The Race to the title 2016/17 (plus Top 4 Cup)

Harry Palmr

So then a funny game midweek to say the least - and only City are laughing anew (Chelsea having already won the league - stop suggesting otherwise Gav! :pac:)

Liverpool got back on their horse for a decent and respectable draw against the Champions elect and remain top of the Top 6 mini league (there really should be a ribbon with a gold star for this title), Arsenal did an Arsenal a day early, Spurs drew an unexpected blank and that left the two Manchester clubs poised to take advantage - only one did as West Ham waved City through 4 times.

Mounited really seem to be at least as dysfunctional as Liverpool have been and yet not getting pelters for it. The good news for them is that Everton only drew as well.

Next up is Arsenal host Chelsea.

GavRedKing

Arsenal

Harry Palmr wrote: »

So then a funny game midweek to say the least - and only City are laughing anew (Chelsea having already won the league - stop suggesting otherwise Gav! :pac:)

Never, not until its won.

I'm actually more afraid of the Burnley game than the Liverpool or Arsenal games TBH.

Skylinehead

Harry Palmr wrote: »

So then a funny game midweek to say the least - and only City are laughing anew (Chelsea having already won the league - stop suggesting otherwise Gav! :pac:)

Liverpool got back on their horse for a decent and respectable draw against the Champions elect and remain top of the Top 6 mini league (there really should be a ribbon with a gold star for this title), Arsenal did an Arsenal a day early, Spurs drew an unexpected blank and that left the two Manchester clubs poised to take advantage - only one did as West Ham waved City through 4 times.

Mounited really seem to be at least as dysfunctional as Liverpool have been and yet not getting pelters for it. The good news for them is that Everton only drew as well.

Next up is Arsenal host Chelsea.

Chelsea are at home, we already whipped them at the Emirates

That ain't happening again

Harry Palmr

Chelsea march on, Spurs come on strong, Arsenal and Liverpool feck it up but at least Arsenal had the excuse of playing the title winners elect, City get back on track thanks to faith in Jesus, Man Utd are still 6th and whisper it but Everton are making a burst for the CL places.

Arsenal, City and Liverpool all have similar goals for and against but the latter's form is off a cliff of course, speaking of which next in the mini league meetings is Liverpool v Spurs which if nothing else should see the home side play decently. A Spurs win would surely be enough to see them have one foot in the CL next season.

mansize

Arsenal

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Chelsea march on, Spurs come on strong, Arsenal and Liverpool feck it up but at least Arsenal had the excuse of playing the title winners elect, City get back on track thanks to faith in Jesus, Man Utd are still 6th and whisper it but Everton are making a burst for the CL places.

Arsenal, City and Liverpool all have similar goals for and against but the latter's form is off a cliff of course, speaking of which next in the mini league meetings is Liverpool v Spurs which if nothing else should see the home side play decently. A Spurs win would surely be enough to see them have one foot in the CL next season.

Will they play in Wembley again?

Dirty Dingus McGee

Arsenal

mansize wrote: »

Will they play in Wembley again?

They are moving to wembley full time in a couple of years anyway while their new stadium is being built so they might as well get used to it in europe.

Nalz

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Man Utd are still 6th...

Just can't help yourself

GavRedKing

Arsenal

Ya, Spurs in Wembley for 1 season next year before moving into their new stadium.

Chelsea are meant to be moving in then after that for 3 years.

mansize

Arsenal

GavRedKing wrote: »

Ya, Spurs in Wembley for 1 season next year before moving into their new stadium.

Chelsea are meant to be moving in then after that for 3 years.

The fist game I saw in Wembley was Arsenal v Barca.

We lost 4-1

GavRedKing

Arsenal

mansize wrote: »

The fist game I saw in Wembley was Arsenal v Barca.

We lost 4-1

English sides have a shocking record at Wembley in europe.

Harry Palmr

The pitch is too big

GavRedKing

Arsenal

Harry Palmr wrote: »

The pitch is too big

Crowds are too big :pac:

Shanotheslayer

Rayne Wooney wrote: »

fyfe79 wrote: »

That is one of the funniest posts I've read here in a long time. Forgetting the fact that his last season with them was a disaster, I still remember Utd fans being so vocal about not wanting him to take over. He now has Utd in 6th and has somehow cast his spell over the fan-base. He truly is special.

