Champions League Contention

[olaftab]

I reckon come the last day we are 4 points ahead and it’s all done and dusted. Hopefully all that is left is a cup final.

😊

[olaftab]

If we get a point against Liverpool they need to win their last two, assuming the gap is 4 points by the time we play that game and we also lose to Palace.  If they do that they deserve it.

If they lose to Man City, we don't need to get another point at all, it's game over, we're fourth mathematically. They're not going to beat Man City.

If they draw with them, even, we'd probably be ok on points difference, but even then, they would still have to beat Burnley and Sheffield United. That might sound easy, but I don't think many people fancied Burnley getting a point and being worth all three at Old Trafford.

And all that is still contingent on us not getting anything from Palace or Liverpool.

I think what you say is the likely scenario. Anything else will be an extreme exception.

[Sexual Ealing]

I’m relying on Spurs to be Spurs. I’m also confident they won’t beat Man City. I’ll even suggest a very desperate Burnley side, as shit as they are will get something out of their game against Spurs even if it ultimately ends in their relegation.

You can't rely on Spurs. Even to be Spurs.

[Beard82]

Althought its unlikely for both bit im gonna be absolutely heart broken if we go out the cup and finish 5th.

That would be proper deflating

It would be gutting - particularly given that 5 would have been enough if any of the other clubs had turned up in Europe this year.

We only need to grind out one more "normal" performance to secure either a final or UCL. 

[Rudy Can't Fail]

Group A
Sporting Clube de Portugal
Aston Villa
.......

[Somniloquism]

No groups, And we will either be in the 3 or 4th seeded pot.

[DeKuip]

We hit the wall like this in 76/77 when the most exciting Villa team in my lifetime suddenly couldn’t find each other with a pass for a handful of games. Not surprising considering we had 18 games in April/May, but we hung in there, found our mojo when it really mattered, won a trophy and finished fourth.
Keep the faith, come on Villa!

[Brazilian Villain]

Sporting Clube de Portugal
Aston Villa

Celtic....

[Smirker]

Sporting Clube de Portugal
Aston Villa

Celtic....

That would be juicy.

[eamonn]

In these situations, I look at the bookies odds.

https://www.paddypower.com/english-premier-league-top-4-finish

You could have made a fortune from the odds of an Olympiakos win at Villa Park last Thursday.

[eamonn]

Just realised Burnley play Forest on the final day.  Which means that HAVE to win against Spurs to take it to a winner-takes-all game on the final day (assuming Forest lose to Chelsea).

Burnley play Spurs before Forest play Chelsea, so I'd imagine they'll be as motivated as it's possible to be.  Yes, their still not very good, but as far as we're concerned, it's about the best possible time for them to play Burnley.

Problem is, Burnley are really really fucking shit...

Spurs have lost 4 straight conceding 13 goals. They’ll need to turn into Man City let alone also beat Man City to get 9  points to finish the season.

Apparently it's their first 4-game losing streak in 20 years. They're not permanently shit, they can turn it around, just like how they started playing in the last 20 minutes of the game at Anfield today. 

Brighton weren't shit/on the beach today despite that being the consensus before the game. Crap runs do end. We've been top four practically all-season, it would be nice if we can show it in our final two games rather than relying on Spurs' opposition.

[ROBBO]

I thought Brighton were awful, just that we were even worse. The Villa side of a couple of months ago would have won in a canter.

[Rory]

We'll get something from Palace, so I'm relaxed at the moment.

My concern is how laboured we've looked in the Conference League. All this effort to get into the Champions League would be a bit of a let down if we just get humped by everyone we play.

Not saying that will be the case, of course, but it's a nagging doubt.

[PaulWinch again]

My concern would be Brighton were pretty dreadful, but we were desperately poor (influencing factors fully acknowledged). If that’s our level in the last two games then we’ll lose both, then we’re relying on Spurs.

Hopefully we’ll be much better than we were today, with a couple of returning players helping out. It’ll be lovely to seal top 4 at Villa Park next Monday.

[Risso]

The disappointment for me is that had we won and clinched the Champions League place, we really could have gone all out on Thursday, and not had to worry at all about the Liverpool or Palace games. Now we've still got to manage all three very carefully. Finishing 5th and going out in the semis is looking more likely than it did a few days ago.