Arsenal may not be able to defeat Manchester United or Chelsea in head-to-head competition, but their rivals struggles against the rest of the Premier League has given Arsenal yet another chance to take home the top prize. United’s loss last weekend, and Chelsea’s loss on Saturday have allowed Arsenal to pull within just three points of the league leaders. It has been a very strange season in the top flight, and that should keep things very interesting heading into the final weekend.
Things are looking up…
Arsenal
Arsenal was left for dead when they lost consecutive matches to Manchester United and Chelsea, which left the Gunners 9 points out of the top spot. However, ArseneWenger’s side have not lost a match since, and now find themselves just 3 points out of first with ten games left to play. Saturday’s victory over Stoke City was not easy, but it was another impressive road win. Arsenal fell behind just 8 minutes into the match, but Nicklas Bendtner evened everything before half. The second half was not much easier for the Gunners. Despite carrying much of the play, Arsenal had to overcome the image of seeing their helpless teammate, Aaron Ramsey, suffer a broken leg on a hard tackle from Ryan Shawcross, but they managed to score twice in injury time, and pull out a massive three points. It is still going to be an uphill battle for this squad to overtake both Chelsea and Manchester United, especially now as the injuries continue to pile up, but their remaining schedule is pretty favourable which should give them a shot at pulling this out.
Manchester City
Manchester City must be grateful they did have to face Petr Cech. City fell behind 1-0 late in the first half at Stamford Bridge, which usually almost always guarantees a loss, but City were the beneficiaries of some terrible goaltending from Hilario. Carlos Tevez tied the score before the break, and then Bellamy gave City the lead just after half. It is very probable that Cechwould have stopped bothshots as Hilario was clearly out of position. Full marks should go to Manchester City for the win. It is never easy to go into Stamford Bridge and come away withthree points, but City did just that and have managed to stay tied with Tottenham for fourth place in the table. Roberto Mancini’s squad also has a game in hand, and they are clearly in the drivers seat for that final spot in next season’s Champions League.
Tottenham
Roman Pavlecheyko could not find his way onto the pitch for much of the season, but his play of late is making it very tough for Harry Redknapp to take him off of it. Pavlyuchenko scored his sixth goal in his last four matches to give Spurs the lead, and Luka Modric scored the eventual winning goal against a red hot Everton side. The victory kept Spurs in fourth spot based on goals scored, but maintaining that position is not going to be easy. It is no secret that Spurs have already dropped a number of key home points this season, but injuries are also a large concern for Redknapp. Aaron Lennon is going to be out for an additional six weeks, and Jermaine Jenasis scheduled to undergo surgery this week due to a groin injury. Spurs are also trying to deal with the loss of Jonathan Woodgate for the season, and Tom Huddlestone had to be carried off on a stretcher in Sunday’s victory, and it is not known how long he will be out. If Spurs are in fact going to land in the Champions League, they will have to earn it.
Liverpool
On the other hand, Liverpool is the healthiest they have been all season, and the victories continue to pile up after a disastrous start to the season. Rafa Benitez will be thrilled not only by the fact that his team won, but also that the 2-1 victory was the result of goals from Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres. Both menhave struggled with injuries all season, but when healthy these two make Liverpool a much more dangerous team, and that was proven on Sunday. The Reds still have deficiencies on the back-end, as Pepe Reina was forced to make a number of key stops to secure the three points. Liverpool were able to stay just one point back of Tottenham and Manchester City in their push for fourth, and they will need a very strong finish in their final ten matches if they are going to save their season.
Birmingham
It will not be easy for Birmingham to catch any of the teams ahead of them and finish seventh inleague standings, but no one expected them to be this close to begin with, so counting them out now probably is not a wise move. Birmingham were able to gut out a 1-0 victory over Wigan Athletic, thanks in large part to a graciously awarded penalty, that keeps the Blues within five points of Aston Villa. Birmingham will have to win most of their remaining 11 matches if they are going to make a serious run at seventh. If they maintain their winning form, then their trip to Villa Park on April 25th could be the makings of a classic.
Bolton
Bolton will be in the relegation fight for the rest of the season, but currently find themselves on the safe side thanks to this weekend’s victory. The win moves Bolton two points clear to the relegation zone, and allowed the club to leapfrog Wolverhampton in the process. The relegation battle should be one of the tightest in the league with seven teams separated by just five points. This win was huge for Bolton, but by no means does it secure them a spot in the top flight. The Wanderers will have to find a way to win on a more consistent basis down the stretch if they are going to create some breathing room.
Not a good weekend…
Chelsea
The Blues have lost two of their last three matches which is always cause for concern for Carlo Ancelloti’s team, but fans should be even more concerned by the fact that Petr Cechis out for one month. Cech is one of the best keepers in the game, but his back-up, Henrique Hilario, is no where near thatlevel. Chelsea spends a ton of money on their team, but they did not invest much on their back-up keeper with the expectation that Cech would remain healthy. However, Cech is not healthy, which means Hilario is playing at arguably the most important time of the season. Saturday’s performance has everyone at Stamford Bridge very worried. Chelsea struggled throughout the match, but Hilario is not evoking very much confidence in his teammates. Hilario will have to find his game in a hurry if Chelsea is going to fend off Manchester United and Arsenal in the fight for first.
Burnley
Turf Moore was a fortress to start the season, and Burnley looked poised to stay in the top flight after the season. However, Burnley’s struggles on the road have found their way home, and the Clarets have subsequently fallen into the relegation zone. Losing to Portsmouth is never good, but losing to Portsmouth at home is an utter disaster. Burnley have now only won once in their past sixteen matches, and Saturday’s poor performance gave no indication that things are going to change at Turf Moore any time soon.
Wolverhampton
Wolves currently sit just outside of the relegation, but that is only due to the fact they have managed to score more goals than Hull City at this point. Wolverhampton was one full point out of relegation heading into the weekend, but their loss allowed Bolton to move ahead of them in the standings. Wolves were unlucky on Saturday seeing two shots bounce off the woodwork, but the truth is their chances were few and far between in this match, and Wolverhampton deserved to lose. Wolverhampton’s remaining schedule is not an easy one, but they will face a number of clubs in the relegation fight, so there is still hope yet for Wolves.
Portsmouth
Portsmouth may have won on the pitch this weekend, but their problems off of it clearly overshadowed the victory. It is no secret that Portsmouth have dealt with money problems all season, with four different owners this season, and it finally caught up to the club when they could not find a fifth owner, which forcecd the club into administration. Portsmouth becomes the first club in the Premier League to enter administration, which will all but assure the club is heading to relegation. Administration comes with a nine-point deduction, which will drop Portsmouth to 14 points on the season. Relegation may be the least of Portsmouth’s troubles as many are openly stating this club could cease to exist completely if proper ownership cannot be found. The story of Portsmouth’s season has gotten progressively worse, and has now hit rock bottom. Supporters of this club can only hope that someone will come along and save them from extinction, but that might be too much to ask.
A very strange Premier League season has taken a number of turns over the past two weeks. The title fight continues to rage on as all three teams at the top have reason to believe they have a decent shot at winning. Meanwhile, the fight for fourth is also remaining very competitive as teams ranked fourth through seventh all have a realistic shot at landing in the Champions League next season. Every team has roughly ten games left to play, and it will be interesting to see which teams remain hot, and which teams struggle under the pressure with so much to play for.