Everything still to be decided in the Premier League run-in: Title, relegation, records and more | OneFootball

Just two gameweeks remain before the end of the Premier League season and there are still plenty of matters to be settled, as Arsenal know.

From title races to the drop, here are four things to keep an eye on in the Premier League run-in:

Will the Premier League title race be decided by the smallest margin ever?

Unless you have a team involved in a fight elsewhere, the number one question on the minds of many a neutral is who will win the title race?

In terms of records, neither side can reach the 100-point benchmark set by Manchester City in 2017-18, and both have already cleared the 75 points of Manchester United in 1996-97 which stands as the fewest points to win a Premier League title.

We could, though, have a new smallest title-winning margin.

Currently, that is the zero points and +8 goal difference set by Manchester City over Manchester United in 2011-12, but City and Arsenal could feasibly finish on the same amount of points and possibly even the same goal difference.

Arsenal would need to draw one of their remaining two fixtures which could see both teams end on 83 points. City are currently just one goal ahead and if it ends level, it goes to goals scored which City are ahead on.

But Arsenal have the easier fixtures: an already relegated Burnley and a Crystal Palace side that will be focused on a Conference League final.

City, meanwhile, play Bournemouth and Aston Villa after their FA Cup final this weekend.

Spurs or West Ham to set a Championship record?

At the other end of the table, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham are scrambling to avoid the drop.

Having looked dead and buried for much of the last few weeks, Spurs have found new hope under Roberto De Zerbi whose main job has been to instil some self-belief in his squad.

With a two-point advantage, Spurs play Chelsea next and then Everton, aiming to remain one of the six ever-present Premier League clubs.

As for West Ham, their inferior goal difference means they need at least one win. They travel to Newcastle United on Sunday before facing Leeds United on the final day.

Whichever team goes down will set a record for the biggest stadium ever used in the Championship, which is currently Newcastle’s St James’ Park.

Who will win the (very generous) race for Europe?

The days of European football only being for the very best are long gone and it is possible that nine Premier League teams will be playing continental football next season.

To get to that scenario, a few things need to happen and a lot of them are to do with Aston Villa.

Straight off the bat, at the start of every season the Premier League gets four Champions League spots. An extra one has been awarded this year for the performances of clubs from England in Europe and so the top five will be playing Champions League football.

Currently, Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Villa have confirmed their spots in the tournament next year.

There are then two Europa League spots given to the Premier League, one for the highest finisher not in the Champions League and the other to the winner of the FA Cup.

Finally, a Conference League spot is given to the League Cup winners – but as that was won by already qualified City, it will go to the highest league finisher who has not qualified for any other European competition.

Additionally, the Europa League winners qualify for the Champions League, which is where Aston Villa become interesting.

A quirk of the UEFA rules mean that should Villa finish in the top four and win the Europa League, there will be no extra place. But if Villa finish precisely fifth – the win over Liverpool did not help in that regard – and win the Europa League, the extra Champions League place will drop to sixth.

If that has confused you, to put it simply, the Premier League could have: six in the Champions League, two in the Europa League and one in the Conference League.

It needs Liverpool to beat Brentford on the final day and Villa to lose to Manchester City, four days after the Europa final, so it’s still eminently possible.

And while it does feel like everyone is getting a participation medal, there are some nice stories to be found particularly with Bournemouth.

The Cherries, who have been a third-tier outfit for most of their life, have never played in Europe and would be the 37th different English club to play European football if they get over the line, as seems increasingly likely.

Will Bruno Fernandes equal or break the record for most assists in a season?

With United’s place in the Champions League already confirmed, the whole attention of the club will be to make sure Bruno Fernandes at least reaches the all-time record for assists in a season.

The United captain is on 19, one short of the record set by Thierry Henry in 2002-03 and Kevin De Bruyne in 2019-20. But his output has slowed down.

After three assists in as many matches heading to the end of April, Fernandes looked on course to smash the record but has failed to set up a goal in his previous two games.

Up next for United is Nottingham Forest and then Brighton, giving Fernandes two final chances at reaching the magic 20 mark.

Who will be Player of the Season?

Speaking of Fernandes, something still to be decided is who will pick up the Player of the Season gong.

The league announced its eight nominees on Thursday with Fernandes, Gabriel, Morgan Gibbs-White, Erling Haaland, David Raya, Declan Rice, Antoine Semenyo and Igor Thiago all on the shortlist.

Voting closes on Monday 18 May so this weekend will be the final chance for those eight to impress and force themselves into contention.

Of the candidates, Rice, Raya and Fernandes are the favourites.