\n<\/p>\n
We\u2019re about two-thirds of the way through the Premier League season, but there\u2019s so much work to do inside and outside of England for the clubs currently chasing the title.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s just not as simple as looking at the 13 games each left on the schedules of top-three teams Arsenal, Manchester City, and Aston Villa, because the trio all have European and domestic cup games left on the docket. They could have as few as 16 or as many as 26 games between now and the Champions League Final on May 30.<\/p>\n
MORE \u2014 <\/b>Premier League fixtures & results<\/a><\/span> | Current table<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Then there\u2019s the matter of determining the number teams of competing for the title, or a top-five place. Is it just being polite to keep Villa in the equation, nine points out with two teams ahead of them? Or given the potential small number of points to win the crown, should we be widening the field to include a single-competition team like Manchester United who could stay hot and make a run? Ask Kevin Keegan<\/a><\/span> what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n Arsenal are on pace for just over 85 points at 2.24 points per Premier League match this season and it may be possible that mid-80s is set to become the new norm for a champion of the deepest top division the world\u2019s seen. Winners with 90+ point totals became more normal over the past decade, but the depth of competition is so strong that the three centurions (Chelsea once, Man City twice) of the past decade or so already feel like outliers.<\/p>\n MORE \u2014 <\/b>Fan Fest heads to Tampa for huge PL matchweek<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n There\u2019s also the matter of expected points, possibly the most wrongly-used metric in the sport. They do show quality from previous performances but too often you\u2019ll read someone using them to project future point totals or goals. Take Arsenal, for example. They\u2019ve accumulated 56 points while missing some big players earlier in that stretch. Man City have not had a full-strength Rodri until recent weeks and did not have Marc Guehi or Antoine Semenyo until this month. Man United and others missed key pieces for AFCON. Multiplying the remaining games by presuming these teams will play at the same rate against different opponents with different lineups is ridiculous. Anyway….<\/p>\n Before we get to projecting the winners of the Premier League, let\u2019s ask a few interesting questions. For example, might Arsenal, Man City, and Villa not be the final identity of the PL\u2019s top three?<\/p>\n For this exercise, let\u2019s just examine the Premier League opposition left on the schedule.<\/p>\n Yes, we know that every team plays the same 19 opponents two times each, but this is about the road home and with 13 opponents left there are bound to be some duds.<\/p>\nPremier League title race \u2014 Who has the easiest road home? Who can gate crash the \u2018top three?\u2019<\/h2>\n