My thoughts on run up to football season finale

I woke up this morning to see the football standings in England crystalised to a great extent. The teams are already in the final stretch of the season and I'm expecting the results to fall the right way not only in the Premier League but also the Champions League.

First, in the Premier League where some teams have only three games to play and some others four games. Going into the final stretch, Manchester United are of course in pole position. They have a six-point lead over Liverpool who will be playing tonight. I don't expect Liverpool to drop any point against relegation-threatened Newcastle but anything possible can happen. (Why am I hoping that an upset will occur tonight?) But even if Liverpool win all three points tonight, Manchester United are still in the driver's seat. Nevertheless, the title would still be theirs to lose as any trip-up may prove fatal.

Anyway, Manchester United's last four games will be against Manchester City (home), Wigan (away), Arsenal (home) and Hull (away). In the meantime, Liverpool will be playing Newcastle (home) tonight and then West Ham (away), West Brom (away) before ending their season against Tottenham (home). Chelsea are the big outsiders in the title race with three games left against Arsenal (away), Blackburn (home) and Sunderland (away). They'll have a shot at the title only if Manchester United and Liverpool completely trip up in their last games and I don't view this as realistic.

Second, Europe looks to be more exciting. Arsenal will be playing Manchester United on Wednesday morning. It will be a tough game for United even though they are defending a slim 1-0 win from the first leg last week. Arsenal will be playing on home ground and it will also be the London club's last shot at a trophy this season. Meanwhile, Chelsea will be at home to Barcelona on Thursday morning. This will also be an exciting game, especially since Barcelona gave out a warning signal last night with a 6-2 blitz on Real Madrid in the Spanish league. Serve those unscrupulous blighters right!

By the way, quintuple no more. Setting sights on the quadruple now!