Man Utd, Liverpool & Newcastle remaining fixtures: How many points needed for top-four finish?

The race for the top four took another dramatic twist over the weekend as Manchester United and Newcastle United both dropped points.

The Red Devils suffered a frustrating 1-0 loss to West Ham United on Sunday with David de Gea’s first-half error proving costly as Said Benrahma netted from a tame strike from distance. As for Eddie Howe’s side, despite putting in a spirited display against Arsenal, they were beaten 2-0 courtesy of Martin Odegaard’s opener and a Fabian Schar own-goal.

Meanwhile, Liverpool kept the pressure on the sides currently in third and fourth place, with a 1-0 home win over Brentford. After a lacklustre season, suddenly it’s the Merseyside club who have momentum coming into the final weeks of the campaign and they’ve won the last six in the league.

There’s also Brighton & Hove Albion to consider. The Seagulls are eight points off the Champions League spots and their hopes suffered a massive blow on Monday as they suffered a shock 5-1 defeat to Everton at home.

How many more points do United need?

Here’s how the table currently looks.

Currently, Liverpool’s maximum potential points tally is 71, while Brighton could still achieve 70 this term. That means United need 72 to guarentee a Champions League place, a tally they can only achieve if they win three of their four remaining matches.

United’s final four matches also look relatively kind given they play three at home and don’t face a side going for the title, Europe or in a relegation fight. If United were to win all of the final four matches they’d finish on 74 points, while the most Newcastle could achieve is 77.

Final fixtures

Newcastle- Leeds (A- 13 May), Brighton (H- 18 May), Leicester (H- 22 May), Chelsea (A- 28 May)

United- Wolves (H- 13 May), Bournemouth (A- 20 May), Chelsea (H- 25 May), Fulham (H- 28 May)

Liverpool- Leicester (A- 15 May), Villa (H- 20 May), Southampton (A- 28 May)

Brighton- Arsenal (A- 14 May), Newcastle (A- 18 May), Southampton (H- 21 May), Man City (H- 24 May), Villa (A- 28 May)