Premier League Table 2014 Week 35: Clubs Most in Need of a Victory This Weekend

Pos.	Club	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	34	24	5	5	51	77
2	Chelsea	34	23	6	5	24	75
3	Manchester City	33	22	5	6	54	71
4	Arsenal	34	20	7	7	18	67
5	Everton	34	19	9	6	21	66
6	Tottenham	34	18	6	10	0	60
7	Manchester United	33	17	6	10	18	57
8	Southampton	34	13	9	12	5	48
9	Newcastle	34	14	4	16	-14	46
10	Stoke City	34	11	10	13	-10	43
11	Crystal Palace	34	12	4	18	-14	40
12	West Ham	34	10	7	17	-9	37
13	Hull City	33	10	6	17	-6	36
14	Aston Villa	33	9	7	17	-14	34
15	Swansea	34	8	9	17	-5	33
16	West Brom	33	6	15	12	-11	33
17	Norwich	34	8	8	18	-27	32
18	Fulham	34	9	3	22	-40	30
19	Cardiff City	34	7	8	19	-34	29
20	Sunderland	33	6	8	19	-25	26

With only four matches remaining for many Premier League clubs, each result becomes even more important than the one before it. It may sound cliche for a manager to say his club has "X" amount of cup finals ahead, but that merely conveys how heavily he weighs each fixture.

This week features plenty of major matchups in terms of the title and relegation races. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City are all within six points of one another for the title, while six clubs all have a realistic shot of going down this year.

Here's a look at the table heading into this weekend's action.

The four clubs listed below are right in the thick of their respective races and vitally need wins during this weekend's action.

Title Challengers

Chelsea

It's as simple as this for Chelsea. If they fail to beat Sunderland and Liverpool win at Norwich, the Blues no longer control their own destiny. Even a win at Anfield on April 27 wouldn't be enough to top the table at season's end.

Chelsea will need to be careful against Sunderland. Although the Black Cats are bottom of the table, they can be a dangerous club—just ask Manchester City.

Manager Gus Poyet thinks his club's 2-2 draw against City will spur the players on this weekend:

What could also be a hindrance for Chelsea is the absence of Eden Hazard. The Belgian playmaker may not be at 100 percent by the time Saturday rolls around, so manager Jose Mourinho could opt to save him for the club's pivotal Champions League semifinal match against Atletico Madrid next week.

Liverpool

Steven Gerrard wasted little time following Liverpool's victory over Manchester City in getting his teammates prepped for the Reds' trip to Carrow Road.

He knows exactly how much is on the line in the club's final four matches and how little can be afforded to its rivals.

Steve Bardens/Getty Images

The Canaries are right in the thick of the relegation race. Although Liverpool—and particularly Luis Suarez—have had Norwich's number over the past couple of seasons, that isn't worth anything on Sunday.

The Reds will need to ensure that their focus remains squarely on their next opponent and not the match against Chelsea on April 27.

A loss isn't the end of the world for the club, but it would need to beat Chelsea and hope that Manchester City slip up again. Liverpool had ridden their luck a bit this season, but even that is pushing it.

Relegation Battlers

Cardiff City

Cardiff City have formally submitted a complaint against Crystal Palace alleging the Eagles engaged in pre-match spying to get an edge before their match on April 5.

If Palace manager Tony Pulis had the information, it doesn't seem he used it:

Scott Heavey/Getty Images

Should the Football Association void that 3-0 loss, it could mean pivotal points for Cardiff. However, that's unlikely to happen, so the Bluebirds can only count on the points ahead.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer really needs a result against Stoke City. After the Potters, his club finishes up with Sunderland, Newcastle and Chelsea. Stoke don't have much to play for, since they won't be relegated, nor will they get European football, so they're there for the taking.

Even a draw doesn't help Cardiff that much. They'll still be stuck in the relegation zone and not much closer to overtaking Norwich for 17th.

Solskjaer and Cardiff built some much-needed momentum with last week's 1-0 win over Southampton. They need to parlay that into three pivotal points against Stoke.

Swansea

It seems odd to write this, but if Swansea aren't careful, they'll be dragged into the relegation scrap. Some may argue they already are, as they sit only three points ahead of Fulham.

Euro Club Index puts Swansea's chances of relegation at 4 percent:

A little tension on the training ground isn't always the worst thing, but when your club is fighting—no pun intended—to stay in the Premier League, it does send a bad message.

The other problem for the Swans is that their fixture list doesn't get much easier from here. Newcastle have nothing left to play for and have been on the decline ever since the sale of Yohan Cabaye.

Swansea simply need to stop the bleeding right now. One more win and they can pretty much shut the door on any chance of going down to the Championship.