We’re only a couple of months away from the end of another Premier League season and the jockeying for position in the world’s biggest soccer league is becoming more intense than ever. Chelsea might be the odds-on favorite to win the crown this season but the race for Champions League places and the dreaded relegation battle are still far from settled.
Read on below as we discuss our predictions for the final Premier League table of the 2014-2015 season. While you’re at it, you can check out our EPL match previews of Arsenal vs. Liverpool and Manchester United vs. Aston Villa.
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2014-15 Premier League Table Predictions
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Can Chelsea be stopped? After their dramatic 3-2 win over Hull City over the weekend, the Blues are firmly in the driving seat to win their fifth domestic league title this season. With just eight games remaining in the schedule, Jose Mourinho’s men are six points clear of second-placed Manchester City with a game in hand and a better goal difference.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]The Blues will fancy their chances of holding that advantage until the end of the season thanks in large part to their very good run-in. Five of their eight remaining games come against teams in the bottom half of the table with another game coming at home to 10th-placed Stoke City.
Although they still have massive games against Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal still left in their schedule, two of those games will be held at Stamford Bridge. They have also fared extremely well against their title rivals this season, picking up seven points and going undefeated in their previous matches with the trio. The Blues are pegged at -1,600 to win the crown this year.
Their main rivals, Manchester City, on the other hand, appear to be struggling for form heading into the final stretch of the competition. The defending champions’ bid for a second consecutive title took a huge hit when they suffered defeats in their last two away games to Liverpool (2-1) and Burnley (1-0).
That’s a surprise considering Manchester City have been excellent away from home this season, scoring 28 points out of a possible 45, second-best in the entire league. It won’t get any easier for them here on out as they will still face crosstown rivals United and Tottenham on the road this season.
The one team Chelsea will be more concerned about is their London rivals Arsenal. The Gunners have been on a tear recently, winning all of their last six league matches to leapfrog Manchester United into third place in the team standings.
Key to Arsenal’s resurgence has been the excellent form of striker Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman has scored nine goals in his last nine games, including a double in Arsenal’s last match against Newcastle. The Gunners will rely on Giroud to steer them through in the final run-in as they will still face Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United during this stretch.
Fortunately for Arsene Wenger, two of those matches will come at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have scored 33 points at home this season, the third-best mark in the English Premier League. The Gunners are priced at +1,800 to win their first league title in 11 years.
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Team
Current Position
Projected Final Position
Chelsea
67 points (1st place)
89 points (1st place)
Manchester City
61 points (2nd place)
78 points (3rd place)
Arsenal
60 points (3rd place)
77 points (4th place)
Race for Champions League Places
Manchester United took a huge step in ensuring Champions League qualification with a priceless 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield last Sunday. Juan Mata scored a fantastic double for the Red Devils who moved five points clear of Liverpool for that all-important fourth spot in the league table.
It was a stunning blow for the Reds who were primed to leapfrog United into the Champions League places with a win last weekend. The Red Devils had other ideas, though, dominating Liverpool in every facet of the game. Manchester United had majority of the possession (58%) and had more shots on target (4-1) as Liverpool failed to cope with their tremendous ball pressure.
It’s bound to get tougher for Brendan Rodgers’ men as they will next face the surging Gunners at the Emirates Stadium no less. The Reds can ill afford a defeat here as a loss would see them fall eight points behind United in the race for fourth place. They will have to do it, though, without their captain Steven Gerrard who is suspended for their next two league matches because of his red card against United.
For Manchester United, things are starting to get rosier on their end. They have bounced back strongly from their FA Cup quarterfinal defeat to Arsenal, beating big clubs Tottenham and Liverpool in succession. With the team starting to get to grips with Louis van Gaal’s tactics, the Red Devils are in a strong position to grab a top-four finish this time around. They are pegged at +2,500 to win their record 21st league title this season.
Team
Current Position
Projected Final Position
Manchester United
59 points (4th place)
79 points (2nd place)
Liverpool
54 points (5th place)
68 points (5th place)
The Battle for Relegation
The race for the title may be a foregone conclusion but that is certainly not the case at the bottom of the team standings where it is still too close to call as to which clubs will be relegated come the end of the season.
It hasn’t been a great season for the newly-promoted clubs with Leicester City (19 points), QPR (22 points) and Burnley (25 points) occupying the dreaded relegation spots with only eight games remaining in the schedule.
History isn’t on the side of Leicester City who have managed just two points in their last eight league matches. Only two teams have escaped the drop after being bottom at Christmas, namely West Brom in 2004/2005 and Sunderland in 2013/14.
The Foxes will take heart in the fact that they still have matches against fellow strugglers Burnley, QPR and Sunderland. There’s little room for error, though, for Leicester who are pegged at +160 to finish bottom this season.
Another team that is in grave danger this season is Queens Park Rangers. Among the relegation candidates, QPR have the worst form, racking up nine defeats in their last 10 matches. Even Harry Redknapp’s departure hasn’t helped their cause as they have grabbed just three points out of a possible 21 since their old manager left.
Their chances of staying up are looking bleak considering they will still play top sides Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. Couple that with the fact that they own the league’s worst defense (54 goals allowed) and it isn’t a complete surprise that their odds of finishing last is priced at just +110.
That leaves us with Sunderland and Burnley. Only a point separates the two sides with eight games left in the schedule for both squads. The Black Cats appear to have the tougher run-in with games against Arsenal and Chelsea in their final two playing dates.
Burnley have plenty on their plate as well, meeting Tottenham and Arsenal in their next two matches. The Clarets will fancy their chances, however, of getting something from those fixtures as they have taken points off Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City this season.
They have the added benefit as well of having those matches in their own home field at Turf Moor. The Clarets have grabbed 17 of their 25 points this season at home. Look for Burnley to move past Sunderland in the league table and achieve the great escape.
Team
Current Position
Final Projected Position
Sunderland
26 points (17th place)
32 points (18th place – relegated)
Burnley
25 points (18th place)
34 points (17th place)
QPR
22 points (19th place)
24 points (20th place – relegated)
Leicester City
19 points (20th place)
25 points (19th place – relegated)
Writer’s Prediction
Chelsea (-1,600) cruise to its fifth league title. They will be joined by Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United in next season’s Champions League. In terms of the relegation scrap, Sunderland, QPR and Leicester City crash out of the Premier League.
