Premier League: How the competition is shaping up – title, Champions League and relegation

The good news for Arsenal fans is that the most statistically dominant team – in terms of expected goal difference per game, excluding penalties – has won the Premier League in three of the past four seasons.

The exception came when Manchester City beat the Gunners two years ago.

With a fifth-place finish likely to lead to Champions League qualification once again, only three points separate Manchester United, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Liverpool for a place in the top five, and one of those teams looks set to miss out.

Some might say that Aston Villa have the easiest matchup of the four. After a difficult trip to Old Trafford this weekend, they will face four of the bottom six teams in their next six matches, although whether playing teams fighting for survival is an advantage at this stage is debatable.

Liverpool are the team currently outside the top five. They have a chance to build momentum against a string of mid-table teams before facing a daunting run of fixtures in May when they play all three of their rivals chasing the Champions League in a row.