The 2021/22 Premier League season will end on Sunday. For most clubs, there is nothing to play for on that day as they are not involved in the title race, relegation battle, or race for the qualification European clubs competitions....CONTINUE READING
However, the same cannot be said for these four clubs, all part of the Premier League’s big six’, who must all win and hope that results elsewhere go in their favour for them to achieve their various season objectives.
1) Arsenal
For Arsenal, who are currently in the 5th position and are 2 points behind Tottenham, only a win will do on the final day against Everton for them to stand a chance of overtaking Spurs to finish in the top 4. That said, they also need Spurs to lose to Norwich City on that same day for that to happen.
For Spurs, even though they have to beat Norwich to be certain of finishing in the top 4, they are not in a must-win situation as that match ending in a draw could be enough due to their superior goal difference over Arsenal.
As things stand, Tottenham has a goal difference of 24 after 37 games while Arsenal has a goal difference of 9 after the same number of games.
This means that if Spurs play a draw, the only way the Gunners will go level on points with them and overtake them at the same time will be to do the unimaginable by beating Everton 16-0. That is why Spurs are not in a must-win situation.
2) Liverpool
The Reds who are second in the league table ensured the title race will go down to the wire by beating Southampton on Tuesday to close down the gap on Manchester City to just one point.
With the battle not over, they must now beat Wolves on the final day and hope that Manchester City fails to beat Aston Villa for them to win the league.
As things stand, the goal difference is not in favour of Liverpool. Therefore, all they have to do is win and hope Aston Villa does them a favour at the Etihad Stadium. Anything less, will not be good enough.
3) Manchester City
As said above, Manchester City leads Liverpool by one point heading into their last match of the season against Aston Villa. That makes a big difference as it means they don’t need to depend on Wolves stopping Liverpool. All they have to do to be certain of winning the league is win their match.
4) Manchester United
Manchester United, who are currently 6th in the league table and 2 points above West Ham, must beat Crystal Palace on Sunday to be certain of playing in the Europa League next season.
Failing to do that, West Ham, who are directly below them and also have the superior goal difference, will knock them down to the Europa Conference League spot if they win Brighton on that same day.
