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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
David Byrom

How Liverpool's remaining fixtures compare with Manchester United and Chelsea in race for Europe

The Premier League is now on a two-week break as players jet off on international duty.

It is a chance for managers and fans alike to stop and take stock of where their team lies with the final run-in set to commence after the international break.

Liverpool still have a slim hope of being able to reach the top four and qualify for the Champions League but, sat seventh and five points off fourth-placed Chelsea, they will be relying on the teams above them to slip up.

How likely is that to happen? Here is the Reds' run-in compared to their rivals for Europe.

Man United

April 4 - Brighton (h)

April 11 - Spurs (a)

April 17 - Burnley (h)

April 24 - Leeds (a)

May 1 - Liverpool (h)

May 8 - Aston Villa (a)

May 11 - Leicester City (h)

May 15 - Fulham (h)

May 23 - Wolves (a)

An interesting run of games for the second-placed side, who face three of the clubs still competing for a top-four finish.

United will need to improve on their record against the Big Six this season, with matches against Liverpool and Spurs in their run-in, as well as a tough game against a Leicester City side that has just knocked them out of the FA Cup.

Other than that, though, United have a run of winnable games that, provided they can maintain the consistency they have shown for the majority of the season, should set them up for a strong end to the campaign.

Leicester City

April 3 - Man City (h)

April 11 - West Ham (a)

April 24 - Crystal Palace (h)

May 1 - Southampton (a)

May 8 - Newcastle (h)

May 11 - Man United (a)

May 15 - Chelsea (a)

May 23 - Spurs (h)

TBA - West Brom (h)

The Foxes kick off their run-in with two tricky games, facing runaway leaders Man City and surprise package West Ham.

With their final trio of games against Man United, Chelsea and Spurs, the pressure will be on Brendan Rodgers’ side to take full points in winnable matches against Crystal Palace, Southampton, Newcastle United and West Brom - failure to do so could see them looking over their shoulder when they go into their final three matches of their league season.

Chelsea

April 3 - West Brom (h)

April 10 - Crystal Palace (a)

April 24 - West Ham (a)

May 1 - Fulham (h)

May 8 - Man City (a)

May 12 - Arsenal (h)

May 15 - Leicester City (h)

May 23 - Aston Villa (a)

TBA - Brighton (h)

Although they are not playing the most free-flowing football at the moment, Thomas Tuchel's side have hit form since the German was appointed their new manager in late January.

That means they should go into their final run of fixtures in confident mood, although matches against West Ham, Man City and Leicester, and a derby against Arsenal will not prove easy.

Should they take some points from these tough games, though, Chelsea would be in a good place to make the top four, considering they also have four games against bottom-half clubs and a match against an inconsistent Aston Villa side.

West Ham

April 5 - Wolves (a)

April 11 - Leicester City (h)

April 17 - Newcastle (a)

April 24 - Chelsea (h)

May 1 - Burnley (a)

May 8 - Everton (h)

May 11 - Brighton (a)

May 15 - West Brom (a)

May 23 - Southampton (h)

David Moyes’ Hammers side have been tipped to fall away all season, but they’ve impressively managed to keep pace in the race for the top-four.

On paper, they also have a favourable run-in, with just three games against clubs in the top 10.

If they can maintain their consistency at grinding out results against sides below them in the table, then the Hammers could well sneak into the top four thanks to their favourable run-in.

Spurs

April 4 - Newcastle (a)

April 11 - Man United (h)

April 17 - Everton (a)

May 1 - Sheffield United (h)

May 8 - Leeds (a)

May 12 - Wolves (h)

May 15 - Aston Villa (h)

May 23 - Leicester City (a)

TBA - Southampton (h)

Jose Mourinho’s hit and miss Spurs side got back to winning ways with a 2-0 victory against Aston Villa at the weekend.

Yet defeats to Arsenal and Dinamo Zagreb underlined Spurs’ inconsistency - and that makes it difficult to judge how confident they would be about this run-in.

Yes, there are winnable fixtures against the likes of Newcastle, Sheffield United, Wolves and Southampton, but there are also more tough tests against Manchester United, Everton and Leicester City.

With the quality available to Mourinho in attack, you cannot rule them out of the running for a top-four finish, particularly as they are just three points off fourth at the moment, but it is also difficult to see them making it through this fixture list unscathed.

Liverpool

April 3 - Arsenal (a)

April 10 - Aston Villa (h)

April 17 - Leeds (a)

April 24 - Newcastle (h)

May 1 - Man United (a)

May 8 - Southampton (h)

May 11 - West Brom (a)

May 15 - Burnley (a)

May 23 - Crystal Palace (h)

With four games at home, Jurgen Klopp’s side will certainly have to improve their form at Anfield if they hope to enjoy a strong end to the season.

A trip to Man United will not be easy, and games against Arsenal and Leeds United represent potential banana skins but, on the whole, this is a rather favourable set of fixtures for the Reds.

Should they fix their Anfield form and win the matches that they are favourites for on paper, then the Reds could enjoy a successful end to the campaign.

Whether that would be enough to make up the five-point gap on fourth, however, remains to be seen.

Everton

April 5 - Crystal Palace (h)

April 12 - Brighton (a)

April 17 - Spurs (h)

April 24 - Arsenal (a)

May 1 - Aston Villa (h)

May 8 - West Ham (a)

May 11 - Sheffield United (h)

May 15 - Wolves (h)

May 23 - Man City (a)

TBA - Aston Villa (a)

Everton have one game in hand over the other sides in the race for Europe, with a trip to Aston Villa yet to be rearranged.

With just two games against teams above them in the table, Carlo Ancelotti’s side should feel like there is not much to fear in this final run of games.

Yet, as recent defeats to Fulham and Newcastle, the Blues do sometimes lack consistency, particularly in matches they are expecting to win - and, ultimately, that could cost them their hopes of a place in Europe next season.

Verdict

Realistically, no team in the top eight has a run-in that they will be fearing.

Pressure will be on both Manchester United and Leicester City to pick up points from winnable matches in amongst some difficult fixtures against their rivals for Europe, but both clubs have shown they have the capability to do so this season.

Surprise package West Ham could fancy their chances for a top-four finish thanks to their favourable run-in, but they will be having to rely on Chelsea to slip up.

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