Conte is the man here, a class act tbf.

While it was obviously tongue in cheek, Chelsea have won 3 league titles in Joses 5 years in charge, without Jose they've won 1 league title in 62 years.

Without oil money they won 1 league title in 62 years as well. More than the Jose factor.

sky88

think the league is over now chelsea will see it out.


the top 4 is anyones guess i think that all combinations are possible as i think each team have there faults.

my guess right now would be

1.Chelsea
2.City
3.Spurs
4.United
5. Liverpool
6. Arsenal

Liam McPoyle

Chelsea have CL guaranteed for next season.

That leaves 3 spots.

LFC have literally no other games and i think that's going to make the difference and they will get one of them.

The Arse will prolly go out of the CL in the next round. Leaving the league and FA cup. If they get their act together they could get one.

City should progress in both the CL and FA cup but I think they have too much depth to miss out on one.

Ourselves and Spurs both have EL games we should get through and depending on the draw could get even further. That's going to be a major hindrance.

I think it will finish

Chelsea
City
LFC
Arse
Spurs
United

GavRedKing

Arsenal

Rod Munch wrote: »

Chelsea have CL guaranteed for next season.

That leaves 3 spots.

LFC have literally no other games and i think that's going to make the difference and they will get one of them.

The Arse will prolly go out of the CL in the next round. Leaving the league and FA cup. If they get their act together they could get one.

City should progress in both the CL and FA cup but I think they have too much depth to miss out on one.

Ourselves and Spurs both have EL games we should get through and depending on the draw could get even further. That's going to be a major hindrance.

I think it will finish

Chelsea
City
LFC
Arse
Spurs
United

City Utd Spurs and Chelsea have good form at the moment, well, better than Arsenal and Liverpool who are losing ground, Everton are putting together a good charge too and I dont think they'll finish inside the top 6, but they'll go damn close.

Liam McPoyle

GavRedKing wrote: »

City Utd Spurs and Chelsea have good form at the moment, well, better than Arsenal and Liverpool who are losing ground, Everton are putting together a good charge too and I dont think they'll finish inside the top 6, but they'll go damn close.

I think the major problem with LFC has been lethargy from the busy Christmas period.

They were used to having one game a week giving players a chance to recuperate, Klopps style had them covering a massive amount of ground early in the season. They are back to one game a week now and have key players back in the fold.

City have a cracking squad, how many teams could leave the likes of Aguero on the bench and still win games?

That leaves us, Arsenal and Spurs.

Already, between the cup final, the fa cup and the EL, we have 4 extra games. We should get through the next round of the el and fa cup which means we will have an extra 7 games minimum over LFC.

Arsenal will likely go out against Bayern so that leaves them in the fa cup and the league.

I believe they have too much quality for the current funk to continue.

Spurs have a schedule nearly as busy as ours and potentially they have 6 extra games minimum over LFC and that's without too much of a stretch.

It will be very hard to keep firing on all fronts for United and Spurs which is why I believe they will both fall behind in the league.

It would be imo sensational if either or both United and Spurs make top 4, all things considered.

Iused2likebusts

Rod Munch wrote: »

I think the major problem with LFC has been lethargy from the busy Christmas period.

They were used to having one game a week giving players a chance to recuperate, Klopps style had them covering a massive amount of ground early in the season. They are back to one game a week now and have key players back in the fold.

City have a cracking squad, how many teams could leave the likes of Aguero on the bench and still win games?

That leaves us, Arsenal and Spurs.

Already, between the cup final, the fa cup and the EL, we have 4 extra games. We should get through the next round of the el and fa cup which means we will have an extra 7 games minimum over LFC.

Arsenal will likely go out against Bayern so that leaves them in the fa cup and the league.

I believe they have too much quality for the current funk to continue.

Spurs have a schedule nearly as busy as ours and potentially they have 6 extra games minimum over LFC and that's without too much of a stretch.

It will be very hard to keep firing on all fronts for United and Spurs which is why I believe they will both fall behind in the league.

It would be imo sensational if either or both United and Spurs make top 4, all things considered.

It would hardly be sensational. Utd have a huge squad and spurs don't seem to take the cup competitions in anyway serious. I'd be shocked if spurs miss out on top 4 they have the most balanced team out of the chasing pack.

