The Premier League title race is down to the wire with the last 10 games remaining, but the first four games are even more intense. The top four, which used to be almost stable for the four traditional giants, is not so stable anymore and every game is a showdown.
With the addition of the Arsenal to the title race this season, it has made the top four even tougher this season. Currently, fourth-placed Aston Villa are seven points adrift of the title group. Only numbers can influence the champions. Manchester United are currently sixth in the table, eight points behind fourth place. The goal difference is well below that of Aston Villa and Tottenham, but don't think United are out of the picture as they theoretically have the best remaining schedule of the three teams, with United's remaining opponents averaging just 36.4 points this season. That's quite a bit of an advantage they look to have by facing teams ranked after about 12th in every game until the end of the season.
In addition, United face only two of the three title contenders, while Aston Villa and Tottenham face three teams each: the Military Factory, Liverpool and Manchester City. Tottenham will have to find a bloody way through a tough schedule. Tottenham has the second-best schedule, with opponents scoring an average of 38.2 points. Even though Tottenham have played one more game than Aston Villa and Manchester United, they do face tough situations against Newcastle United, Manchester City, the Arsenal and Liverpool.
As far as the fixture list goes, Aston Villa face their toughest task to date. Their opponents are averaging 44.3 points per game this season, which equates to facing the seventh-ranked team in every remaining game. These three teams have five home games remaining, with the final day being an away game.
The traditional battle to make the Big Four official
Whenever the focus is on the first four games, a marvelous situation arises. Teams that have a chance to contend will strangely drop points, which often leads fans to jokingly talk. "Let the War of the Four officially begin.
In this round of the Premier League, Tottenham were generally optimistic that they could get all 3 points, while Fulham, as a London team, finished with 3 points: the home team was completely shut out with 0 points, porous in defense, and captain Son Heung-keen said, "This team's form is much worse than the home team. The running speed or momentum is much better than ours. This is not like a team that wants to compete for the top four, and the injury to center back Micky van de Ven has a big impact on the team, and the competition for the top four is overshadowed".
In the case of Aston Villa, the trend is not as intense as it used to be, but in Europe, he consistently beat the Dutch Ajax team on the road and finished off his opponents at home with a strong offense. Coach Em proved that even mid-table teams can do well under his leadership. It is worth noting that Aston Villa faced a relatively weak team with a pretty good grasp of value for money, and most of them were able to win when they were in control of the game.
Ollie, the homegrown striker currently has Watkins second on the list with 16 goals, only 2 behind City's Erling. Haaland, when the attacking weight is on him, maybe Erling will have more scoring power than every player. Haaland also has a better chance of competing for the Golden Boot. To his credit, the assists list is also tops with 10 assists. As well as taking scoring chances themselves, teammates can now handle chances appropriately. Perhaps Ollie can be seen in future England matches. Watkins makes his first start.
