Every Premier League club’s biggest game of the season: Spurs, Arsenal’s next | OneFootball

We’re down to the final five matches of the Premier League season, and here’s every club’s biggest remaining game…

Some already have their eye on the final weekend, while others can’t look beyond the next game. Especially in north London.

Here’s the game we’ve picked out for each club as their biggest remaining…

Arsenal – Newcastle (h)

Arsenal will probably have to win their remaining five games to shed the big bottlers tag – stop laughing, it’s not funny – the first step being to stop losing. The Gunners have won one in their last six in all competitions, losing consecutive games in the Premier League to allow Manchester City to seize the initiative in the title race. So the Emirates clash with Newcastle on Saturday evening is super-mega-f***-off massive for the Gunners to halt their losing momentum. And, frankly, we can’t wait to see what gimmick Mikel Arteta has up his sleeve this week. But, no, it’s not funny.

Aston Villa – Liverpool (h)

Villa could have a big say in both the title race and the relegation battle since they have yet to face Tottenham and, on the final day, Manchester City. But for their own ends, the visit of Liverpool in their final home match is the biggest game remaining. The identity of the top five looks set, with only the order to finalise. If Liverpool beat them on May 17, the Reds could also overtake Villa and leave them in fifth, which would be lower than two of Unai Emery’s three most recent finishes. In that event, Emery out, obviously.

Also, Villa finishing fifth and winning the Europa League might allow Chelsea into the Champions League. And nobody wants that, obvs.

Bournemouth – Nottingham Forest (a)

Four of Bournemouth’s five remaining opponents are bottom-half dwellers, the other being Manchester City, meaning the Cherries face no direct competitor for a place in Europe. So we’ll point you to their final game of the season, away at Forest, where they will hope to wave off Andoni Iraola on their way to a Europa tour with Marco Rose.

Brentford – Liverpool (a)

It is a similar story for Brentford, the Bees’ current seventh-place standing likely to be enough to secure passage to the Europa League. They have no direct competitor to face but they do have half of the Big Six (United, City, Liverpool) to play in their final five games, building up to a last-day trip to Anfield.

Brighton – Chelsea (h)

Brighton have a couple of tasty-looking games in the run-in – away at Newcastle, then Manchester United on the final day catch the eye – but there’s always a bit more in the battles with Chelsea given the Blues have spent an awful lot of money trying to strengthen themselves while weakening the Seagulls. BlueCo have paid around £265million for a variety of Brighton players, managers and staff but Fabian Hurzeler could lift his side above Liam Rosenior’s with a home win on Tuesday night which could prove to be a Champions League six-pointer if Villa win the Europa League.

Burnley – Wolves (h)

Whoever wins on the final day between the bottom two maybe won’t finish last. Which is all either have been working towards for months. And since Burnley face three of the top four plus Leeds in their other remaining fixtures, this is their only realistic prospect of points.

Chelsea – Tottenham (h)

Aside from ‘BlueCo out!’, Chelsea fans haven’t much to shout about at the moment. But sending Spurs down in their final home game of the season would be a lovely touch at the end of a wretched season. That is if Spurs stay in the battle for that long.

Crystal Palace – Arsenal (h)

Do you really want us to pretend that Palace’s focus is not now completely on the Europa Conference League? We can say for certain that Palace’s biggest remaining game is not the trip to Bournemouth on May 3, coming between semi-final legs against Shakhtar Donetsk. Let’s rule out the visit to Liverpool the week before for the same reason. Which leaves us Everton (home, May 10), Brentford (away, May 17) and Man City (away, God knows) before Arsenal at home on the final day, when Palace fans will be hoping to give their side a rousing send-off for the Europa Conference final, all while hoping the players can at least make it look like their absolute priority isn’t avoiding injury.

Everton – Sunderland (h)

A mid-table six-pointer anyone? Much could change between now and May 17 given there are currently three points between 12th and sixth, but Everton’s last home game of the season could be pivotal in at least one of these sides’ pursuit of Europe.

