EPL: Rating the Sides' Remaining Fixtures and Season Targets

Last night saw the 30th round of the English Premier League come to a close, with Chelsea making things interesting again claiming a 2-0 win over Manchester City, and Liverpool heralding their own return beating Sunderland by the same score.

The 30th round indicates that a lot has happened in the Premier League world. The end of the season is only a couple of months away, teams can generally gauge how they're going to finish the season and people are beginning to quit Fantasy after realizing that they actually can't do a better job than Sir Alex Ferguson's talent scouts.

At the top end of the table, there are six teams fighting for five European spots (and one of which isn't the most glamorous of targets), and just three points separate the teams ranked between 13 and 20, meaning there are eight clubs with a very realistic chance of playing against Portsmouth next season.

For most sides, only eight games remain until a summer that will no doubt prove to be as eventful as ever. But until then, those eight games immediately become the primary focus.

What follows is a look at every team's remaining fixtures (with the two or three most important ones underlined), how the season's gone for them, their immediate targets and how likely they are to achieve them.

Feel free to agree or disagree in the Comments section.

Remaining fixtures:

v Blackburn
@ Blackpool
v Liverpool
@ Tottenham
@ Bolton
v Manchester United
@ Stoke City
v Aston Villa
@ Fulham

Current goal for the season: Finishing with the Premier League title

The story so far...: After coming third in the 2009-10 season, Arsenal have done alright to remain in the hunt for their first title since 2005. However, unlucky officiating and brief form slumps have cost them points that they may come to lament.

Looking ahead: If they're to win the title, the fixture against Manchester United at the Emirates is of paramount importance, as is their game at hand against rivals Tottenham at White Hart Lane. If they drop points in either game, their chances of silverware this season become almost negligible. Likewise, their game against a resurgent Liverpool may prove to be a proverbial banana skin.

Aside from that, they'll have to hold off Blackburn and Blackpool outfits fighting desperately to avoid relegation.

Since the onus falls to the Gunners to chase down Manchester United and with injuries to key players Johan Djourou and Wojciech Szczesny, it does seem as though they face rather an uphill battle for the title this year.

Remaining fixtures:

@ Everton
v Newcastle
@ West Ham
v Stoke
@ West Bromwich Albion
v Wigan
@ Arsenal
v Liverpool

Current goal for the season: Avoiding relegation.

The story so far...: Since failing to get past the Europa League's hired doorman (ie, Rapid Wien) things haven't been too rosy for the Villains. Losing James Milner to Manchester City and their second game 6-0 to Newcastle United set them up for a tough time and they now find themselves trying to avoid relegation, although picking up Darren Bent from Sunderland hasn't hurt.

Looking ahead: Finishing the season against Arsenal and Liverpool, Villa will be wanting to climb out of the relegation zone as quickly as possible. Fortunately for them, games against Wigan Athletic and Midlands rivals West Brom give them that opportunity.

Their date with West Ham should also be significant, particularly if one side comes out victorious resigning the other to a precarious position with five games left.

However, they should be able to earn enough points come their fixture at the Emirates that beating the Gunners isn't a survival condition. With luck, they'll be able to retain most of their better players for a more successful 2011-12 season.

Remaining fixtures: 

@ Arsenal
v Birmingham
@ Everton
v Manchester City
v Bolton
@ West Ham
v Manchester United
@ Wolves

Current goal for the season: Avoid relegation.

The story so far...: Since the arrival of new owners, things have been disappointing for the Riversiders. Sam Allardyce was sacked in favor of Steve Kean, and there have been reports of discontent within the squad. While their form has recently taken a turn for the worse, if they can remain in the Premier League their new owners should be fairly active on the transfer market.

Looking ahead: There are no easy fixtures left for Steve Kean's men. However, a win against Birmingham can really put some pressure on the Carling Cup winners pushing them further into the relegation zone.

Likewise, points against rivals West Ham and Wolverhampton are likely to become important after games against Arsenal and both Manchester franchises.

