARD HEATHCOTE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
As the most-watched soccer league in the world, the English Premier League will wind down to its concluding stages over the next couple of months. We will therefore take a look at which teams will, in our opinion, definitely play in Europe next year, which will probably/possibly play in Europe, and which teams, as we look at all the teams down to eighth place, might miss out.
These two seem straightforward enough as they seem like definites for the Champions League spots. Manchester City has seen minor hiccups in recent weeks after their twenty-five match unbeaten run ended when beaten by Manchester United. Manchester United has utilized that victory vs their City rivals as a springboard, which has seen them build up a substantial lead over third-placed Leicester City and see them well placed to clinch a semi-final berth in the Europa League. Unless we see an implosion of massive proportions in the last couple of matches for either of these clubs, they should finish first and second in the league, which will see automatic inclusion into the Champions League draw for next season.
Leicester City is currently third on the league table, with Chelsea in fifth place. Leicester imploded last season in their quest for a Champions League place in the latter stages of the season. The experience of that implosion should stand them in good stead this season, and with Jamie Vardy in scintillating goalscoring form, and a very compact defensive structure, they should get there this time. Chelsea despite being fifth at the time of writing this article, has the pedigree to clinch the last remaining place. They have just qualified for the semi-finals of this season’s champions league, defeating Porto over the two-leg quarter-final. They play an exciting brand of football and with their miserly defense in good order, and with Tuchel at the helm, this should see them navigate their way to another top-four finish.
West Ham United has been the surprise package of the season. With David Moyes back at the helm, and having scoured the transfer market to bolster his defense and attack, the Moyes masterstroke was acquiring the services of Jesse Lindgard from Manchester United on loan in the January window. Lindgard has been scoring vital goals for the Hammers, hence their lofty position on the table. If he continues to maintain his goalscoring prowess into the latter stages of the campaign, he could propel them into those Champions League spots.
Liverpool are the current Premier League champions. They began the season in the same mould that they ended the previous one. However, then came the wobble as they lost or drew to opposition teams that they were beating convincingly last season. They lost the Merseyside Derby to Everton at Anfield for the first time in decades, have lost in the Champions League to Real Madrid, and continue to display patchy form in the league. If they regain the form that saw that steamroll all before them last season, they could still finish in the top 4, and those all-important Champions League places.
Tottenham Hotspur is considered to be one of the top soccer clubs, and brands, in the world. However, their form this season has been patchy, despite having one of the best strikers in the world in Harry Kane, who leads the line for them. Their aging defense, coupled with their tactics of defending first, then try to win the match, has seen them struggle to remain consistent in the domestic league as well as in Europe. If they continue in this vein to the end of the season, they will struggle to finish ahead of the top 8 counterparts, and therefore might even struggle to attain a league position which would even allow them to play Europa League next season.
Everton are the enigma of the top 8 teams, on their day they are unbeatable, on a bad day they can be beaten by a team in League 1. They have brilliance in James Rodriguez, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and Dominic Calvert Lewin. However, they also have a powderpuff midfield when the first-choice players are not available. At the time of this article, they have one game in hand over all the other teams above them (versus Aston Villa) and if they win that game will be on the heels of the Champions League placings. However, Carlo Ancelotti will have to perform a little bit of magic and they will need luck with an injury-free squad during the run-in for them to challenge.
The chase for the English Premier Leagues Champions League places will go down to the wire. My top four in order of preference are Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, and Leicester City. With so many online bookmakers like bet365 having online platforms available and a bet just being a couple of mouse clicks away, I might just decide to have a little wager on those top four to finish in that order. With seemingly two of the places already wrapped up in the form of the two Manchester clubs, the other two places could go to any of the other six clubs, as it will all depend on which team will receive that little stroke of luck, and play consistently well during the run-in to win more games than the other teams.