English Premier League: Top 5 Storylines for the Last 5 Games

With the last teams wrapping up play of their 33rd game of the EPL season Tuesday night, the curtains are ready to fall on what has been great year in English football. But with five games remaining, hardly anything is certain, and everything from the title to relegation is up for grabs.

April and May is the final stretch of a long marathon. You pace yourself for the first three quarters of the year to make sure this is the time you hit your best form. The schedule becomes tight and every game holds massive stakes, but when this gets to a team that is what costs the club results, pride and money.

Here are five of the best story lines to follow as the season winds down.

The Battle for Fourth

The difference between fourth and fifth place in the in the EPL is perhaps the biggest gap of all 20 spots. To finish in fourth means Champions League the following season and an immense amount of cash flowing in. To finish fifth damns you to a Scheduling nightmare in the Europa League.

Right now, three teams are battling it out for the final Champions League spot: Tottenham, Newcastle and Chelsea.

Tottenham is currently in the fourth place spot, tied with Newcastle, but have superior goal differential. Newcastle is in fifth with their only hope of passing Tottenham would be if the Spurs drop points. And Chelsea is in sixth, two points behind both teams.

It is difficult to say who has the upper hand in the race. Tottenham leads right now, but is playing some of the worst football they have all season. With a FA Cup semifinal against Chelsea, the schedule is dense, and it could catch up with them.

Newcastle is playing by far the best ball, but only plus-8 in goal differential, and it is very difficult to see them beating either Chelsea or Spurs in that category as they are at plus-19 and plus-18 respectively.

Chelsea is trailing, but do have a meeting against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge. A win in that matchup could knock Toon out.  But their schedule is incredibly tough, playing games against Arsenal in the league, Spurs in the FA Cup and twice against Barcelona in the Champions League.

United Winning the League at Etihad

A season that started so promising for Manchester City has collapsed into a pit of despair that could have strong implications come the summer. Their resounding win Tuesday over West Brom put a flicker of hope in salvaging their season and winning the league. United losing to Wigan a few minutes later bolstered those chances.

However, it also presents perhaps the best scenario the media could have hoped for. With City five points back of United, their meeting on April 30 could very well be the game where the title is decided. Assuming the two clubs win their two matches before then, it sets up to be a match where United can clinch the title at City’s grounds.

There are few things United could do to overturn the embarrassment they felt by the 6-1 defeat at the hands of City in Old Trafford, but this will surely be enough to at least help the fans forget about it.

It looks like things could continue to crash down on City and will again have to play the role of the little brother in Manchester.

At least United is a gracious winner.

Can Wigan Continue Their Run?

Roberto Martinez’s side was once in the pit of the EPL. Not more than three weeks ago, Wigan found themselves at the bottom of the table, winning one out of 13 games. Hope to remain in England’s highest division was bleak, especially given the schedule before them.

But something has finally gotten into the Latics, and since their 2-1 defeat of Liverpool, they find themselves winning three out of their last four beating Stoke and Manchester United, with that only loss coming in the final seconds against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

The schedule does not get any easier for the northern-based team as they have Arsenal and Fulham away, then play host to Newcastle. But they seem to be on a good run as of late and doing it against tough sides.

If they can pull out some more miraculous results, they will stay up and earn the respect of many around the league.

The Form of Clint Dempsey

Fulham may be comfortably in the middle of the table with no threat of going down and no hope for Europe, but that will not stop Clint Dempsey from continuing to prove his worth.

Perhaps the best season an American has ever had in the Premier League, Dempsey’s 16 goals has him tied for fourth in the league and made him a hot commodity amongst the big teams.

His contract with Fulham ends after next season, and he is yet to sign an extension. Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United are all rumored to be interested in the goal scorer’s services. He would add quite a bit to any of those teams and be perhaps that key piece in the attack to push them to the next level.

If Demspey can continue the form he is in, he could expect a big payday this offseason. He has a lot to play for, and it will be fun to see how he takes advantage of it.

The Relegation Battle

Most of the time the title is decided by the time we enter the final matchday, but rarely are the relegation teams.

It has become somewhat of a spectacle to see teams that have played horribly for 37 games attempt to be at their absolute best for their last. Relegation means a huge drop in funds and the feeling of having to start over from scratch. No one wants to go through  this.

So it is no wonder why the fans of teams in a relegation battle cheer louder than those who won the title when they see their side remain in the top division. In a way it is more satisfying than what a title can bring, even if it is just for that split moment.

An entire season of failures is forgiven, as the chance to make it right next year has been given.

Wolves currently sit at the bottom nine points out of safety and likely to go down. But Aston Villa (35 points), QPR (31), Wigan (31), Bolton (29) and Blackburn (28) are all going to be fighting until the last day. Even West Brom and Swansea (both with 39) cannot sit back, as a drop in form could spell the end for them.

What makes the relegation battle so much more interesting is the unknown. While we assume the leaders will win their games, you can never really be sure about what team will show up from the bottom of the table.

It’s totally unpredictable and utterly entreating. Perfect sport if there ever was one.

What Will You Be Wathcing as the Season Winds Down?

This is of course just a small sampling of the stories that will be written as the season comes to an end. Call it the American in me who is going to follow Dempsey and be more entertained by the underdog that has me watching Wigan, but that is just me.

So what will you be keep track of? Will the continued soap opera that is Mario Balotelli pique your interest? Are you wondering who will make Europa League? Or is your mind already looking at the summer transfers?

As always, please leave your comments below and thanks for reading!

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