Remaining fixtures:

v Bolton
@ Blackburn
v Sunderland
@ Chelsea
@ Liverpool
v Wolves
@ Newcastle
v Fulham
@ Tottenham

Current goal for the season: Avoid relegation, or to at least make a convincing effort to look serious about European football next season.

The story so far...: Despite having a surprisingly strong defense, Birmingham find themselves languishing well within the relegation zone, albeit with a game in hand. On the bright side, they can look forwards to the Europa league come the 2011-12 season after winning the Carling Cup.

Looking ahead: Notwithstanding the fact that their game at hand is against a resurgent Chelsea, Birmingham don't have an overly difficult schedule ahead of them. With Liverpool as a possible exception, it isn't a stretch to ask for points from every game remaining. That said, it would be a stretch to expect results.

With Blackburn currently struggling, the fixture at Ewood Park becomes very important for table positioning come the last five games. Likewise, home games against Wolves and Fulham grant the opportunity to fight off relegation and put two other clubs in that danger.

Remaining fixtures:

@ Fulham
v Arsenal
v Wigan
v Newcastle
v Stoke
@ Tottenham
v Bolton
@ Manchester United

Current goal for the season: Avoid relegation.

The story so far...: After an emphatic start beating Wigan 4-0, Blackpool have continued to surprise as the team who last year struggled to put together a full squad came painfully close to claiming some big scalps. Unfortunately, their lack of Premiership-grade defenders has left them fighting for their right to party into next season.

Looking ahead: The underlined games essentially fall into the "must-win" category. Even then, with games against Arsenal, Stoke, Tottenham, Bolton and United the Seasiders definitely have the odds stacked against them.

On a more positive note, most of those opposition are unlikely to have something to seriously play for, so don't discount a few unlikely points being picked up by a side desperate to stay in the Premier League.

Remaining fixtures:

@ Birmingham
v West Ham
@ Fulham
v Arsenal
@ Blackburn
v Sunderland
@ Blackpool
v Manchester City

Current goal for the season: Securing a spot in next season's Europa League, before looking like serious contenders for more of the same come next season.

The story so far...: Bolton have enjoyed almost a fairytale season to date. After playing some excellent football they now enjoy seventh position and a win against Stoke City in the FA Cup semifinal will see them play in the 2011-12 Europa League.

Looking ahead: Interestingly enough, the most important game Bolton will play in the next few months is for a place in the FA Cup final. If they can achieve that, then this season will have been a huge success.

After that, however, the focus will likely be switched to looking like a club with big aspirations for the next 10 years in a bid to attract better players. For that reason, I've highlighted Arsenal as a major scalp, and Sunderland as their current top 10 rivals.

Remaining fixtures:

@ Stoke
v Wigan
@ West Bromwich Albion
v Birmingham
v West Ham
v Tottenham
@ Manchester United
v Newcastle
@ Everton

Current goal for the season: Champions' League football, with the Premier League title as an outside target.

The story so far...: After powering to a string of obscene wins at the start of the season, Chelsea saw a huge dip in form which seemingly crushed any hope of a second consecutive title. But over the transfer window, Fernando "overpriced" Torres and David "Sideshow Bob" Luiz were picked up and once again they're looking like the powerhouse of old (by which I mean last season).

Looking ahead: The single biggest game ahead of them is at Stamford Bridge against Tottenham Hotspur. The three points from that game will go a long way to deciding who gets to rub shoulders with Barcelona as opposed to Lech Poznan.

Chelsea may also find themselves within sniffing distance of the Premier League title if they can win their game at hand against Birmingham before beating United for a second time (placing them three points off the pace).

I've also highlighted the games against Wigan and West Brom because filling the mantles this year may come down to whoever can get the most points against easier opposition.

