Its down to the wire!!!

We have now reached the last leg of the English Premier League season. 8 games to go and we have a open fight for the top honours and a real battle to avoid relegation. If United win the game in hand on Wednesday they can go 3 points ahead of Arsenal. Chelsea are still in the hunt and both United and Arsenal know that any slip ups on their front and Chelsea will be ready to grab on it.

In the bottom half we have a real dog fight and any of the bottom 8 teams could be relegated. I would say we have only one team sure to be relegated and thats Derby County. Nothing has gone right for the Rams this season and Paul Jewell will really have a task on hand to bring them back to the Premier Legaue immediately after relegation. The addition of Rabbie Savage has really not helped them as he has been struggling with injury. He seems to have come back to his best during the outing against United where he as Jones (ex united players) really tested the United midfield. But i doubt if even an inform Savage can help them save the drop. Jewell really needs to build for next year. Fulham will be really happy to see the return of McBride. He is a proven goal scorer and to have him back will give a lot of boos to the manager, players and fans alike. Bolton have not looked like the team they were prior to loosing Anelka and rightly so. Anelka was a potent strike force and it would be tough for any side let alone Bolton to replace a player of his quality. But they have players like Diouf and Nolan who have to stand up now and really be counted. These two need to fire if Bolton have to survive the drop. As for Sunderland, there problem is winning away from home but I guess Roy will ensure they survive. The return of Edwards will be a boost for them. Newcastle have not got anything going under Kevin Keegan. He was called the massiah, but results have not justified any of that talk so far. No wins under him and they have been sucked into the relegation dog fight. They are just 3 points above the drop zone and really need to dig deep. They need their international stars of Viduka, Owe and Martins to fire in front of goal. The defence is weak and the forwards have to compensate for that. Why Kev plays Smith alongside Owen i don't understand. He has to go for broke with Owen, Martins and Viduka starting all the time just like he did against Birmingham if they want to survive. Reading are still the same gutsy team like last year and Steve Coppell will need all the steel to stay clear of relegation. Wigan and Middlesbrough seem to have found some decent form and are slightly up the table (6 points clear) but any slip ups from them will land them in trouble. For me the 3 teams which will be relgated are Derby and Fulham and it would be a really close call between Reading and Sunderland. I would love to see Sunderland survive just for the sake of Roy Keane. I admire this guy a lot and would be very sad to seethem go down again.

As for the fight for the European Spots, i think Villa will get into Uefa Cup along with Everton with Liverpool taking the 4th champions league spot. However i would like to see Everton seal the 4th spot cos i just want to see a new team in the top 4 and also being a Man United fan i hate to see Liverpool :). But Liverpool just have that extra quality in Torres & Gerrard and wouldseal the 4th spot. But with them being part of the chapions league Rafa may just want to rest his top stars in the bid to win something this year and keeping hold of his place as manager.

Now coming to the top end of the table and this is the one where we are all interested and eagerly watching. This years title race has been the closest for quite some time and it might as well go down to the last game. United play Botlon this wednesday and a victory will see them take a 3 point lead which could be vital. United have been in sublime form this season and with only the Champions and Premier League to focus on Sir Alex will be making sure his lads ready to do the double this year (i would have preferred a repeat of the 1999 treble). Arsenal seem to have lost their way for the thrashing they received at the hands of United in the FA Cup. 4 draws on the trot and it seems the confidence of the players is down in the Premier League. InEurope they look a different side all together and they have to soon take this confidence into the League if they should have any hopes of winning. The lack of experience in the team could just be the defining factor and they may lose the title to United. However, I do feel Chelsea cannot be doscounted and any slip ups from the top two will see them capitalize. The are not playing the most attractive football, but in this day and age its results that matter.

My top 3 - 1. Manchester United (how could i not vote for them to be 1 again), 2. Chelsea 3. Arsenal (like i said i guess the lack of exp will show and they will slip up in the home stretch).

Overall, an exciting finish to the season. One i am really looking forward to.

Common MANCHESTER UNITED!!!