Liam McPoyle

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

It would hardly be sensational. Utd have a huge squad and spurs don't seem to take the cup competitions in anyway serious. I'd be shocked if spurs miss out on top 4 they have the most balanced team out of the chasing pack.

They can still only play 11 players and both managers will have a preferred/best 11.

At least 50% more games to play than some of their rivals, IMO it would be sensational if they can maintain the league form while juggling the other balls too.

Jayop

Arsenal

Honestly, it's just too close to project who the top 4 will be at this stage. Chelsea are a cert to win the league now but apart from that any 2 from the next 5 could easily mess it up.

Liverpool and Arsenal are in a flunk at the moment and both look very likely to drop to 5th and 6th over the next few games, but that doesn't mean they will stay there.

United's form is the best over the last ten games from the 5 teams by quite a distance, but we still look likely to drop points to anyone and unlikely to win the big games. Only Spurs from the top sides have we beaten this year although we did batter Arsenal for 90 minutes.

City I don't know about. Absolute rank form lately and could easily have dropped more points at the weekend. They look to have found a star in Jesus and he could be the fire to light up the rest of their season.

Basically, if things keep going as they have for the last 10 games then after 34 games the table will look like this from 2-6.

Team - Projected points after 34 (points gained from game 14/24)
Spurs 73 (+23)
United 69 (+24)
City 68 (+19)
Arsenal 63 (+16)
Liverpool 62 (+16)

Of course that is hugely simplistic, doesn't take into account the opponents to be played in those ten games, doesn't take into account fatigue from playing in cups or Europe, and doesn't take into account bottle or lack thereof.

That United have only dropped 6 points in the last 10 games has surprised me. It's a coincidence that I picked 10 games as United had drawn the three games previous to that in a row just like we did last month. That said, United have ten games before we play Arsenal away and apart from Chelsea they are all winnable. Only 1 team in the drop zone and no others from the top 6. United should be picking up 22/24 points from those ten games. That would hopefully put up right up into the top 3 before our crazy tough run in swings around.

Just to be fair, I'll do the last 5 games as well...

Team - Projected points after 29 (points gained from game 19/24)
Spurs 59 (+9)
City 59 (+10)
Arsenal 54 (+7)
United 54 (+9)
Liverpool 49 (+3)

Sgt Pepper 64

Arsenal

the problem with Liverpool, is that apart from Sturridge, they don't have a striker. COurtina is not a striker so they keep playing a false 9.
I'm surprised they didn't buy or loan one in jan

Jayop

Arsenal

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

the problem with Liverpool, is that apart from Sturridge, they don't have a striker. COurtina is not a striker so they keep playing a false 9.
I'm surprised they didn't buy or loan one in jan

Yeah it's a major problem. Mane is their top scorer in the league with 9 goals. Up to Christmas they were doing a good job sharing out the goal scoring among forwards and midfielders, but every top club needs someone hitting 15+ for the season in the league to get into the top 4.

It's also a problem with City funny enough with Aguero as their top guy on 11 goals.

Iused2likebusts

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

the problem with Liverpool, is that apart from Sturridge, they don't have a striker. COurtina is not a striker so they keep playing a false 9.
I'm surprised they didn't buy or loan one in jan

Up till Jan this wasnt a problem. I'm almost certain they had scored more goals than any other team in the league at that point. Taken over a bigger sample size for the calendar yr 2016 Liverpool scored 87 goals over 38 league games considerably more than any other team. Not having cover for mane was a poor decision but goalscoring was the least of their worries at that point.

Jayop

Arsenal

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

Up till Jan this wasnt a problem. I'm almost certain they had scored more goals than any other team in the league at that point. Taken over a bigger sample size for the calendar yr 2016 Liverpool scored 87 goals over 38 league games considerably more than any other team. Not having cover for mane was a poor decision but goalscoring was the least of their worries at that point.

I think you are in trouble in terms of goal scoring if one of the following happens.

1) You are completely reliant on one player for the vast majority of your goals. If that player dries up then you're screwed. (See United when Zlatan stopped scoring before Xmas)
2) You don't have one player who's the stand out striker for your team and have people chipping in from all over but no-one who can drag you through a bad spell by getting that goal from nothing (see Liverpool recently)

Iused2likebusts

Jayop wrote: »

I think you are in trouble in terms of goal scoring if one of the following happens.