Remaining fixtures:

v Aston Villa
@ Wolves
v Blackburn
@ Manchester United
@ Wigan
v Manchester City
v West Bromwich Albion
v Chelsea

Current goal for the season: Finishing ahead of Liverpool or, failing that, in the top half of the table.

The story so far...: With both the Carling Cup and FA Cup making European qualifiers this season, Everton have been fairly unlucky this season. But who can they blame for their slow start on?

However, since the first few weeks, they've done alright to place themselves back in the top half of the table and not drop too many points in talismanic midfielder Timmy Cahill's brief absences.

Looking ahead: Make no mistake, that is what you call a difficult run home. Blackburn, Villa and Wolves will be fighting to avoid relegation, while United, City and Chelsea are never easy-beats, never mind when throwing in spots in Europe and title prospects.

But there's no real pressure on Everton to perform while they look safe from relegation and any successes will be purely cosmetic.

Remaining fixtures:

v Blackpool
@ Manchester United
v Bolton
@ Wolves
@ Sunderland
v Liverpool
@ Birmingham
v Arsenal

Current goal for the season: Avoid relegation.

The story so far: Fulham have been decidedly underwhelming this season. While they haven't really stunned the league (yet), a recent spike in form has seen them move clear of the drop zone.

Looking ahead: They may be above the relegation zone, but they're only there by three points. Some bad results against Blackpool, Wolves or Birmingham could well see them reeled back into the dogfight for survival making those three games of utmost importance.

This isn't helped by difficult games against United, Liverpool and Arsenal. But against Bolton and Sunderland, who are beginning to dip, a couple of upset results may not be impossible.

Remaining fixtures:

@ West Bromwich Albion
v Manchester City
@ Arsenal
v Birmingham
v Newcastle
@ Fulham
v Tottenham
@ Aston Villa

Current goal for the season: Breaking back into European competitions, preferably the Champions' League.

The story so far...: I have it on good authority that in the next edition of the Oxford English dictionary, the definition for '180 degrees' will be "The season that Liverpool had in 2010-11."

To start with, they looked like they were genuine contenders for relegation. New England Sporting Ventures then took over amidst fears that the scousers would take a back seat to the high-maintenance Boston Red Sox.

But the real turnaround was when legend Kenny Dalglish was (re)appointed as the new manager. Liverpool's fortunes increased exponentially. In the transfer window, Luis Suarez was an inspired purchase who injected new vigor up front, Andy Carroll has promise for the next few seasons (provided he doesn't fall off any more barstools) and Liverpool are once again a force to be reckoned with.

Looking ahead: The games against Manchester City and Tottenham will be pivotal for Liverpool's final success this season. If they can take three points off particularly City and Tottenham, but also Arsenal, every other game is very winnable for Dalglish's side.

Remaining fixtures:

v Sunderland
@ Liverpool
v Tottenham
v Blackburn
v West Ham
@ Everton
v Stoke
@ Bolton

Current goal for the season: Earn a spot in next year's Champions' League.

The story so far...: In what's unlikely to be nominated for the surprise of the century, Manchester City overspent this year. After scattering several of their players into the four winds, City got to work looking like genuine title contenders.

Due to Roberto Mancini's baffling tactics of "parking the Billionaire Bus" against fellow European contenders, even the purchase of Edin Dzeko hasn't given them enough firepower up front to prevent a form slump and too many lost points to be serious title contenders. But what does remain up for grabs is a spot in Europe next year.

Looking ahead: Despite the importance of the fixtures against Liverpool and Tottenham, don't be surprised if City try to win those games 1-0. If that backfires, they're in real danger of playing a second consecutive season in the Europa league or missing out on Europe altogether.

Aside from that, they can expect to be worked hard for points against Sunderland, Everton, Stoke and Bolton so despite their early successes, City could yet be in for another disappointing season.

Remaining fixtures:

@ West Ham
v Fulham
@ Newcastle
v Everton
@ Arsenal
v Chelsea
@ Blackburn
v Blackpool

Current goal for the season:  Winning the Premier League title.

