In this article, we look at what each club has left to play for in 2025/26, and how it’s all shaping up for the remainder of the campaign.
TITLE RACE
Arsenal have a nine-point lead over Manchester City in second, though Pep Guardiola’s troops still have a game in hand to play against Crystal Palace (h).
But even if they win that game, they still have plenty of work to do to catch Arsenal, whose goal difference (+39) is superior to City’s (+32).
The two sides meet in Gameweek 33, of course, in a match which could prove pivotal.
If Arsenal were to go to the Etihad Stadium and win, they could feasibly wrap up the title before they travel to West Ham United in Gameweek 36, provided they win their other matches.
However, there’s also a chance that City could drop points before then.
Mikel Arteta’s side, meanwhile, only leave London once during the run-in:
| Team | Remaining Premier League games |
|---|---|
| Arsenal | Bournemouth (h), Man City (a), Newcastle (h), Fulham (h), West Ham (a), Burnley (a), Crystal Palace (h) |
| Man City | Chelsea (a), Arsenal (h), Burnley (a), Everton (a), Brentford (h), Bournemouth (a), Aston Villa (h), C Palace (h) |
“The blood never went – we’ve always smelt blood. We’re confident in ourselves, we know we can do it, they’ve got to come to our place which is a tough place to come to as everyone has seen this season. So, we do smell blood and we’ve got to keep going. It does a lot for us, build momentum and just push on now. Obviously, it’s a big blow for them [Arsenal]. They were going for everything, just as we were.” – Nico O’Reilly after Sunday’s EFL Cup final win over Arsenal
As Arsenal balance their Premier League fixtures with matches in the Champions League and FA Cup, there could be some minute management in the run-in.
If they make it to the Champions League semi-finals, for example, Gameweek 35 (FUL) will be sandwiched by another double-header.
EUROPEAN QUALIFICATION
So, with Arsenal and Man City in the title race, Manchester United, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Chelsea are the other main teams aiming for Champions League qualification.
Notably, for the second year in a row, it is nearly certain that the top five will all qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Currently, Man Utd (55 points), Villa (54 points) and Liverpool (49 points) occupy those spots.
Liverpool’s bid has recently faltered, however, having failed to win any of their last three matches prior to the international break.
Sixth-place Chelsea (48 points) are in poor form, too, after two successive defeats, so the other teams below them, including Brentford and Everton (both 46 points), are still in contention.
“I’d love to say it was [a possibility] as I’m trying to be more positive than I would normally be, but for Everton to even be in the mix for Europe is unbelievable, whether it is Conference League or Champions League. We were sitting here last year just beginning to edge ourselves away from relegation and still had lots of money to pay off, new ownership and 10 or 12 players out of contract – so for us to be in the position we are now is just great. I can imagine, if we could possibly do it, what it would do for the crowds here as Evertonians are desperate to get back amongst it.” – David Moyes
According to our Season Ticker, Chelsea and Brentford face the trickiest run-ins, so their hopes are perhaps slimmer than others.
Brentford, as well as Man Utd and Everton, can at least fully focus on the Premier League:
OTHER COMPETITIONS: AT A GLANCE
But it’s all up for grabs, as only seven points separate fifth-placed Liverpool and 13th-placed Bournemouth (42 points).
Above image from BBC Sport
Should the Premier League secure that fifth Champions League spot, which is highly likely, the team that finishes sixth in the table will qualify for the Europa League.
As the EFL Cup winners, Man City have already claimed a spot in the Conference League, but with Guardiola’s men on track to qualify for the Champions League, it is set to transfer to the team that finishes seventh.
The outcomes of this season’s domestic and European cups could also influence the situation, but many clubs still have a chance to play in Europe next season.
RELEGATION BATTLE
With Wolverhampton Wanderers (17 points) and Burnley (20 points) all but relegated, which club will join them in the Championship next season?
It’s between West Ham United (29 points), Tottenham Hotspur (30 points), Nottingham Forest (32 points) and Leeds United (33 points), with seven matches to play.
Tottenham are the only top-flight team without a Premier League win in 2026.
Meanwhile, Leeds have the best run-in according to our ticker, with home matches against the current bottom two (Wolves and Burnley) in the next four Gameweeks. Away trips to Tottenham and West Ham could prove key, too. That said, Daniel Farke’s side have scored only one goal in their last five Premier League games, so they’ll need to sharpen up.
Forest have back-to-back home matches immediately after the break against Aston Villa and Burnley, but the fixtures get much trickier thereafter, so Vitor Pereira will rightly see those matches as must-wins.
It might even come down to an epic final-day encounter in Gameweek 38, when West Ham host Leeds at the London Stadium.
Spurs are the only team within this group that can concentrate solely on the Premier League, free from any FA Cup/European distractions, at least for now.
WHICH TEAMS COULD BE ‘ON THE BEACH’ EARLY?
It’s at this point that Fantasy managers start to consider where each player and team’s priorities lie, and who could effectively be ‘on the beach’ early.
Given the above, a few teams might not have much, if anything, left to play for in a few weeks.
For example, Crystal Palace could be mathematically safe from relegation, but have very little chance of qualifying for Europe.
They do have a Conference League quarter-final coming up against Fiorentina, but could potentially be knocked out of the competition by Gameweek 33. Oliver Glasner will depart Selhurst Park at the end of the season, of course.
As for Wolves and Burnley, they could be ‘officially’ down by mid-ish April, so once their fate is sealed, you do wonder if they will start to look at more of their squad as they prepare for life in the Championship.
INDIVIDUAL AWARDS
Igor Thiago (£7.3m) is just three goals shy of Erling Haaland (£14.5m), who has netted 22 times this season, in the race for the Golden Boot.
They are significantly ahead of the rest, with Antoine Semenyo (£8.2m), Joao Pedro (£7.8m) and Danny Welbeck (£6.2m) scoring 15, 14 and 12 goals respectively.
Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes (£10.2m) has surely secured the Playmaker award, having provided 16 assists thus far, which is double the tally of any other player.
The main question now is whether Fernandes can surpass the all-time assists record in a single Premier League campaign, which is 20, held by Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne.
As for the Golden Glove award, David Raya (£6.0m) has kept 15 clean sheets so far in 2025/26, with Gianluigi Donnarumma (£5.6m) and Jordan Pickford (£5.6m) both on 11, so the Arsenal shot-stopper has already built a sizeable lead.