1) You are completely reliant on one player for the vast majority of your goals. If that player dries up then you're screwed. (See United when Zlatan stopped scoring before Xmas)
2) You don't have one player who's the stand out striker for your team and have people chipping in from all over but no-one who can drag you through a bad spell by getting that goal from nothing (see Liverpool recently)

You may have a point. I just think Liverpool are in awful form at the minute and a bigger problem is that they don't have a goalkeeper who can bail them out to help paper over the cracks. For me it doesn't matter where the goals are coming from . In most teams a left back milner isn't taking the pens this is something that will boost a forward players stats in most other teams. The chance creation for Liverpool is way down the past month and that's the main problem.

Jayop

Arsenal

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

You may have a point. I just think Liverpool are in awful form at the minute and a bigger problem is that they don't have a goalkeeper who can bail them out to help paper over the cracks. For me it doesn't matter where the goals are coming from . In most teams a left back milner isn't taking the pens this is something that will boost a forward players stats in most other teams. The chance creation for Liverpool is way down the past month and that's the main problem.

Oh no doubt the defense/GK/DM is the bigger issues. I just always think either relying too heavily on one player or the opposite of not having one player who you can rely on is a problem waiting to happen.

And yeah, Milner has 6 for the season so far, I'd assume most if not all of those are from the spot. Add those to Lallana's total and he's up in the low teens.

Berserker

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

You may have a point. I just think Liverpool are in awful form at the minute and a bigger problem is that they don't have a goalkeeper who can bail them out to help paper over the cracks.

They have a tough run of fixtures coming up too, with Spurs, Arsenal, Everton and Man City in their next six.

Jayop

Arsenal

Berserker wrote: »

They have a tough run of fixtures coming up too, with Spurs, Arsenal, Everton and Man City in their next six.

handy run in after that though and no distractions (I think distractions are overstated personally).

Harry Palmr

Berserker wrote: »

They have a tough run of fixtures coming up too, with Spurs, Arsenal, Everton and Man City in their next six.

Exactly the games Liverpool are at their best for

Jayop wrote: »

handy run in after that though and no distractions (I think distractions are overstated personally).

These are the ones that'll mean EL footie!

Berserker

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Exactly the games Liverpool are at their best for

Yeah, they tend to up their game against those teams alright and they haven't lost to Everton in years, if memory serves me correctly.

Iused2likebusts

Chelsea spurs and Liverpool with 2 games left against the top 6.
City arsenal and utd with 4 games left against the top 6.

jacool

Final 6 places
1. Chelsea - cannot be caught (would need to play like Leicester are currently)
2. Man Utd. - cannot be beaten (seem to have got into some kind of groove now)
3. Man City - Jesus saves their season (they might get nervous around Easter, but that's natural)
4. Arsenal - cannot be denied (who would Bayern play every year?)
5. Tottenham - cannot finish ahead of Arsenal (are flat track bullies only)
6. Liverpool - cannot become flat track bullies (would wish for a top 6 mini-league)

Harry Palmr

City win as expected meaning only Spurs didn't of the five of the six who will not be winning the league. Which means it's all tightening up nicely/horribly depending on your point of view with 4 points plus g/d separating them.

Next weekend is the 5th round of the FA Cup so it's long wait for the next instalment which is er nobody as Man Utd v Man City is a re-arranged date so Liverpool v Arsenal on March 4th is the next 6 pointer.

GavRedKing

Arsenal

Jesus is out for awhile, confirmed by City.

Not a bad replacement in Aguero mind you.

Utopia Parkway

Arsenal

Harry Palmr wrote: »

City win as expected meaning only Spurs didn't of the five of the six who will not be winning the league. Which means it's all tightening up nicely/horribly depending on your point of view with 4 points plus g/d separating them.

Next weekend is the 5th round of the FA Cup so it's long wait for the next instalment which is er nobody as Man Utd v Man City is a re-arranged date so Liverpool v Arsenal on March 4th is the next 6 pointer.

United are going to have a killer run-in if the City game is rearranged late. They'll have City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs all to play in the last 6 or 7 games of the season.

Iused2likebusts

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

United are going to have a killer run-in if the City game is rearranged late. They'll have City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs all to play in the last 6 or 7 games of the season.

