We’re firmly at the home stretch of the 2024/25 Premier League season. The title race and relegation battle have already been decided.
Liverpool scooped their 20th English top-flight title and only their second Premier League trophy, while the promoted trio went straight back down to the Championship.
With only four games remaining, what’s left undecided is which teams will be competing in Europe next season.
Manchester City’s narrow 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday gave them the edge, taking them up to third on the log.
There are still four points separating City from sixth-placed Nottingham Forest, with Newcastle United and Chelsea in between, so there’s still all to play for over the next few weeks.
Chelsea will particularly be hoping for some reprieve after a topsy-turvy campaign. At some point, the Blues were considered title contenders, but they’ve flown off the wagon over the past couple of months.
A top five finish and a Europa Conference League triumph will be considered a successful season for Enzo Maresca but there are several fixtures that could decide his fate.
The battle with Liverpool at Stamford Bridge will attract a huge crowd, but fans will also buy Chelsea vs Manchester United tickets, hoping the Blues can pick up valuable points against the miserable Red Devils.
Here are some of the key fixtures remaining in the 2024/25 Premier League season.
Chelsea vs Liverpool – Match day 35
Chelsea face a daunting final run of fixtures that kicks off at home against the champions. The Blues will be hoping the Reds are still in party mood when both sides square off at the Bridge.
Maresca’s side have blown hot and cold since the turn of the new year, but they seem to have found some semblance of stability over the last couple of weeks.
They’ve only lost two of their last 13 games across all competitions. Only Arsenal have gotten the better of the Blues in their last eight Premier League games (W5, D2).
Chelsea have won their last two league games in a row and will host the champions on the back of a three-game winning streak across all competitions.
The Blues put one leg in the Conference League final following a thumping 4-1 semi-final first-leg win against Djurgarden in midweek.
Whether that’ll be enough to spur Maresca’s side to a win remains to be seen, but anything other than a win on Sunday will put a massive dent on their Champions League hopes.
What will worry Chelsea ahead of this Sunday’s blockbuster is their woeful record against the Reds.
The Blues are winless in their last seven meetings with the Reds, losing the last two in a row. Before those consecutive defeats, both sides had settled for a share of the spoils five times in a row.
Chelsea’s last win against Liverpool came in March 2021, but you’d have to go back to May 2018 for the last time the Blues beat their Merseyside counterparts at the Bridge.
Newcastle vs Chelsea – Match day 36
After taking on the champions on home turf, Chelsea will head to Tyneside for another tricky Premier League clash against fellow top-five hopefuls Newcastle.
At the moment, only two points separate both sides, but that could change before their top-five six-pointer on match day 36.
The Magpies have been on a blistering run of form, winning five of their last six league games.
The only dent on that near-perfect run was a thumping 4-1 defeat away to Villa, but they responded with a commanding 3-0 win against relegated Ipswich Town.
Chelsea have won their last two games against Newcastle, but both wins came at the Bridge. That run came after a three-game winless streak against the Magpies (D1, L2).
Newcastle have won their last two home games against Chelsea by a combined scoreline of 5-1. The last time Chelsea left Tyneside with a win was back in October 2021.
With a place in the top five on the line, form and statistics go out the window, but these sides will face off on a level playing field at St. James’ Park.
Liverpool vs Arsenal – Match day 36
Arsenal visit Anfield to take on the champions on match day 36. With the title race now decided, the Gunners will be keen to send a statement that they’re still a team to be taken seriously next season.
Mikel Arteta’s troops have come up short for the third year running.
Their final shot at landing silverware lies in the Champions League, but even that is far from guaranteed after their semi-final first-leg defeat against Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium.
Depending on what happens in the second leg in France, Arsenal could head to Anfield as Champions League finalists, but another trophyless campaign should send alarm bells ringing.
Arsenal will be looking to save face after another anti-climactic season. Luckily, they have a decent record against Liverpool, unbeaten in their last five meetings (W2, D5).
Both sides couldn’t be separated in the reverse fixture at the Emirates, playing out a 2-2 draw. On the flip side, Arsenal haven’t won at Anfield since September 2012 (D4, L7).
Chelsea vs Man United – Match day 37
Chelsea host United on match day 37, hoping to take their bid for Champions League football up a notch.
The Blues faithful haven’t had much to cheer for in the second half of the season, but taking maximum points from a miserable United side will certainly lift their spirits.
That could be the primary reason why Chelsea tickets are selling out fast on Seatsnet.com, but Blues fans will be wise to lower their expectations ahead of the box office showdown.
Chelsea don’t have the best record against United.
Their famous Cole Palmer-inspired 4-3 win during Mauricio Pochettino’s reign was their first against United since November 2017, ending a woeful run of 12 games without a win.
Maresca couldn’t build on that memorable win in the first leg at Old Trafford, with both sides playing out a 1-1 draw, but his team will head into the coming contest as slight favourites.
Contrasting form and league standing play a part, but Chelsea will see this game as a valuable opportunity to tighten their grip on a top-five spot – assuming they’re still in the mix on match day 37.
Aston Villa vs Tottenham – Match day 37
Villa are hoping to compete in Europe’s most prominent tournament for the second season running.
With five teams guaranteed a spot, they have a decent chance of making it happen, but at the moment, they’re outsiders as they sit seventh on the log, three points behind fifth-placed Chelsea.
Nevertheless, they still have a fighting chance. A home game against Tottenham Hotspur is perhaps their most difficult in the run-in, but Spurs are hardly the team to beat.
In fact, Villa won three games in a row against Spurs, but that was before they fell to consecutive defeats against the north Londoners by a combined scoreline of 8-1.
Villa are much improved since, but the same can’t be said about Spurs, who are only separated from the drop zone by an equally woeful West Ham United side.
After facing Spurs, Villa will wrap up their season away to United, who are only one place ahead of Tottenham on the league table.
These games will likely decide their Champions League fate, but Unai Emery’s side have shown they have what it takes to trade blows with the “big boys”.
