EPL: The race to be London's finest

The Barclays Premier League Champions for 2012-13 have already been crowned – Manchester United crossed that off the list of things to look forward to. The relegation battle too has already taken two casualties in QPR and Reading and Roberto Martinez’s Wigan Athletic are in a trench war to avoid being the third. We are into the last 3 games (4 for some teams) of the season and it is the battle for the UEFA Champions League spots that is really hotting up.

Three teams from the capital – Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur from North London and the West Londoners Chelsea – are in the running to take 3rd and 4th spots in the league table. As it stands, it’s Chelsea who are 3rd on 65 points followed by Arsenal with 63 and Tottenham with 62 points; that’s as close as it gets. Although, one has to remember that the Blues and Tottenham have a game in hand which incidentally sees them play each other.

For Arsenal and Tottenham, all of their efforts and energy are solely directed at claiming that crucial Champions League spot. Chelsea are still involved in the Europa League; they beat FC Basel 2-1 away in Switzerland in the 1st leg of their semi-final tie on Thursday night. So while Arsene Wenger and Andre Villas-Boas (AVB) have one and only one competition to contend with, their opposite number Rafa Benitez has to juggle with rotating his squad of players in the best way possible as we near the end.

THE RUN-IN

Chelsea and Tottenham play each other at Stamford Bridge on the 8th of May. That game is a potential 6-pointer and could be very crucial in determining where both teams end up in the final scheme of things. For Chelsea, it comes 3 days after a trip to Old Trafford to face champions United, though there is always the likelihood of Ferguson giving his youngsters a chance with the title wrapped up. Outside of that huge fixture, Tottenham do appear to have a more tricky schedule as they play Wigan, Southampton, Stoke and Sunderland – 4 teams battling to avoid the drop. The end of the season is not the time to be playing such teams as with their backs against the wall, they can cause an upset here or there.

Arsenal seem to have a clearer route to the last game after getting the clash with Manchester United out of the way over the weekend. Only Wigan, of the relegation teams, features in their schedule. Chelsea face a trip to Villa in their penultimate game before finishing off at home against Everton, who, depending on how things go, could still be in with an outside shot of making the Top 4 come the final day. The Blues had a profitable weekend with their win over Swansea while Arsenal and Spurs were held to draws.

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FORM GUIDE

Since the turn of the 30 game mark, all 3 teams have been unbeaten. Chelsea have 3 wins and a draw to their name while Tottenham have 2 wins and 2 draws. Arsenal have picked up 3 wins and 2 draws, having played a game more. And traditionally, the Gunners are known to finish their season strongly while Spurs will be keen to outdo their North London rivals. There are no concerns with regards to player availability for either team, especially for Tottenham after both Gareth Bale and Jermaine Defoe made impressive comebacks against Manchester City last weekend.

THE RAFA FACTOR

One person who could have a major say in Chelsea’s fate is their manager (ok..interim) Rafa Benitez. The Spaniard already knows that he is not going to be in-charge next year. Having vented out his frustrations previously, Benitez will be keen to ensure that his ‘interim’ tenure here has some silver lining to it. And thesilver lining that he’s looking for could well be the Europa League trophy. Yes, the Europa League trophy and not Champions League qualification, because quite simply he’s not going to be here next season and he could afford to not care less about whether Chelsea make Europe’s premier competition or not. Even more so if you look at the flak that he’s had to take (often undeserved) from the Chelsea fans.

So, he will look to guide the Blues to Europa League glory, which makes for a nice addition on his CV. He’s already a manager whose exploits in continental cup competitions are quite admirable and this could easily help him land a good job elsewhere when he does leave West London. In that eventuality, Chelsea’s league campaign could well stutter with Rafa opting to play his best side in Europe.

WILL MERSEYSIDE HAVE A SAY?

Any slip-up on the part of these teams could leave Everton in with a chance of stealing one of those places. The Toffees reduced the deficit to Tottenham to 3 points with their 1-0 win over Fulham, but, having played an extra game, face a mammoth task if they are to somehow catapult themselves into the London dogfight. They do play Chelsea on the final day at Stamford Bridge and if the race goes all the way down to the wire, that game could very well prove decisive. Even if not furthering their own chances, they could well throw a spanner in the works for Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea. Liverpool too kept pace with their 6-0 demolition of a woeful Newcastle team.

WHO WILL BE LONDON’S FINEST?

For Spurs, it represents an opportunity to overcome the disappointment of last season where their 4th place finish was rendered void by Chelsea clinching the Champions League. That saw them getting bumped down to the Europa League. Also, them making the grade would go some way in their efforts to keep hold of Gareth Bale.

Arsenal traditionally finish strong and another 3rd place finish, even 4th for that matter, will be a huge improvement from where they stood earlier. Champions League football is always a big draw when it comes to attracting the best players, and Arsenal need major additions to their squad next year.

Champions League winners, to being eliminated in the group stage to Europa League champions potentially – it has been a chaotic season for Chelsea. A revamp of the team has been undertaken with a new brand of attacking football with a lot of flair on display this season. Transition times are always rocky, but Chelsea have managed to stay in the fight. The youngsters who’ve joined in have had a good first season and will be primed to have a second crack at Europe next year. They will need to finish strongly to ensure that opportunity and avoid missing out on Champions League football.