Sneak review of the rest of the season

Rest of the season preview, with a sneak look at the League cup and Champions League

Table of Doom
Arsenal Now 70 Max. 91

Manchester City Now 61 Max. 85

Manchester United Now 54 Max 78

Aston Villa Now 51 Max. 75

Liverpool Now 49 Max. 73

Chelsea Now 48 Max. 72

Fixtures

Arsenal: Man City A

Man City: Chelsea H Arsenal H Villa A

Aston Villa: Liverpool H Man City A

Man Utd: Chelsea A Liverpool H

Chelsea: Man City H Man Utd H Liverpool A

Liverpool: Man Utd A Chelsea H Villa A

How come the bottlers didn’t drop points?

And so another significant week for the bottlers of Arsenal. We have secured the Wenger trophy of qualification for the CL almost for certain already. Villa and Chelsea dropped 3 points and Man City and Liverpool dropped 2. Only Arsenal can get to my original target of 89 points and the revised one at 84 is almost out of reach for even Man City. City would have to win 8 in a row to get 85 as they can’t actually get 84. A draw against us and 7 wins gets them 83. That would mean we would have to lose 2 and we would be level on points. At the moment we have 7 plus in goal difference but that could certainly be made up for them as they would have 3 extra wins as they have an extra match. They do have to play both Chelsea and Villa whereas we play nobody at the top for those other fixtures.

Brentford will play a big role in the Champions League places

I said when I started this years Table of Doom that the final six at the time would be the final six. That seems to be most likely. But if Brentford beat Wolves tonight they will be knocking on the door. I would love to see them do it and the teams above them must drop points as there are still games between them, however, Brentford do play Liverpool, Man City, and Man Utd all away. They will probably not make the final CL spot. They have the potential to be Champions league makers though as it is unclear how many positions there will be as it looks like several teams are about to drop out of this year’s trophy.

Bye bye Chelsea and Liverpool

The other news is that I gave a revised total of 75 points for being relegated from the Table of Doom. Guess what? Chelsea and Liverpool are gone and I suspect that anything above 60 might be good enough for the final CL place. Villa also are ready for the drop and I doubt if Man Utd will be there much longer. Even City, if they don’t put their winning boots on, could drop out early.

City beating Real Madrid would be great for us

If they scrape through Champions League against Real Madrid, Pep may take the Ange Postecoglou attitude that all effort goes into winning in Europe. They will qualify for CL through the league for sure so he would feel that the biggest trophy in Europe is within reach. Even an average of a point a game gives him 69 and that will easily get his place next season. Would that be in Pep’s mentality? His reserves would easily get him a point per game. All or nothing in the CL? He might also win the League Cup and/or FA Cup without stretching his resources too far. CL and another cup or 2 is a great season.

C’mon Man City!

That would make life easier for Arsenal. To be straight, if I was in Pep’s position and somehow get through Madrid, I would definitely go that route. Relieving the strain of the players in the Premier League might even lead to easier wins for his team as the pressure is off. Pushing them to the limits in 4 trophies could leave them with none. Pushing them to the limit against Madrid and in the League Cup for one game and then throwing everything at the CL for five more games could give him a great season. He might say we can win 7 matches and let the others fall as they may. I would, but then I have never been a great manager. Pep is. Is that what a great manager would do?

Are you Ange Postecoglou in disguise?

Anyway, I am up for Pep and City against the Royals. And then we beat them in the League Cup, PL and CL without having to worry too much about City trying to catch us in the PL as their effort is in the CL. We wrap it up early and concentrate on wining the CL. Which would be the double of all doubles for me. They may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

After the Wenger trophy, the League Cup

Of course a win on Sunday would give us a great chance of a double or more. Who will play? I suspect a strong team with probably Dowman and Saka in reserve if we need a goal second half. A lot may depend on the Leverkusen match. Anyone with a hard game there may be on the bench. It is what I would do. But we might be lucky and get away with an easy win. I certainly hope so as City are guaranteed a very tough match and possibly extra time. That is the ideal scenario. We tuck Leverkusen away first half and City scrape through after an almighty battle leaving their players only ready for bed for the rest of the week.

Can Max Dowman be the youngest scorer in a Wembley final?

The League Cup is not our cup. Wenger couldn’t win it. It is a long time since we won it and among the top teams we have the lowest amount. But history can always be changed. I predict a very cagey match, with both teams afraid to lose. 1-0 to the Arsenal would do me.