Chelsea Favorites to Drop Out of Top 4 Again

Arsenal and Tottenham won their respective matches while a last gasp equalizer from Luis Suarez meant that Chelsea had to settle for a draw. Only two points separate 3rd and 5th place and perhaps the blues are now favorites to drop out of top 4 for second season running.
Before the weekend the odds were mainly against Tottenham who had only won a single match in their last 7 games. Going into the fixture against champions Manchester City, few backed them to beat the sky blues having lost last 4 league fixtures against them.
All was going according to plan as City lead until the final quarter of an hour when Spurs opened the flood gates and ripped the opponents apart to score 3 goals in space of mere 6 minutes. Arsenal were not convincing but won all important 3 points against Fulham side who played 80 odd minutes with 10 men.
Gunners have only four fixtures remaining and perhaps only one of those is hard i.e. against Manchester United who will be favorites to beat the Gunners again. However, Ferguson may opt to play a weak side because they might just seal the title tonight against Aston Villa and utilize youngsters for the remaining matches.
Tottenham face a very similar scenario as their archrivals Arsenal. Out of the 5 remaining premier league fixtures, four are against the teams that lie in the bottom half of the table i.e. Wigan, Southampton, Stoke and Sunderland. Getting eliminated in the quarter finals of Europa League might just be a blessing for Spurs as now they only have to focus on Champions League qualification.
Chelsea , who currently occupy 4th spot are only one point ahead of Tottenham and the same behind Arsenal but with a game in hand. However, Benitez’s men face relatively tougher test in the remaining premier league games. Perhaps the game against Spurs at Stamford Bridge may prove deciding but still they also have to play against Manchester United, Everton and 9th place Swansea.
Adding to that, the blues are very much alive in the Europa League and are considered favorites to win the competition. That by all means is a major distraction and having already played 7 games in the space of 19 days, tiredness may take its toll.
The race for top 4 has reached boiling point and the fans have a nervy and mouth watering prospect ahead. As it seems, the teams have equal chances of qualifying for Champions league but may be just may be Chelsea will be the one to lose out on top 4 again.
Follow Soccerisma on Twitter: Soccerisma