Steven Taylor of Newcastle United tries to block the header of Edin Dzeko of Manchester City. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
It looks as though Manchester United will hold onto the top spot in the English Premier League this year, with Manchester City trailing in second place. But it’s anyone’s guess who will take the third spot, which qualifies as an automatic bid for Champions League play in the 2013-2014 season. Three teams, possibly four, are all within reach of the third spot; the remaining would battle for the fourth spot, which is still a qualifying seed for Champions League play next season.
After nearly two weeks away from Premier League competition, matches were in full flex this past weekend. Manchester United, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspurs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton who are, in order, the top six teams in the table, were all in action. Manchester United was able to narrowly defeat 16th-place Sunderland on an own-goal by Sunderland’s Titus Bramble. Manchester City easily took care of 15th-place Newcastle United 4-0. Carlos Tevez, David Silva and Yaya Toure all contributed goals for Manchester City, opening the game 3-0 by the 56th minute. A 69th-minute own goal by Newcastle United’s James Perch all but sealed the fate of the match. Manchester City trails Man U. by 15 points in the table and seems likely to hold onto the second spot, where they’ve been for most of the season.
Starting the day, Tottenham Hotspur were in fourth place and one point behind Chelsea. The Spurs delivered a 2-1 win in their match against ninth-placed Swansea City in an effort to take the 3rd spot. A devastating loss by Chelsea, at the hands of 12th-placed Southampton, now has the London squad two points behind the Spurs in the table and just two points ahead of Arsenal, who are looking to make a late season push. Southampton dominated the game and took an early 1-0 lead off a 23rd-minute Jay Rodriguez goal, but Chelsea’s John Terry equalized just ten minutes later. The game would be decided at the 35th minute when Rickie Lambert netted the go-ahead goal giving Southampton a 2-1 upset. Chelsea was able to bounce back in a big way against Manchester United today during the FA Cup (quarter-finals) — winning 1-0.
Arsenal had the task of taking care of last place and likely-to-be-relegated Reading F.C. They did so in convincing fashion, beating them 4-1 in front of 60,000-plus home fans. With the win, Arsenal has now won five of their last six Premier league matches as they are making a push into the top four. Everton, who beat 13th-placed Stoke City, sits in sixth place but only two games behind Arsenal and four behind the fourth-placed Chelsea. While it’s not likely they will make a run for the spot, you can’t count them out just yet.
The next set of Premier League action begins April 6th. Arsenal will face the eighth-placed West Bromwich Albion in an away match, but Arsenal is riding a hot streak and will likely be victors. The two Manchesters at the top, United and City, will face one another on April 8th in what will be a much bigger game for City than it will be for United. City is trying to hold off the Spurs, who are playing Everton on April 7th. A Spurs win would keep them in contention for the number two spot and certainly give them a stronghold on the number-three spot, while a loss for Everton might end their chances at cracking into Champions League territory. Chelsea will play the 16th-placed Sunderland on April 7th. They are the favorites to win, but with a busy schedule in the Europa League Quarterfinals next week as well, Chelsea could be struggling through some serious fatigue.
The top four teams might not be settled until the final week of action, which is on May 19th. Each team mentioned has eight matches left on the season, except the Spurs, who have seven. There are a lot of points to be had, and the competition looks like it is just starting to heat up as eyes are finally fixating on the prize (Champions League qualification).
