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Regular-article-logo Saturday, 16 November 2024

Ruling recasts top-4 race

United, Chelsea, Leicester and Wolves all in contention for Champions League football next season

Agencies London Published 14.07.20, 02:30 AM
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer AP

Manchester City’s success in overturning their Champions League ban on Monday has huge ramifications on the Premier League and the remaining two teams that will qualify for Europe’s top club competition.

Chelsea, Manchester United and Leicester — and maybe Wolverhampton Wanderers and Sheffield United, too — are now fighting for two qualifying spots instead of three with two weeks of the season remaining.

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The fight for a top-five finish has reverted to needing to be in the top four to join champions Liverpool and City, already secured in second place, in earning tens of millions of dollars in Uefa prize money next season.

The most concerned team is likely to be Leicester. In the top four since September — and, in December, even looking like the most realistic title challengers to Liverpool — Leicester have imploded, collecting only two wins from their last 11 league games stretching back to January.

On Sunday, they lost to relegation-threatened Bournemouth 1-4. Leicester were in command after Jamie Vardy’s first-half goal. But Bournemouth turned the match around in stunning fashion with Dominic Solanke scoring twice.

Manchester United appear much more likely to secure a top-four finish and return to the Champions League after a season’s absence. With four straight wins, United are the form team and also have the most benign remaining schedule with upcoming matches against Crystal Palace and West Ham (excluding Monday’s home match against Southampton) before what could be a winners-take-all game at Leicester on the final weekend of the season.

Making it all the more intriguing is the fact that another final-day match is between Chelsea and Wolves. Chelsea are currently in third place, one point ahead of Leicester.

A victory over already-relegated Norwich on Tuesday appears pivotal for Chelsea, considering their last two games are at Liverpool and then Wolves, who have gained a reputation for beating the top teams over the last two years.

Wolves are in sixth place, four points off the top four.

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