Fixture lists favour Arsenal and Spurs to remain in top four
Published:Although 1/6 may not be the most attractive price in the Premier League odds that Arsenal and Tottenham finish in the top four this season, the fixture list means that they should be able to repel the challenges of both Chelsea and Newcastle.
Victories for Chelsea and Newcastle this weekend mean that they remain five points off the top four and seven games is plenty of time for this gap to be bridged.
Newcastle especially may look an attractive price at 12/1 to qualify for the Champions League, given the nature of their success over Liverpool and the scoring exploits of Papiss Demba Cisse.
Cisse has seven goals in as many Premier League appearances since signing for Newcastle and this run includes successive doubles against West Brom and Liverpool.
Having a striker in form is a major asset at this stage of the season, but Newcastle’s fixture list looks the toughest of the four teams vying for the final two available places.
It is on the road where they have the big asks, travelling to Chelsea, in form Everton and Swansea, who are recognised as being tough to beat on their own patch.
Chelsea are 2/1 to make the top four and their remaining home fixtures look particularly attractive, with three of the current bottom four still to travel to Stamford Bridge.
But away games at Arsenal and Liverpool are not ideal for a team still needing to catch up five points, which means they effectively need to win almost every game remaining.
Tottenham seem to have recovered after their recent stuttering run and will be confident of gaining enough points in the run in as none of their remaining fixtures are against any of the top eight.
Blackburn, Norwich and Fulham all present particular winning opportunities at home.
Meanwhile, Arsenal do still have Manchester City and Chelsea to play, but these are both at home.
Arsenal and Tottenham are both 1/1 in the race to finish third and it makes sense to side with the latter given the apparent ease of their remaining games.
