With the international break over, the Premier League returns this weekend and there's sure to be more twists and turns.
Leicester and Tottenham are fighting for the title but Arsenal are still in with a shout. Elsewhere, it looks a three-way battle for the final remaining Champions League place between Manchester City, West Ham and Manchester United.
Here, we look at the top sides' run-in and how we expect the top of the table to look come the end of the campaign, starting with the current leaders:
Leicester City (Currently on 66 points)
Southampton (h): A potential for a slip-up and a game that prospective champions need to win.
Verdict: Draw
Sunderland (a): A match similar in profile to the Southampton game, now that Sam Allardyce has restored a resilience to Sunderland. Leicester have developed a habit of narrowly winning games against such opposition, though.
Verdict: Draw
West Ham United (h): Slaven Bilic's team would be one of the stories of the season if it wasn't for Leicester. The wonder is whether they can keep their run going.
Verdict: Win
Swansea City (h): A safe three points for Leicester, especially with the way their game seems to specifically suited to countering Swansea's possession.
Verdict: Win
Manchester United (a): On paper, very tough. On the pitch, it's genuinely hard to say. Louis van Gaal's United have been so erratic, although have had good results in big games.
Verdict: Draw
Everton (h): Roberto Martinez's side are capable of being absolutely brilliant one minute and fragile the next. Leicester should have enough on the break.
Verdict: Win
Chelsea (a): A match with so many potential storylines, given that Claudio Ranieri was the first Chelsea manager sacked in the Roman Abramovich era, and could seal the title at Stamford Bridge.
Verdict: Lose
Best case scenario: Winning the title by claiming three-to-four wins before what appears a tough last three matches.
Worst: Blowing it in what would be one of the worst title collapses ever.
Predicted finish: 1st (78 points)
Tottenham (61 points)
Liverpool (a): Jurgen Klopp's side have wavered between brilliant and beatable this season, with the latter tending to come after big cup performances. The international break therefore could make this a tougher game for Tottenham than it would have been, and maybe the wrong fixture just as they're developing a run.
Verdict: Lose
Manchester United (h): Van Gaal's team beat Spurs at home 3-0 this time last year to spark a run that claimed a Champions League place. Can Mauricio Pochettino's team hit back?
Verdict: Win
Stoke City (a): Not quite as tough to play against as in the run-up to Christmas.
Verdict: Win
West Brom (h): Aren't quite as durable as previous Pulis teams.
Verdict: Win
Chelsea (a): Another match that inverts so much recent history, as it will be Chelsea trying to upset their neighbours with a performance above the level of their season. This, however, is the problem with playing Chelsea now. They're still a better team than their position indicates, so are dangerous to face.
Verdict: Draw
Southampton (h): Could be the perfect midtable nothing-to-play-for opposition at home.
Verdict: Win
Newcastle United (a): Perhaps the one truly forgiving fixture in a tough run-in.
Verdict: Win
Best case: A relentless run that sees Leicester stumble and Spurs win an improbable title.
Worst: Running out of energy and falling below Arsenal.
Predicted finish: 2nd (77 points)
Arsenal (55 points)
Watford (h): Arsene Wenger's lost 2-1 at home to Watford in the FA Cup but, as so often tends to happen in such situations, Arsenal should gain some revenge now they've bounced back in the league with that fine 2-0 win over Everton.
Verdict: Win
West Ham United (a): Perhaps the match that could indicate whether Arsenal really are capable of going on a run that properly tests Leicester, especially since West Ham United already beat them away. A win would be huge.
Verdict: Draw
Crystal Palace (h): Alan Pardew has no love for Wenger and would love to upset a title charge but do Palace even have enough energy left after their recent collapse?
Verdict: Win
West Brom (h): Pulis would share Pardew's sentiment but, for all the success he has enjoyed against Arsenal, his away record isn't great.
Verdict: Win
Sunderland (a): Another manager with little time for Wenger in Allardyce and, as such, another team who could be energised to ruffle them -- especially given Sunderland's survival battle.
Verdict: Draw
Norwich City (h): One of a few highly winnable games.
Verdict: Win
Manchester City (a): City's season has been so odd that this game is immensely difficult to call, especially since it could be a pressurised battle for the top four.
