Chelsea's top four bid: Final predicted table and how their run-in compares to Man Utd, Aston Villa and Liverpool

Chelsea suffered another blow over the weekend in their bid to secure Champions League football, losing to rivals Arsenal. The Blues are now six points behind Aston Villa and Manchester United ahead of a potentially defining clash with the West Midlands side on Wednesday.

Defeat in that one could significantly harm Chelsea’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League, though the Premier League could yet secure another spot, which would allow Chelsea to finish fifth and still sneak into Europe’s premier competition. Here we take a look at the Champions League race, included the predicted table and the run-ins.

Current Premier League table

Here is how the Premier League table currently looks

3rd - Man Utd - 51pts // 12GD

4th - Aston Villa - 51pts // 8GD

5th - Liverpool - 48pts // 10GD

6th - Chelsea - 45pts // 16GD

7th - Brentford - 43pts // 4GD

Predicted final table

Here is the predicted final Premier League table from OPTA, who use many simulations to put together the most likely final standings.

3rd - Aston Villa - 67.09pts // UCL probability - 68.44%

4th - Man Utd- 65.81pts // UCL probability - 58.54%

5th - Liverpool - 65.27pts // UCL probability - 56.40%

6th - Chelsea - 60,29pts // UCL probability - 14.98%

7th - Brentford - 57.33pts // UCL probability - 2.9%

Note: UCL probability factors in the probability of the Premier League gaining an additional qualification place, which would make fifth place an automatic Champions League spot. England would have to be among the two best-performing nations in European competitions this season to secure that additional place.

Run-ins compared

Man Utd

Newcastle (A), Aston Villa (H), AFC Bournemouth (A), Leeds (H), Chelsea (A), Brentford (H), Liverpool (H), Sunderland (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Brighton (A).

Aston Villa

Chelsea (H), Man Utd (A), West Ham (H), Nottingham Forest (A), Sunderland (H), Fulham (A), Tottenham (H), Burnley (A), Liverpool (H), Man City (A).

Liverpool

Wolves (A), Tottenham (H), Brighton (A), Fulham (H), Everton (A), Crystal Palace (H), Man Utd (A), Chelsea (H), Aston Villa (A), Brentford (H).

Chelsea

Aston Villa (A), Newcastle (H), Everton (A), Man City (H), Man Utd (H), Brighton (A), Nottingham Forest (H), Liverpool (A), Tottenham (H), Sunderland (A).

Brentford

AFC Bournemouth (A), Wolves (H), Leeds (A), Everton (H), Fulham (H), Man Utd (A), West Ham (H), Man City (A), Crystal Palace (H), Liverpool (A).

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