It seems to be the race that nobody wants to win.
Even with an additional Champions League spot all but secured for the Premier League for a second consecutive season, two of those teams hoping to benefit from that fifth place are struggling to string the results together to take control of it.
Defeats for Liverpool and Chelsea before the international break mean the Reds currently occupy that position, but the Blues are just one point adrift.
Both clubs would have hoped to be in a more comfortable position in the top four by now, but poor form is slowly reducing their chances – now five and six points off fourth respectively – and leaving them in a battle for the extra Champions League spot.
Who is mostly like to win that race is hard to predict – and it is no longer between just the two sides either, with Brentford,Everton and others getting themselves into the mix.
With just seven games left, who has the tougher run-in is always up for debate as so many factors come into play; relegation and European battles of opposition, plus distractions of possible chances to win silverware elsewhere.
One way to get a feel of how things could possibly play out is by looking at what happened in the reverse fixtures of the remaining games from earlier in the campaign.
For Liverpool, it does not make for optimistic reading.
When looking at how these games played out, and if the result was to be matched again – though, of course, home advantage can make a difference – Arne Slot's side would pick up just two wins and a draw.
They picked up seven points from those seven matches and adding that to their current Premier League total of 49 would take them to 56 points.
If that was to be compared to the same formula for Chelsea, who would pick up 10 points from their seven fixtures based on the reverse results, it would mean Liverpool miss out by two points.
Lessons can be learned, though, and the question is whether the Reds can do just that for these crucial final seven games.
With the fixtures left, how many points do you think Liverpool will get? Do you think Slot's side have enough to get a Champions League spot?
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