And Burnley away

Jayop

Arsenal

Utopia Parkway wrote: »

United are going to have a killer run-in if the City game is rearranged late. They'll have City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs all to play in the last 6 or 7 games of the season.

Should we beat Blackburn then our game against Southampton on the 12th of March will be rescheduled as well. Should we get through that then the semi finals are on April 22nd when we're due to play Burnley.

It's hard to know at this stage which order these rescheduled games will come in.

If we qualify for the next round in the EL then those games are on the 9th and 16th of March.

Could there be a game slipped in between the Middlesboro game on the 19th of March and the W/C qualifiers? I know the Ireland game is on the 24th so that's very doubtful.

After that, you've got a gap in the United calendar between the 9th and 15th of April. The EL semi final is in the middle of that so again should United or City get to the later stages of either comp then that game can't be then, but should United go out and city go through then that potential Southampton game rescheduling could happen then.

The following week should United be in the FA cup semi final then you'd imagine the Burnley game will be pushed a few days to midweek.

That would leave just the Southampton and City game to be scheduled. That would have to be squeezed in in the middle/end of May.

16 Feb EL
United v St Etienne

19 Feb FAC
Blackburn v United

22nd Feb EL
St Etienne v United

26th Feb EFL
United v Southampton

4th March PL
United v Bournemouth

9th March EL
Potential last 16

11th March FAC
United v Whomever

16th March EL
Potential last 16

19th March PL
Boro v United

(International Window)

1st April PL
United v WBA

4th April PL
United v Everton

8th April PL
United v Sunderland

13th of April EL
Potential EL Quarter Final

15th of April PL
United v Chelsea

20th of April EL
Potential EL Quarter Final

23rd April FAC
Potential Semi Final

26th April PL (recheduled from 22nd of April)
Burnley v United

29th April PL
United v Swansea

4th May EL
Potential Semi Final

6th May PL
Arsenal v United

11th May EL
Potential Semi Final

13th May PL
United v Spurs

17th May PL
Rescheduled City or Southampton Game

21st May PL
United vs Palace

24th May EL
Potential EL Final

27th May FAC
Potential FAC Final

In all that I see absolutely nowhere for the last of the three games to be played. United literally play a game every 3/4 games apart from the international break. IMO they should play the City game midweek after the EFL cup final. Would be tough on United, but should we progress in the other competitions then there's a massive problem getting 3 games fitted in that were due to be played on the cup dates.

The only way I don't see this being a huge problem is if United get kicked out of the EL in this or the next round. The teams that we could play in the league on FAC dates are all still in it, so even if we get put out then we still need to reschedule should they progress.

(all of that is based on either United or their opponents getting through to the later stages of the FA cup and the relevant European comp.)

Jayop

Arsenal

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

And Burnley away

I think Burnley away should United or Burnley progress to force that game to be rescheduled will have to be played midweek the following week. There's literally no other space if United progress in the EL.

Jayop

Arsenal

United are essentially trying to replicate what Liverpool did in 2000/01 and their fixture pile up is documented here. The only difference that year was the EL was a straight KO and Liverpool only had to play 13 games to win it. United will have 2 additional fixtures this year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000%E2%80%9301_Liverpool_F.C._season

Iused2likebusts

Jayop wrote: »

I think Burnley away should United or Burnley progress to force that game to be rescheduled will have to be played midweek the following week. There's literally no other space if United progress in the EL.

Ye that's where it will go to. If utd get to the sf of fa cup and Europa lge. There is going to be a major fixture headache for them. As you mentioned above there is nowhere for the fixtures to go. The midweek between the 2nd last game and the last game is the only real gap and there could be 2 league games to refix giving a sat,Mon,Thurs,sun schedule possibly. City and arsenal face similar problems if they make the sf of cl and sf of fa cup. The fa cup should really be played midweek so it doesn't cause league games to be postponed.

Jayop

Arsenal

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

Ye that's where it will go to. If utd get to the sf of fa cup and Europa lge. There is going to be a major fixture headache for them. As you mentioned above there is nowhere for the fixtures to go. The midweek between the 2nd last game and the last game is the only real gap and there could be 2 league games to refix giving a sat,Mon,Thurs,sun schedule possibly. City and arsenal face similar problems if they make the sf of cl and sf of fa cup. The fa cup should really be played midweek so it doesn't cause league games to be postponed.