Fulham – Bournemouth (h)

Fulham occupy that 12th place but the flip-flops and shades should stay in the closet for now, their penultimate home game being the visit of Bournemouth and another that could be important in the race for Europe, despite having ‘Saturday, 3pm’ written all over it.

Leeds United – Burnley (h)

Until very recently, we would have viewed the visit to Tottenham on the second-last weekend of the season as a relegation six-pointer. But wins over Manchester United and Wolves have Leeds eight points clear of the drop zone. A victory over Burnley, who could already be relegated by the time they go Elland Road on May 1, would take off what little pressure remains on the Spurs game, allowing Leeds to focus on a possible FA Cup final.

Liverpool – Manchester United (a)

It has been a wretched season for Liverpool, yet they could still finish as best of the rest behind Arsenal and City. They are currently fifth, with Champions League qualification all but in the bag, but in May they face the two sides above them (United, Villa) and the two below (Chelsea, Brentford), all of them within a win of the Reds. We’ve picked out United as it is the first of those fixtures which could set the tone for the run-in, and because it is the one game Liverpool fans would pick to win above the others.

Manchester City – Aston Villa (h)

Arsenal’s biggest remaining game is currently their next fixture; City’s is their last. We expect both to make the final day consequential, which is when City face their toughest opponent, on paper at least. They were in the position of needing to beat Villa at home on the final day four years ago and nearly made a b*llocks of it.

Manchester United – Liverpool (h)

Much the same applies to United as Liverpool. If the Red Devils could only win one game for the rest of the season, Stretford End-ers would pick this one. Plus, United’s run-in that follows is, on paper, kinder than Liverpool’s, so a win to extend what is currently a three-point gap should fend off the threat of their Merseyside rivals.

Newcastle United – West Ham (h)

In May, Newcastle don’t face an opponent currently above ninth in the table – granted, they go to Arsenal before April is over – but Forest could welcome the Magpies to the City Ground three games before the end of the season with realistic hopes of catching them. Which makes the following week’s final home game interesting more for the reaction of the crowd than the players. If the Toon Army turn on the team and Eddie Howe amid perhaps their lowest finish since they were relegated 10 years ago, it could hasten the manager’s exit. How much patience should Newcastle fans maintain?

Nottingham Forest – Newcastle (h)

While Newcastle might be looking over their shoulder at Forest, the Reds are also checking their mirrors. Keeping three clubs behind them is the absolute priority, despite being three games from Europa League glory. Forest’s is a tricky run-in, with Chelsea (a) sandwiched between the Europa semis against Villa, while Manchester United and Bournemouth are their last two Premier League opponents. Newcastle’s form makes their clash on May 10 Forest’s best chance of getting a decent chunk of the points required to stave off the treat of those chasing them.

Sunderland – Chelsea (h)

Sunderland would have killed to be five games from the line with only a top-half place to fret over. But here they are, 11th but two points off sixth, which makes all their matches consequential in a far different way to how they must have expected. Three of their final five are at home, the last being a Champions League play-off against Chelsea.

Tottenham Hotspur – Wolves (a)

Right now, Spurs have to look at their next game, a trip to Wolves on Saturday, as biggest of the lot. Because if they don’t start winning sharpish, the last games could be inconsequential wakes. Some are seeing improvement in Spurs since Roberto De Zerbi took over, which obviously means the square root of f*** all without the points. Everyone expected Spurs to get their sh*t together at some point but they are in serious danger of running out of time, especially while their rivals recognise the opportunity to leave them stranded. If they don’t beat a side already relegated, there probably is no hope.

West Ham United – Leeds United (h)

The Hammers’ job now is just to stay where they are: above three other teams. Ideally, Spurs would be one, but the Irons are in no position to be choosy. Three of their last five are at home, the last of which sees Leeds come back to east London after their FA Cup quarter-final win there. And West Ham might be hoping for Leeds to be suffering the mother of all hangovers as cup winners for the final game and for both to have reasons for celebration come the final whistle.

Wolves – Burnley (a)

See Burnley. Given the form and remaining fixtures for both sides, it is quite possible that Wolves will go to Turf Moor to defend 19th place.