The story so far...:  You'd be hard-pressed to find any spectacular United victories this season. But what they've largely been doing is grinding out results when they need to, their recent victory over Bolton acting as an excellent example.

Until they lost to a spirited Wolves outfit, it looked as though they were set to emulate the efforts of Arsene Wenger's legendary 'Invincibles' without breaking into third gear. But recent losses to Chelsea and Liverpool have since made things more complicated.

Looking ahead: Games five and six are both against title rivals and consequently act as United's biggest remaining fixtures by a long shot. But aside from those two, the six remaining games should yield at least 10-12 points which makes their grip on the title that much firmer.

Provided they don't drop too many remaining points (with away form a particular concern), the treble looks like theirs to lose.

Fixtures remaining:

v Wolves
@ Aston Villa
v Manchester United
@ Blackpool
@ Liverpool
v Birmingham
@ Chelsea
v West Bromwich Albion

Current goal for the season: Avoid relegation; maintain a respectable placing to keep key players; finish ahead of Sunderland.

The story so far...: No two Newcastle United sides have been exactly the same this season. Results range from beating Sunderland 5-1 to losing to Bolton 5-0 to drawing 4-4 with Arsenal in the comeback of the season.

Gaining Chiek Tiote and Hatem Ben Arfa while losing manager Chris Hughton and prodigious striker Andy Carroll have only damaged the side's predictability.

Looking ahead: Despite being only four points ahead of West Ham, Newcastle are also only two behind Sunderland. But with nine points on offer against Wolves, Blackpool and Birmingham, the Magpies could yet still find themselves deep in the relegation zone, or comfortably in the top 10 by the time the season's out.

And don't ask me to try and predict their final placings. I don't know. No-one knows.

Remaining fixtures:

v Chelsea
@ Tottenham
v Wolves
@ Aston Villa
@ Blackpool
v Arsenal
@ Manchester City
v Wigan

Current goal for the season: Qualify for the Europa league; gain a respectable finish to capitalize in the summer.

The story so far...: A side renowned for relying on set pieces and Rory Delap's impossibly large throw, Stoke have managed to work themselves comfortably into a mid-table position and show no signs of budging.

Looking ahead: As with Bolton, Stoke's season-defining moment will come in the FA Cup semifinal, with the winner guaranteed a spot in next year's Europa league (incidentally the last full league in existence if the Mayan calendar is to be believed).

The next priority will be trying to consolidate that position with a high Premiership position and some decent transfers over the summer. For that, the "easy three" against Wigan must be taken, a victory over Arsenal or City would look excellent on the resume, and Villa are another one whose scalp would make a nice addition to this season's successes.

Remaining fixtures:

@ Manchester City
v West Bromwich Albion
@ Birmingham
v Wigan
v Fulham
@ Bolton
v Wolves
@ West Ham

Current goal for the season: With European football out of reach, finishing in the top 10 becomes a priority; as does keeping the buffer over Newcastle.

The story so far...: This season has been an excellent one for Steve Bruce's side, who have managed to get themselves much higher than anyone would have expected. Highlights include beating Chelsea 3-2 at Stamford Bridge while the season's darkest day was losing 5-1 to Newcastle.

Looking ahead: Once Manchester City are out of the way, Sunderland wouldn't be too optimistic hoping for 10-15 points from the rest of the season. While Bolton and West Ham may be fairly difficult, every other game is against a side with relegation fears, though that may make them more difficult prospects.

Remaining fixtures:

@ Wigan
v Stoke
@ Manchester City
v Arsenal
v West Bromwich Albion
@ Chelsea
v Blackpool
@ Liverpool
v Birmingham

Current goal for the season: Qualify for a second season of Champions' League football.

The story so far...: Gareth "Wolverine" Bale helped propel Spurs into immense Champions' League success, beating Inter Milan, getting further than Arsenal and facing off with Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid for a spot in the semifinals.

