The final weeks of the 2023/24 Premier League season will feature battles at both ends of the table as the fight for the title and the relegation scrap look set to go right to the final day.
However, alongside Arsenal and Manchester City wrestling for the top flight crown and Burnley, Luton and Nottingham Forest fighting for survival, the race for the top four is ongoing between Aston Villa and Tottenham.
With the Premier League missing out an extra Champions League place for next season, only fourth spot will do, as Villa aim for a first ever Champions League place and Ange Postecoglu looks to cap off his debut season in North London in style.
As the campaign winds towards it’s conclusion, Paddy Power takes a look at who will complete the fab four, with full Premier League odds available on the Paddy Power website and Paddy Power app.
Villa are firmly in the box seat to break a historical barrier as Emery looks to steer them over the line to Champions League qualification. A few glitches in the Premier League fixture computer has kept them ahead of Spurs on both points and games played.
With three league clashes left, Villa have a seven point lead over Spurs, as they have put their foot on the pedal at the perfect time in the campaign.
Despite his four UEFA Europa League titles, across spells at Sevilla and Villarreal, Emery has only reached the top four in a domestic league with PSG since 2012, after falling short in La Liga and the Premier League.
That gives Spurs a slight chance, but Villa’s run in includes games against ‘on the beach’ Brighton and Crystal Palace, and Jurgen Klopp’s final away match as Liverpool boss.
Tottenham have to hit beast mode if they want to catch Villa in the final weeks of the campaign but Postecoglu’s charges have returned to action with successive defeat against Arsenal and Chelsea.
They have four games left, to make up the points gap to Villa, but even a perfect record in the final matches might not be enough, and they look set to slip into the UEFA Europa League.
Two of the four teams they have left to play still have something on the line this season, with huge home games against Burnley and Manchester City on the agenda, alongside a trip to Liverpool.
The odds are against Spurs, as it stands, and they could potentially hand Arsenal the title initiative, if they gain a positive result against City and still fall short in the top four sprint.