Title won & relegation done… this is what else to look out for

The crucial issues have already been resolved, and it has taken place in record time, with four Premier League games still to go.

After beating Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, runaway leaders Liverpool won the title.

Ipswich Town lost 3-0 to Champions League-chasing Newcastle, following Southampton and Leicester City into the championship the day before.

With only four games left, the champions and all three relegations have been confirmed, surpassing the previous record set for the 2020-21 season. This means it is the first time in Premier League history.

What else can you look forward to before the 2024-2020 campaign’s final day, May 25th, is upon us?

If Manchester United or Tottenham win the Europa League, that number could rise to six, or seven in the unlikely event that Arsenal, the competition’s semi-finalist, will win and finish outside the top five.

The seventy-eighth-placed Newcastle are separated by just five points, but the rest of the teams that are a step closer to achieving European qualification have the best chances of capsizing memorable campaigns.

With only four games left, Fulham, Brighton, Bournemouth, Brentford, and even FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace, who are 12th, are still in contention.

Southampton have nothing but pride to play for this season now that their relegation was officially confirmed on April 8.

That and surpassing Derby’s record-breaking Premier League score of 11 points from 2007-08 were also achieved.

Given their terrible form this year, it is not at all certain that Saints will receive it, but they do need one more point to avoid being the worst-ever joint-worst Premier League team in history.

In their final four games, Southampton will face fellow relegated side Leicester as well as Manchester City and Arsenal (see below), aside from a significant trip to Everton (see below).

Opta, a stats provider, anticipates Simon Rusk’s team to draw two draws from those matches, which would put them up 13 points overall.

The remaining teams at the bottom are competing in a rather unfunny race to avoid finishing just above the drop zone because the relegation positions have already been set.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, which have won their last six league games, are at the top of that mini-league, which also includes Everton, Manchester United, Tottenham, and West Ham United.

Although Everton fans may have accepted the 17th spot earlier this year, the Toffees are hoping to move up and prepare for the 2025-26 season at the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium with momentum.

West Ham have also been able to avoid relegation, but manager Graham Potter, who has only collected 13 points in his 14 league games since replacing Julen Lopetegui, said the Hammers’ season has “not been good enough.”

Regardless of where they finish in the league, both Manchester United and Tottenham have had terrible campaigns.

Before their 133-year tenure at Goodison Park ends, David Moyes and his players have two more home games to look forward to.

Next weekend, the Toffees travel to Ipswich before hosting Southampton in their final game at the 1892-built stadium.

The Toffees will be desperate to celebrate their victory against the league’s bottom team with a poignant, emotionally charged event.

Even Everton home fans will experience a pang of sadness when Z-Cars, the soundtrack to every home game, plays out for the final time before kick-off on May 18th.

In recent weeks, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah have both signed new Liverpool contracts following months of speculation.

The fate of Trent Alexander-Arnold is still a mystery, with only a few games left to play.

Real Madrid is interested in signing the 26-year-old full-back, who is available to discuss a move abroad in the final three months of his current contract, but a deal has not yet been reached.

Alexander-Arnold, a key member of the Reds team that won the Premier League, Champions League, and Club World Cup in just 14 months in 2019 and 2020, was tight-lipped after scoring Liverpool’s winner at Leicester last weekend, saying: “I’m not going to speak on my situation.

A transfer saga that has been raging for some time may have come to an end.