Newcastle United slide to fifth as Spurs go fourth

The English Premier League weekend came to a close on Sunday, with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur dominating their respective home fixtures against the likes of Queens Park Rangers and Blackburn Rovers.

After suffering an unpredictable 4-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium on Saturday, Alan Pardew’s Magpies gave Tottenham Hotspur the ability to recapture fourth place with a win against Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

Spurs bossed Rovers to the tune of 71% of possession, while not allowing a single shot on goal.

Did Tottenham close the book on Blackburn’s hopes for survival at White Hart Lane on Sunday? It’s not official, but I would certainly say so.

Now then, Newcastle’s loss at the DW Stadium also gave Chelsea a chance to move within a point of the Magpies.

Like Spurs, Chelsea took full advantage of their opportunity, dismantling Queens Park Rangers 6-1 courtesy of a Fernando Torres hat-trick.

Torres and Chelsea were absolutely brilliant, as the score suggests. With that said, the Blues could have scored double figures, but six was plenty I suppose.

The race for a top four finish has definitely heated up, with just one point separating Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Chelsea.

There’s no doubt that the race will be tight, as Harry Redknapp suggested after Spurs’ 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.

“We’ve got to win our games,” Redknapp told Sky Sports. “It’s going to be tight. We’ve got two really hard away games this week, Bolton who are in good form and then we go to Villa who still need a result probably.

“Then there’s Fulham at home and that’s a very difficult game, we’ll see how we go, we’ve just got to keep trying to win the games.

“If we win all our games no-one can finish above us, that’s the top and bottom of it.

“We have a much better goal average than Newcastle but we’ve got to win the games.

“Chelsea are looking very dangerous, they’re in fantastic form, but we’ll see how we go.”

All things considered, which club is the favorite to claim a top four finish in the Premier League and seal their place in the UEFA Champions League next season?

Despite Chelsea’s resurgence, I have to go with Spurs, who have the easiest remaining schedule by some distance.

Furthermore, Chelsea still have to play Newcastle United, which will be a tough game for both clubs.

All signs are pointing to Spurs qualifying for the Champions League for the second time in three years.

Can Harry Redknapp’s men get the job done?