Race for the title: reverse fixtures suggest Tottenham will finish 11 points behind Chelsea, who will be crowned champions

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The race for the Premier League title is well and truly on after Manchester United defeated Chelsea 2-0 at Old Trafford.

Tottenham cut the Blues’ lead at the top to just four points this weekend, having brushed Bournemouth aside in a 4-0 victory.

We now enter the final six games of the Premier League season, and they promise to provide us with plenty of entertainment. Who, however, has the toughest six fixtures remaining? What does history suggest about the possible outcome of them? Let’s take a look.

Tottenham

Remaining games: Crystal Palace (A), Arsenal (H), West Ham (A), Manchester United (H), Leicester City (A), Hull City (A).

First up for Mauricio Pochettino’s side is a trip to Palace. In the reverse fixture in the first-half of the season, they defeated them 1-0. Then they return to White Hart Lane to face Arsenal, who held them to a 1-1 draw at the Emirates. Following that is their first ever game at the London Stadium against West Ham, who they edged past in a 3-2 victory. Next comes Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United side, who they fell to a 1-0 loss against thanks to a goal from Henrikh Mkhitaryan. In the penultimate game they face champions Leicester, who they drew 1-1 against at White Hart Lane. On the final day they face Hull City, who will be scrapping to preserve their Premier League status. They did, however, thrash them 3-0 in the reverse fixture.

If those results replayed themselves at the tail end of this campaign, it would bag Tottenham 11 points, meaning they finish on 82 – their best tally in the Premier League era.

Chelsea

Remaining games: Southampton (H), Everton (A), Middlesbrough (H), West Brom (A), Watford (H), Sunderland (H).

After the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham, Antonio Conte’s side host Southampton, who they beat 2-0 at St Mary’s in October. Then comes a trip to Goodison Park to face Everton, who they annihilated in a rampant 5-0 win – I can’t imagine it will be that easy for them this time around. After facing the Toffees the Blues host Middlesbrough at Stamford Bridge, they beat them 1-0 at the Riverside. They then pay West Brom a visit, they beat them 1-0 in December. Their penultimate opponents are Watford, who they beat 2-1 in the second game of the season. Finally, they host Sunderland, who will likely already be relegated by then – they defeated the Black Cats 1-0 in the reverse fixture.

Six wins out of six would bag Chelsea 18 points, meaning they finish on 93 – the second highest points tally in Premier League history, and subsequently lift the title.

Unfortunately for the Blues, football is never that straightforward.

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