Aston Villa lost a second successive Premier League match on Saturday afternoon, severely denting their hopes of qualifying for European football. Local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers dug in for a narrow 1-0 victory at Molineux, while Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool managed wins to make matters worse.
Unai Emery was understandably very frustrated after the weekend’s defeat – a second game in a row without a goal. It seems as if the wheels have fallen off somewhat as before the last two fixtures, Emery had led Villa to scoring in 20 consecutive matches.
The Villans were handed a bit of a lifeline on Monday when Brighton & Hove Albion suffered a surprise 5-1 defeat at the Amex Stadium against Everton, but the Seagulls’ games in hand still make them quite the threat. What’s more important for Emery’s men is the next outing as they take on a direct rival in Tottenham Hotspur.
That game could well be a cup final equivalent for Villa as Spurs are probably the likeliest team to beat to the European spots. But what’s the true likelihood of the Villans finishing in the top seven?
Data experts at FiveThirtyEight have been simulating all the remaining matches to create the final league standings - and there are some very tight gaps at the end of the campaign at both ends of the table.
Without further ado, here’s how the predictions look, from 20th all the way to the title winners.