Top four race back on
The top four looked all but settled a few weeks ago and now the race is very much back on. Liverpool's six game winning streak has got them back in the hunt along with Man United suffering back to back defeats to Brighton and West Ham.
United do have a game in hand over Liverpool which could give them the advantage. But with the struggles they've had away from home and the form Liverpool are in, the race is far from over. If Liverpool win all their remaining fixtures and United fail to win their final away game against Bournemouth, the race for Champions League football could go to the last day of the season.
The result in Man United's game in hand against Chelsea could decide who finishes in that all important 4th spot if the gap between the two sides is still one point. If United win it will give them the advantage and pretty much guarantee them that 4th place. But a defeat won't necessarily give Liverpool the advantage as they could still be a point behind United going into that game. The battle should still go to the last day though.
Do Man United need a new goalkeeper?
David De Gea's error against West Ham on Sunday proved costly as it cost Man United three crucial points. He's now joint top with Hugo Lloris when it comes to errors leading to goals with 4 and De Gea has made quite a few recently. Including the one on Sunday. He might have kept the most clean sheets this season but his recent errors have cost United and the club may consider bringing in a new keeper this summer.
His distribution in particular has come under the spotlight recently as he's played a number of misplaced passes and hasn't looked comfortable with the ball at his feet. Erik Ten Hag wants his team to play out from the back and they can't do that with De Gea in goal because of his poor distribution. A number of his kicks have been to opponents instead of his teammates which shows that his kicking is a problem and is not suited to the way that Ten Hag plays.
He can still produce some top quality saves like he has done throughout his career but he still has moments where the ball can slip through his fingers. He had one of these moments against Sevilla in the Europa League and at the weekend against West Ham and both errors cost United the win.
He's been a good servant for United over the years but if he carries on making the same errors he's been making between now and the end of the season, the club may consider bringing in a new keeper.
Do Monday victories for Forest and Everton mean they're safe?
Monday was an absolute goal fest in the Premier League as a record breaking 21 goals were scored across the three games. All three games involved a side battling to avoid relegation with Leicester losing 5-3 to Fulham, Everton beating Brighton 5-1 and Nottingham Forest beating fellow relegation rivals Southampton 4-3. Everton and Forest moved out of the bottom three as a result of their respective victories. But do they mean that they're now safe?
Both will have gained a lot of confidence from those wins and especially Everton because of the performance they put in. They both have tough run-ins but so do the teams below them in Leicester and Leeds who arguably have the toughest out of all of them.
Leeds face Newcastle, West Ham and Spurs in their remaining games whilst Leicester face Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham. I can't see either side get many points from those games and with both of them in the bottom three along with Southampton, they both look the most likely to go down out of the four.
Everton meanwhile face Man City, Wolves and Bournemouth in their remaining fixtures whilst Forest face Chelsea, Arsenal and Crystal Palace. Forest have the tougher run-in between them and Everton but their win over Southampton could be enough for them to stay up. Especially with the teams below them having tough run-ins. Everton arguably the the more favourable run-in out of all the sides in the relegation battle but have two tough games to deal with against City and Wolves. Their win over Brighton could however be enough for them to stay up because of Leeds and Leicester having tougher fixtures.
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