Top 4 Race: Can Liverpool Still Catch Up With Manchester United?

Another game, another important game for that matter and Liverpool lost out. The hangover from the defeat at the hands of Aston Villa might still linger till the end of the season and with 6 games remaining and 7 points to make up on Manchester City (albeit with an extra game in hand for Liverpool), the 4^th place spot might not be so easy to grab for them.

Fourth or bust

While Arsenal and Chelsea are more or less guaranteed to get into the Champions League next season, the two clubs from Manchester have one foot in. Manchester United have been excellent in the second half of the season and hold an 8 point advantage over the fifth placed team Liverpool. They do have a few tough games to face as they play, with trips to Everton and Crystal Palace and also a tricky tie against Arsenal being their penultimate game of the season. United might hold an 8-point cushion but if they lose out in 2 of these games, the pressure could well be back on them.

Manchester City have had one horrendous season, the joke coming out from the Etihad is that City have somehow managed to come fourth in a two horse race, the other one is that they signed so many Arsenal players that they now want to be fourth, more than the Gunners. City do have the easier set of fixtures as the only tough game might be the away game at Tottenham but again, if they lose this one, it could all come down to the last day of the season.

The other possible team to challenge them is Liverpool, they have the easier set of fixtures apart from a trip to Chelsea but they would be hoping than Chelsea have claimed the title before they go to Stamford Bridge, Liverpool do have to win most of their games, in fact they need to win all their 6 games to have any chance of finishing fourth.

The reality is that the FA Cup loss could have taken any little wind Liverpool had out of their sails, the losses to United and Arsenal might have hurt but the performance against Aston Villa was so dire and lethargic, it could have been the worst Liverpool have played against any team since Rodgers had taken them over 3 years ago. Liverpool still have a slim chance of making it into the top 4, at least more than Tottenham or Southampton who have played the same number of games as Manchester City and Manchester United. However, next season, there will be two London and two Manchester clubs participating in the UEFA Champions League, that is a surety.