Premier League Table: Updated Standings, Predictions After Matchday 28

Chelsea picked up an almost patented 1-0 victory at West Ham United to further cement their status as league champions in waiting, but there’s still much to be excited about in the rest of the division following a gripping round of fixtures on Matchday 28.

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The race to secure Champions League football next season is certainly not cut and dried, with Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur all picking up a crucial three points to inject some vital initiative into their respective charges.

Meanwhile, the relegation scrap is becoming increasingly intriguing. Aston Villa’s win over rivals West Bromwich Albion lifted them out of the mire for the time being, but there are a host of teams in the lower reaches of the table that’ll be increasingly concerned about their Premier League status for next season.

Here’s how this week’s results affected the overall picture in the table and a detailed look at the engrossing aforementioned battles.

#	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Chelsea	27	19	6	2	57	22	+35	63
2	Manchester City	28	17	7	4	59	27	+32	58
3	Arsenal	28	16	6	6	53	30	+23	54
4	Manchester United	28	15	8	5	47	26	+21	53
5	Liverpool	28	15	6	7	42	30	+12	51
6	Southampton	28	15	4	9	39	20	+19	49
7	Tottenham	27	14	5	8	44	38	+6	47
8	Stoke	28	12	6	10	33	34	-1	42
9	Swansea	28	11	7	10	33	37	-4	40
10	West Ham	28	10	9	9	39	34	+5	39
11	Newcastle United	28	9	8	11	32	43	-11	35
12	Crystal Palace	28	7	9	12	31	39	-8	30
13	West Bromwich Albion	28	7	9	12	26	36	-10	30
14	Everton	28	6	10	12	33	41	-8	28
15	Hull	28	6	9	13	26	37	-11	27
16	Sunderland	28	4	14	10	23	39	-16	26
17	Aston Villa	28	6	7	15	15	38	-23	25
18	Queens Park Rangers	27	6	4	17	28	47	-19	22
19	Burnley	28	4	10	14	25	47	-22	22
20	Leicester	27	4	6	17	24	44	-20	18

Race for the Top 4

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After a 2-0 victory against Burnley, it’s Liverpool who boast the momentum at this stage of the season, as Brendan Rodgers looks to steer this team back into the Champions League for the upcoming campaign.

The Reds weren’t quite at their free-flowing best in this particular encounter, but as noted here by Squawka Football, they’ve been absolutely magnificent since the turn of the year:

They aren’t quite in the top-four spots yet, however. Manchester United salvaged three points from another mediocre display at Newcastle United thanks to a late faux pas from Tim Krul. Ashley Young picked up the pieces to finish neatly in the final seconds of the match, giving Louis van Gaal a massive victory.

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At the moment, United are almost the antithesis of their north-west rivals in that there’s little impetus, endeavour or ingenuity to their play. But they continue to churn out important results when their backs are against the wall and that’s something that bodes well in what will surely be a major scrap for a top-four spot.

They have arguably the best goalkeeper in the league in David de Gea too, as was evident against the Toon Army, per the club’s official Twitter account:

While Spurs and Saints also kept their hopes of a top-four spot alive, the fight for fourth looks set to come down to the two eternal rivals. Indeed, Arsenal’s win at Queens Park Rangers also got them back on track, and despite perennial issues, they should have the class to finish in third position.

Liverpool seem to have the edge at the moment, though. Rodgers has this team playing with cohesion, incision and a ferocious industry off the ball; with the Reds set to welcome United to Anfield in a couple of weeks time, expect an enthralling encounter that will see the Merseysiders seize the initiative.

Top Four Prediction: 1. Chelsea, 2. Manchester City, 3. Arsenal, 4. Liverpool

Relegation Battle

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The relief was palpable for all those inside Villa Park as their team snatched a late victory to move out of the relegation zone, and you just wonder whether or not that win over local rivals will be a catalyst for a turnaround in fortunes for Tim Sherwood’s side.

As noted by former England international Gary Lineker, Christian Benteke’s last-gasp winning penalty was so important for this team:

Just above the Midlands club are Sunderland and Hull City who played out a tense draw 1-1 in their match in Week 28. Meanwhile, Everton are also in danger of being dragged into a relegation scrap after they turned in another moribund display, this time a 2-0 loss away at Stoke City.

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Roberto Martinez’s side have been in terrible form for almost the entirety of this season, with the swagger and excitement that accompanied the Spaniard’s maiden campaign in charge now seemingly a distant memory.

As we can see here courtesy of Sky Sports News HQ, things have been very poor for the Merseyside club:

But they probably have just enough to stay in the division despite their wretched form. Indeed, at this juncture, it looks as though the bottom three sides—Leicester City, Burnley and Queens Park Rangers—are likely to be condemned to the Championship.

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At times this season all three of the newly promoted sides have shown that they’re capable of mixing it with the best teams in the division, but they’re traits which have been scarce far too often. Ultimately, a lack of consistency from that trio will see them all drop down a tier.

Bottom Three Prediction: 18. Burnley, 19. Queens Park Rangers, 20. Leicester City