Who will finish in the top 4 of the English Premier League?

Manchester United is running away with the title despite the setback at home Monday night against Manchester City. MUFC are 12 points ahead with 7 games left. Manchester City are comfortably in second (7 points clear of 3rd place).

CLUB	P	W	D	L	GD	PTS
Man Utd	31	25	2	4	38	77
Man City	31	19	8	4	30	65

The best race in the EPL is the battle for the coveted 3rd and 4th place spots which automatically qualify a club for Champions League football next season. Lets take a look at the 3 major players for the 2 spots: Chelsea (3rd), Tottenham (4th) and Arsenal (5th).

Chelsea	31	17	7	7	28	58
Tottenham	32	17	7	8	15	58
Arsenal	31	16	8	7	27	56

Chelsea and Tottenham have the hardest upcoming EPL fixtures based on their opponents' league position. In addition, they are both playing games Thursday night in the Europa Lge. However, although Tottenham are level on points with Chelsea for third place, they have played one more game than Chelsea and Arsenal. The form table below indicates the hot clubs in the premier league over the last 6 games.

FORM TABLE: Last 6 EPL matches 

		P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Dif	Pts
1	Manchester Utd	6	5	0	1	11	2	+9	15
2	Arsenal	6	5	0	1	12	5	+7	15
3	Liverpool	6	4	1	1	15	6	+9	13
4	Chelsea	6	4	0	2	10	6	+4	12
5	Manchester City	6	4	0	2	10	6	+4	12
6	Fulham	6	3	2	1	7	5	+2	11
7	Southampton	6	3	1	2	10	8	+2	10
8	Everton	6	3	1	2	9	7	+2	10
9	Tottenham	6	3	1	2	11	10	+1	10

Lets go in order. Third place Chelsea won their first leg Europa Lge game against Rubin Kazan 3-1 and now must travel to Moscow for the second leg tomorrow night. In addition, Chelsea are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and play at Wembley on Sunday against Manchester City with the winner advancing to the final (against EPL side Wigan or League 2 Millwall). The fixture pileup may tax the team for the stretch run especially if there are any more significant injuries or travel. In the English Premier League, Chelsea will have 3 games at home and 4 games on the road (including a derby game at Fulham, away to Manchester United and away to Liverpool). See the fixture list below, note that the April 14th match against Tottenham has to be rescheduled.

Notable injuries: Romeu (out for the season), Cahill (3-4 weeks), Cole (2 weeks), Bertrand (3-4 days)

Date	Home	Away
Apr 14	Chelsea	P – P Tottenham Hotspur
Apr 17	Fulham	Chelsea
Apr 21	Liverpool	Chelsea
Apr 27	Chelsea	Swansea City
May 5	Manchester United	Chelsea
May 11	Aston Villa	Chelsea
May 19	Chelsea	Everton

Tottenham drew 2-2 at home against Basel and must now go to Switzerland to play Basel away tomorrow night. I don't believe they will progress against Basel which may actually help them get 4th place in the EPL. A blessing in disguise. Their premier player, Gareth Bale is injured but to compound that Lennon their enigmatic winger is also hurt. Based on their lackluster performance at home against Everton, they need them both back to make a serious run. Tottenham have 3 home games and 3 road games left, including a huge "6-pointer" against Chelsea away and a difficult home game against Manchester City.

Notable injuries: Bale (2 weeks), Gallas (1 week), Lennon (1 week), Kaboul (1 week), Gomes (season)

Date	Home	Away
Apr 14	Chelsea	P – P Tottenham Hotspur
Apr 21	Tottenham	Manchester City
Apr 27	Wigan	Tottenham
May 4	Tottenham	Southampton
May 12	Stoke City	Tottenham
May 19	Tottenham	Sunderland

Arsenal have won 6 out of 7 games in the EPL and their run of form is bearing fruits. The ides of March have not been kind to Arsenal fans in recent years. The month is often a demarcation point of their failings in all competitions; their only solace being that they can focus on Champions League qualification without any distractions. Considering they have put themselves in this position with Rosicky deputising for Wilshere and it is all the more impressive.

Notable injuries: Wilshere (1-2 weeks), Walcott (3-4 days), Diaby (season), Szczeny (mental health)

Date	Home	Away
Apr 13	Arsenal	Norwich City
Apr 16	Arsenal	Everton
Apr 20	Fulham	Arsenal
Apr 28	Arsenal	Manchester United
May 4	QPR	Arsenal
May 12	Arsenal	Wigan
May 19	Newcastle	Arsenal

Prediction
There are no easy games in the EPL, especially when teams in the relegation fight are battling to stay up. However, Arsenal's fresh legs, promising schedule (4 home games and 3 road games against the likes of QPR and Fulham), in addition to their recent run of form, I would be hard pressed to pick against them breaking into the top 4. History is also on their side as they have not missed out on Champions Lge football since Arsene Wenger became manager. Tottenham have made late season slides a bad habit and without their talisman Gareth Bale at full strength, I cannot see them finishing in the top 4. Chelsea will still need to win their remaining games including against Tottenham at home to maintain our current position and keep Arsenal at bay.

Final Projection:
3.Chelsea
4.Arsenal
5.Tottenham