Verdict: Draw
Aston Villa (h): The easiest match saved for last.
Verdict: Win
Best case: The type of relentless winning run that Wenger built on his ways to titles in 1998 and 2002.
Worst: A total collapse and no Champions League football.
Predicted finish: 3rd (73 points)
Manchester City (51 points)
Bournemouth (a): City should offer some response to the listlessness of the Manchester derby defeat.
Verdict: Win
West Brom (h): A gritty Pulis side could be precisely the wrong type of opposition for a flaky City to face as they need to build a run, but West Brom can be ripped apart if Sergio Aguero is on it.
Verdict: Win
Chelsea (a): A game that will expose just how far both have fallen. A win, however, could trigger City. The question will be about the commitment of either side by then in disappointing seasons.
Verdict: Draw
Newcastle (a): Rafa Benitez's team may have new fight, but City's older heads should still have enough.
Verdict: Win
Stoke City (h): The 2-0 defeat at the Britannia on Dec. 5 was one of City's worst moments this season and one of Stoke's best, but the latter aren't as lively as they were then.
Verdict: Win
Southampton (a): A tricky trip -- the type City have stumbled on too much this season.
Verdict: Draw
Arsenal (h): After two successive defeats, Manuel Pellegrini's team will surely be energised to get some revenge against Arsenal, but they have already let themselves down in similar circumstances this campaign.
Verdict: Draw
Swansea City (a): Swansea should be safe and that should make them pliable opponents.
Verdict: Win
Best case: A run that revives faint hopes of the title and clinches top four. Worst: Dropping out of the Champions League places.
Predicted finish: 4th (69 points)
West Ham (50 points)
Crystal Palace (h): Will surely have too much for Palace.
Verdict: Win
Arsenal (h): Perhaps the match that suits West Ham best, given that it is a notionally inferior side and one with a manager who is not as tactically flexible.
Verdict: Draw
Leicester City (a): Ranieri is currently one of the few managers at the top end of the table to have out-thought Bilic this season.
Verdict: Lose
Watford (h): Watford are a tough side but have had too many matches this season when they can't quite translate their performance into fully pulling through with the result.
Verdict: Win
West Brom (a): Exactly the sort of match that West Ham could slip up in.
Verdict: Draw
Swansea City (h): Surely a win
Verdict: Win
Manchester United (h): The very last match at Upton Park, so will be there be a fitting send-off?
Verdict: Draw
Stoke City (a): The key to performances here will be what is still at stake. If West Ham need a result, they can surely overcome Stoke's willingness to upset things.
Verdict: Draw
Best case: A historic Champions League finish.
Worst: The campaign petering out flatly and missing Europe altogether.
Predicted finish: 6th (63 points)
Manchester United (50 points)
Everton (h): The wonder with United is whether they can do what they have failed all season, and build on a good result like their 1-0 win over City before the international break.
Verdict: Win
Tottenham (a): The toughest of United's remaining games. They rarely lose at White Hart Lane but they've never before faced a Spurs team on this kind of run.
Verdict: Lose
Aston Villa (h): Surely a home win and maybe the match to relegate Villa. Although United have lost some easy home games this season.
Verdict: Win
Crystal Palace (h): Almost as beatable as Villa right now, although Palace are a greater threat on the road than at home.
Verdict: Win
Leicester City (h): Will this be the day that Leicester win the league? United, remarkably, might need the win more, and that says a lot about both.
Verdict: Draw
Norwich City (a): More relegation-threatened opposition should mean only one outcome but Norwich won at Old Trafford in December.
Verdict: Win
West Ham United (a): The last ever game at Upton Park, a ground where United suffered heartbreak in 1995 when a 1-1 draw meant they lost the league to Blackburn.
Verdict: Draw
Bournemouth (h): Howe's men have had a great season but if United need a win to clinch a top four finish, they'd surely do enough at home.
Verdict: Win
Best case: Finishing in the top four by also overtaking City.
Worst: Maintaining the inconsistent form that sees them finish in a position similar to where David Moyes left them.
Predicted finish: 5th (67 points)
Miguel Delaney is a London-based correspondent for ESPN FC and also writes for the Irish Examiner and others. Follow him on Twitter @MiguelDelaney[1].
References
- ^ @MiguelDelaney (twitter.com)
