You BetPunters ready as Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham chase final two Champions League places
Lack of motivation of teams with nothing to play for could cause upsets in form calculations
The curtain comes down on the English Premier League season tomorrow night with almost all of the issues already decided. Manchester United, Chelsea, Swansea and Wigan have picked up major silverware, while Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham have not. Wigan, Reading and QPR are relegated, and most of the other teams are simply relieved still to be there.
The only question is the finishing order of Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham as they chase the final two Champions League places. Chelsea are guaranteed one of them, but it is important to finish third because that gives direct entry to the Champions League, whereas the fourth-placed team must go through a qualifying round.
All three will be looking for victory, then, and that's always welcome for punters. The trickiest part of betting in the closing weeks of the season is trying to work out whether a lack of motivation by a team with nothing to play for will play havoc with form calculations.
On form, Arsenal are the safest bet of the three Champions League chasers. Tuesday's 4-1 win over Wigan, which condemned the FA Cup winners to the drop, took Arsenal's run against teams outside the big six to 15 wins and two draws since their last defeat in that category on December 1.
The Gunners have won their last five on the road in that category - the last dropped points coming in a 1-1 at Southampton on January 1 - and they should be able to make it six against Newcastle, whose recent home form is poor.
Newcastle have shown glimpses of last season's form in home wins against Chelsea (3-2) and Tottenham (2-1) and it is possible they will play with more freedom now the threat of relegation has been lifted. But they have also lost eight out of nine against big-six teams, including a 7-3 defeat at Arsenal in December.