If we reach that stage then the only time for the rest of the season we even have a midweek free is the week after the EFL cup final.

It's a mental schedule to have to face into. I'm a lot more worried about top four have done that out now than I was before hand.

Harry Palmr

Jayop wrote: »

United are essentially trying to replicate what Liverpool did in 2000/01 and their fixture pile up is documented here. The only difference that year was the EL was a straight KO and Liverpool only had to play 13 games to win it. United will have 2 additional fixtures this year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000%E2%80%9301_Liverpool_F.C._season

Is Bastian Schweinsteiger going to be your Gary McAllister?

Iused2likebusts

The midweek after the Carling cup final is scheduled for fa cup replays so that will more than likely stop the game being refixed for then as utd and city are both still in the cup. It is the logical place to put it though.

Iused2likebusts

Jayop wrote: »

If we reach that stage then the only time for the rest of the season we even have a midweek free is the week after the EFL cup final.

It's a mental schedule to have to face into. I'm a lot more worried about top four have done that out now than I was before hand.

Due to my fantasy football obsession I'd be fairly clued into when games will be called off and when they can be refixed for. Last year Everton faced a similar problem to utd a game being postponed due to the Carling cup final and then two games cancelled due to the fa cup. They had 3 games to be refixed but as they werent in Europe one of them was able to be refixed in and around a midweek when a European fixture was on.

Jayop

Arsenal

Iused2likebusts wrote: »

The midweek after the Carling cup final is scheduled for fa cup replays so that will more than likely stop the game being refixed for then as utd and city are both still in the cup. It is the logical place to put it though.

City have Huddersfield and United have Blackburn so you'd imagine a replay in either of those would be a fairly substantial shock.

Should both clubs progress then could that fixture still be penciled in for that week or would they have already have had to make the decision?

Harry Palmr

GavRedKing wrote: »

Jesus is out for awhile, confirmed by City.

Not a bad replacement in Aguero mind you.

Up to three months which is the season, still as you say they should be okay unless injury hits Aguero again.

Iused2likebusts

Jayop wrote: »

City have Huddersfield and United have Blackburn so you'd imagine a replay in either of those would be a fairly substantial shock.

Should both clubs progress then could that fixture still be penciled in for that week or would they have already have had to make the decision?

10/11 days notice for it you would imagine it should be possible especially as its two teams from the same city. From memory I think there may have been some 14 day rule on refixing a game although I could be imagining that or the rule may have changed. A few years back Liverpool had a game moved forward a week . It would be like city and utd postponed because of Carling cup final but being able to play it the week before as both teams were out of the fa cup.

Jayop

Arsenal

Even squeezing it in that week would be a big disadvantage to United given we have the EL fixtures this month which City don't and the cup final. So between now and possibly the 1st of March we will have played 3 more games. Draining looking stuff.

Iused2likebusts

City have announced that if they beat Huddersfield in the fa cup replay they will play stoke on mar 8 which is the midweek before they were due to face them. City stoke would be cancelled as it clashes with fa cup qf. Utd can't do this as they will have el last 16 that midweek.

Harry Palmr

Bump!

Champions elect Chelsea come through their game 1-2 winners and restore their 10 point lead over 2nd placed Spurs, with 11 games remaining (though 12 for Arsenal, City and Utd), another bad week to forget for the Gunners who are as bad against the top sides as Liverpool are against relegation fodder (imagine being able to fuse the best bits together!). Klopps team are in danger proving the truth of the old golfing saw - "drive for show, putt for dough" 19 points from Top 6 games this season and 29 from the Top 10 games played so far is pretty remarkable. Since Klopp took over Liverpool have lost just one game against the rest of the current top 7 sides (Man Utd away last season).



That they are so Jekyll and Hyde is a real head-scratcher and one that he needs to figure out if they are to deffo make the Champions League. Arsenal albeit with a game in hand also look vulnerable with 7 games against other top half sides still to come though the Champions League will cease to be of interest this week of course. Will Mourinho try to win the Europa League rather than expend energy on the Top 4? They have the best squad in a competition which is much weaker than last season's - only Roma look like they could to spoil things at this point. Spurs are just plodding on, almost unnoticed. If Kane is fit and with no EL now they will be hard to dislodge, Man City still give you a chance (though not Sunderland obviously) and the CL is very much a live issue for them - could that be what distracts them?