THE English Premier League is reached its final straight, but there is no standout in the title picture with 12 weeks to go.
The plucky Leicester City remain at the top of the table, but after losing away to Arsenal last week, the door remains ajar for both North London clubs to close the gap before the end of the season.
It looms as one of the closest Premier League finishes in history.
Let’s take a look at the next six weeks for each of the teams in the top-four.
All odds provided by Sportsbet.com.au
Leicester City – 1st, 53 Points
Title Odds: $3.50 @ Sportsbet.com.au
Next six matches: Norwich (H), West Brom (H), Watford (A), Newcastle (H), Crystal Palace (A), Southampton (H)
Who would have predicted this?
Despite suffering a heartbreaking loss to Arsenal on the weekend, the Foxes are still in a strong position to win the title after taking three points away from home against Manchester City the week before.
Leicester has three home games in their next four against the lowly Norwich, Newcastle and West Brom, as well as an away game against Watford.
There is every chance that the Foxes will take 12 points from next month of football.
The big test will come against Southampton, but the fact that the fixture is at home will boost the confidence of the Foxes.
Leicester has no other domestic or European duties to contend with like their other top-four rivals.
The Foxes’ focus will be solely on the Premier League and they should remain on top coming into the final stages of the season.
Key man: Jamie Vardy
Crunch game: Southamption
Tottenham – 2nd, 51 Points
Title Odds: $3.30 @ Sportsbet.com.au
Next six matches: Swansea (H), West Ham (A), Arsenal (H), Aston Villa (A), Bournemouth (H), Liverpool (A)
What a month of football it has been for the Spurs.
Five consecutive wins has placed Tottenham right in the hunt for the Premier League title.
A favourable run in the EPL sees them play relegation battlers Villa, Swansea and Bournemouth across the next month.
The Spurs have a great foundation on which to build their title attack upon.
Unfortunately for the North Londoners, they face Arsenal at home – a team they have only beaten once in their last seven attempts.
The Spurs also have a tricky Europa league and FA Cup run in between, which will stretch their somewhat thin roster.
Tottenham remain the in-form team of the league and providing they keep injury free, they will be vying for the title right up until the final day.
Key man: Harry Kane
Crunch game: Arsenal
Arsenal – 3rd, 51 Points
Title odds: $2.50 @ Sportsbet.com.au
Next six matches: Manchester United (A), Swansea (H), Tottenham (A), West Brom (H), Everton (A), Watford (H)
What a weekend of football it was for Arsenal.
After trailing for much of the much against league leaders Leicester, the Gunners were able to snatch all three points from the Foxes after substitute Danny Welbeck found the back of the net in stoppage time.
The victory was a much-needed one for manager Arsene Wenger, who would have been eight points adrift of the Foxes if they were unable to win.
The Gunners have the toughest six-week block of the top-four sides.
Arsenal remains in the Champion’s League and FA Cup, which leaves them in a precarious position in the title race.
The derby against the Spurs will be one of the fiercest in recent memory and a match-up that the Gunners will need to fire in. Any slip up will hand their North London rivals a points advantage heading into the final weeks of the season.
Arsenal has been installed as the EPL favourites after taking down the Foxes, but its odds will blow out considerably if the Gunners are unable to find points in a tough stretch of games.
Arsene Wenger will need his main attacking midfielder, Alexis Sanchez, to step it up after struggling to have an impact after returning from injury.
Expect the Gunners to fall behind over the next month of football.
The $2.50 on offer from Sportsbet is flattering to a team that has been synonymous with choking in the past.
Key man: Alexis Sanchez
Crunch game: Tottenham
Manchester City – 4th, 47 Points
Title Odds: $7.50 @ Sportsbet.com.au
Next six matches: Liverpool (A), Aston Villa (H), Norwich (A), Manchester United (H), Bournemouth (A), West Brom (H)
Of the four teams within title contention, Manchester City has the most hectic schedule to battle.
Despite having a favourable run in the Premier League, City has the Capital One Cup, the FA Cup and Champion’s League on their footballing calendar.
City have won just one of their last four matches and are in desperate need of a quick turnaround if they are to remain in the title hunt.
Their poor form has coincided with the announcement that Pep Guardiola would replace Manuel Pellegrini at the beginning of next season despite still being in contention for both the EPL and Champion’s League.
The ruthless nature of the decision to axe Pellegrini seems to have affected the players negatively and the wisdom of the early announcement has to be questioned.
What City do possess though is the most expensive squad in the country, which includes several key players capable of winning games off their own boot.
There are so many stars at their disposal – this means it is almost impossible to write the Sky Blues off until it is mathematically impossible for them to win the title.
City in spite of all the distractions remain close enough if they are good enough.
Key man: Kevin De Bruyne
Crunch game: Manchester United
