Business End of the Season

The 2013-2014 season has been one of the most tightly contested in a number of years, and with only 11 games left to play in the English Premier League, the pressure for the top contenders will be fierce.

There is just 10 points separating 1st and 5th place, and it could go all the way down to the last game in May to see who takes home the title. Despite the close fight at the top, it is one of the first seasons in the EPL that does not see Manchester United take part in the run. Under new manager David Moyes, the Red Devils have had a hard first season without father figure Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm.

Even without the red side of Manchester competing this season, the run up to the end of the season couldn’t look any more exciting. With Chelsea leading the way under returning manager Jose Mourinho, the title could return to Stamford Bridge for the first time since 2009-2010. He will be hoping to secure one more title under his belt in order to live up to his nickname of 'The Special One'.

Sitting only a point below Chelsea is another London team - Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has not tasted Premiership glory in ten years and it has been a very empty silverware cabinet at the Emirates Stadium since they moved in. However, with money to spend, the Arsenal faithful feel that this must be their year to bring back some glory to the London club.

The blue half of Manchester sit three points below the leaders but Manchester City find themselves with a game in hand over all of their title contenders which would put them back on par with Chelsea with a win. City last won the title in 2011-2012 for the first time in their history and are back with their new manager, Manuel Pellegrini, as well as their never ending pockets of cash. They are looking to take hold of the premiership crown and wave it under the noses of their arch enemies, Manchester United.

Liverpool have not won the Premier League title since it's inauguration but have won many league titles before that - eighteen to be precise. They are four points behind leaders Chelsea and still in with a fine chance of taking a league title since 1989-1990. With 'The SAS' (Sturridge and Saurez) leading the attack, it would be daft not to see them within grasp come the end of May.

Filling the top five positions and sitting six points behind that last and vital Champions League spot is Tottenham Hotspur. The Spurs are ten points adrift but cannot be written off just yet. It maybe a large gap, but leagues have been won before in the past by closing similar point gaps.

With all that said, there is some crucial matches yet to be played this season which could drastically alter the positions of all five teams. In three weeks time the rankings of the top five teams plus Manchester United could see teams move in and out of the Champions league spots and possibly see a team separate themselves from the chasing pack.

The following run down of the top five teams shows why or why not they could be lifting the trophy in eleven games time.

Chelsea

Played: 27; Points 60 

Sitting top of the table at the end of February is a nice place to be for Jose Mourinho - his confidence is contagious through the club. This is a team that knows how to win the league from this position and with stalwarts such as Cech, Terry and Lampard it is difficult to see how they would lose concentration this late in the season. Chelsea does have an upcoming match against Arsenal which could see the teams swap positions in the hunt for the title.

After being knocked out of the FA Cup last week, they find themselves searching for silverware on the continent too, with ties against Turkish side Galatasaray coming up in March. A problem for Chelsea is the current lack of goals coming from their strike force, as Torres and Demba Ba have only found the net 11 times between them this season.

Arsenal

Played 27; Points 59

Arsenal are desperate for some silverware. Period. This is the closest they have been to winning the title in a number of years but it will have to be seen whether a team without a title win in a decade can handle the pressure that comes with a tight run in. It is a young team that, no doubt, has the desire to win, and may vindicate the decision to keep manager Arsene Wenger at the helm for so long without title or cup glory. With Olivier Giroud coming up with some fine goal scoring and Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wishere holding the midfield, this team have a great base to go on to win the title.

Manchester City

Played 26; Points 57

This team won the title two seasons ago with a superb run-in to snatch it from Manchester United's golden hands. They know all about how to perform at the end of the season. With such a huge goal difference that has come from big wins including two 5-0 wins, two 6-0 wins and a 7-0 thrashing of Norwich, it doesn't look like the goals will halt any time soon. Being beaten at home 2-0 to Barcelona in the Champions League may end their hunt for European glory, which will turn even more attention to the EPL; also having a game in hand over their rivals will be a huge benefit to them.

Liverpool

Played 27; Points 56

How Merseyside would love to see the Premiership trophy being held aloft from an open top bus. Like Arsenal, this is the opportunity to regain some confidence in how to be a title challenger again. With the strike force of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, both in a rich vein of form only a cruel bout of injuries or suspension would stop these players from finding the back of the net. With no European commitments this season, Liverpool have been able to concentrate on the league and manager Brendan Rogers will look at qualification for next seasons Champions League as the minimal award for his team’s effort this season.

Tottenham Hotspur

Played 27; Points 50

With a very poor goal difference compared to teams above, Tottenham would be a very hard pressed in the remaining weeks to move up from where they are now. After losing Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in the summer, the Spurs spent a lot of money - over £100 million on no fewer than seven players. These players have not performed at a considerable level according to the Tottenham board and that cost Andre Villas-Boas his job. Under new head coach Tim Sherwood, they have been able to steer the ship in a better direction and the race for the Champions League spot is on for Spurs. Although that might seem an appropriate finish for a team racked with changes, you feel that the demanding boardroom expected more this season.