A lot of their Premier League results haven't been so immense, unfortunately. While they've managed to beat Arsenal at the Emirates for the first time and they've picked up some fairly big wins, they've also conceded a lot of loose points which could see them in the Europa league next season, particularly given their failure to pick up a world-class striker.

Looking ahead: For Tottenham, the key to a UCL place is two-fold. First, they have to be able to claim all easy points on offer, which means beating Wigan, WBA, Blackpool and Birmingham.

Second, the games against City and Chelsea will be huge as any dropped points from either of the three sides will be a telling impact on the UCL race. Meanwhile, the game at hand against Arsenal could propel them further up the ladder, but it's not as though Tottenham needed any more reasons to beat Arsenal.

Remaining fixtures:

v Liverpool
@ Sunderland
v Chelsea
@ Tottenham
v Aston Villa
@ Wolves
@ Everton
@ Newcastle

Current goal for the season: Avoid relegation.

The story so far...: After an excellent start (that would have seen them playing in the Champions' League were it maintained), West Brom have since faded quite dramatically. Roberto di Matteo was sacked for ex-Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson. Defense has been a huge issue all season that could end up costing them big.

Looking ahead: If WBA can't get six points against Wolves and Villa, their season is effectively done unless they can spring some decent upsets elsewhere. Against sides like Chelsea and Tottenham, who are both desperate to make next year's UCL, they have no easy games to look forwards to.

Remaining fixtures:

v Manchester United
@ Bolton
v Aston Villa
@ Chelsea
@ Manchester City
v Blackburn
@ Wigan
v Sunderland

Current goal for the season: Avoid relegation.

The story so far...: After a torrid start to the season, the Hammers were shoe-ins for relegation being well behind even their relegation rivals. But recently, they've seemingly plucked some excellent form out of nowhere, making good use of the transfer market and could well survive despite what had largely been predicted of them.

Looking ahead: Most of their remaining games will be extremely tough, with all but three being against top 10 teams. The games against Villa, Blackburn and Wigan become crucial then, if they're to survive in the Premier League. If they don't get six or seven points from those three, they might well end up relying on other results to stay up.

With no disrespect to the club, I'm hoping they get relegated. Their celebrated derbies with Milwall are usually something to look forwards to.

Remaining fixtures:

v Tottenham
@ Chelsea
@ Blackpool
@ Sunderland
v Everton
@ Aston Villa
v West Ham
@ Stoke

Current goal for the season: Avoid relegation.

The story so far...: For a team based in a city so fixated on rugby league, Wigan Athletic have done alright to keep in touch with the peleton. The problem is, of course, that they lack the funds, depth and local talent found in the more successful franchises. And this has been shown up time and again this season.

Looking ahead: To be frank, it would be a huge surprise if Wigan managed to stay in the Premiership. As if their remaining schedule wasn't hard enough already, they get to kick off the final eight games from last place. They'll need at least six points against the highlighted opponents and might have to reply on causing a couple of upsets in their five other games.

Remaining fixtures:

@ Newcastle
v Everton
@ Stoke
v Fulham
@ Birmingham
v West Bromwich Albion
@ Sunderland
v Blackburn

Current goal for the season: Avoid relegation.

The story so far...: As with Fulham, Wolves haven't really set the league on fire this season (not literally, I hasten to add). A recent vein of form, including being the ones to pop Manchester United's winning run, has seen them begin to move out of the Race to Relegation.

Looking ahead: While none of their upcoming games are easy, Wolves fans shouldn't be too surprised to get around four points against Newcastle, Sunderland, Stoke and Everton. They're at an excellent advantage over their rivals without having any of the big six to worry about.

The games against Fulham, Birmingham and Blackburn will all be very important, particularly if Blackburn or Fulham can't step up before the end of the season. But of all the remaining matches, the biggest will be against derby rivals West Bromwich Albion. A match of that intensity with a spot in the Premier League at stake promises to be an incredible viewing.