Premier League: Battle For 3rd Place Heats Up - Chelsea Vs. Leicester
Published May 18, 2021 by Sol FH
It's a big battle for 3rd place in the Premier League as Matchday 37 of 38 kicks-off tonight at 18:00 GMT.
The Premier League is just two matchdays's away from putting a checkmark on yet another season. Manchester City has already locked in the League Championship and has a chance to complete a double if they are able to win in the Champions League Final later this month. The real big battle is still on for a spot in the Top 4, but, today we will actually focus on the battle for 3rd, between Leicester and Chelsea, tonight at 20:15 GMT.
Now, the match we are focused on is a replay of the FA Cup Final, which was played on Saturday, wherein Leicester beat the Blues 1-0, in what some are calling one of the more disappointing efforts by Chelsea so far this year.
Race for a Champions League berth
Tonight, Chelsea has the chance for some revenge and take over the 3rd place in the Premier League with just one match left after tonight is done. Leicester is currently in 3rd place, just two points over Chelsea at 66, while the Blues are at 64. Liverpool, in 5th place currently could easily take over the 4th place from Chelsea if the Blues do not get the win and the Reds are victorious in their match against Burnley tomorrow night.
It was actually Liverpool's goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who stunned the football world with a heroic stoppage-time winner, who blew the race for the Premier League top four wide open. Two Champions League spots are already taken with City and United sealing the top two spots.
What's really remarkable is how fast things have changed in the race for the top 4 and a spot in next season's Champions League. Just a little over a week ago, the Blues beat City 2-1 at Etihad Stadium! They were in 3rd place after the Foxes lost 4-2 at home to Newcastle the day earlier.
Since then, the Blues have lost consecutive games, first at Stamford Bridge to the Gunners in the league, then, as mentioned, in the FA Cup final against the Foxes.
This all means that with two matches remaining, each result among the Top 5 will count. So who do you think will win?
Premier League Odds
So, at the leading bookmakers like bet365 Sports, Chelsea is heavy favorites at 1.70 for the outright win. The Foxes are way back at 5.00 and it is really unclear why the odds are so stacked against them. A draw is listed at 3.75.
The odds in this article at the bookmaker mentioned above were accurate at the time of writing, May 18 at 8:00 GMT.
