After playing 37 rounds of Premier League football, the last two Champions League spots are set to be decided on the last day of league action.
Manchester United, Chelsea and Leicester City are battling out for the last two places with one game more to be played until the end of the season.
In the match day 37 fixtures, Chelsea failed to secured one of the two places as they needed just a point to guarantee their participation next season. The Blues saw their Champions League hopes suffer a slight setback after succumbing to a 3-5 defeat to newly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield.
Prior to the Blues’ defeat, United and Leicester had already dropped important points against West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur respectively.
The Foxes were first to suffer such fate following their 0-3 loss away to Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, which saw them lose their goal difference superiority over Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s men.
Manchester United, who were looking to bounce back from their embarrassing 1-3 defeat to Frank Lampard’s team over the weekend in the FA Cup semi-final also failed to beat West Ham at Old Trafford, needed a moment of brilliance from Mason Greenwood to salvage a point for them after Michail Antonio had given the Hammers the lead from the penalty spot.
What these results mean is that there is all to play for on the final day of the Premier League season.
United play Leicester, while Chelsea also host Wolverhampton Wanderers who are looking to cement their Europa League position ahead of next season.
Should Solskjaer’s side manage a win or a draw, it will ensure that they place in Europe’s topmost competition is booked, while they will depend on Wolves beating Chelsea if they lose to Leicester in the last game.
For the West Londoners, they need at least a draw to make sure they are into the Champions League next season. But should they fail to draw or win, they would need favour from United to beat Leicester to qualify them.
On the other hand, Brendan Rodgers’ team will not be thinking of losing as that will only leave them in fifth position, but a win will automatically secure their qualification. A draw for Leicester will also mean that they need Wolves to sail past Chelsea in their fixture.
It could be a last day of so much drama-packed football in the English top-flight to see who goes into the Champions League.
