Premier League predictions: Title race, top four and relegation

The biggest battle will be at the very top of the tree, where Arsenal are currently perched - but, with Manchester City breathing hot air, for how long?

Champions League qualification is a miniature tournament of its own, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle, Spurs and Chelsea set to fight it out for the spots beneath the top two.

The first runner-up of the battle for top four will, of course, qualify for the Europa League.

At the other end of the Premier League table, there are a number of clubs in danger of dropping out - Wolves, Southampton, Nottingham Forest currently occupy the fateful three spots.

So, let's get stuck into it...

Title race

Realistically, at this point, there are only two teams capable of lifting the Premier League trophy: Arsenal and Man City.

Third favourites for the title right now are Liverpool, who have just a 1.6% chance of leapfrogging five spots and claiming first by the season's end.

That percentage wasn't plucked from thin air, by the way. Opta Analyst by Stats Perform* has a wealth of figures we can pull from.

With the numbers completely crunched, City are strong favourites for the title - despite sitting second - with a 74.8% chance of picking up the trophy.

For the sake of comparison, leaders Arsenal have a 22.4% chance; Spurs 0.4%, Newcastle 0.3% and Man Utd also 0.3%.

Top four

A quick analysis of those numbers above gives us a straightforward prediction for first, second and third: Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

But that remaining fourth spot is a little more difficult to gauge.

Using Opta's data, Newcastle have a 37.9% chance of qualifying for the Champions League and Spurs 37.7%.

Man Utd are the underdogs in this race for fourth - despite sitting fifth right now, just three points behind Newcastle - with a 32.9% chance of making the cut.

'Underdogs' may have been a little strong for the Red Devils because Chelsea are presently up a creek without a paddle.

The Londoners, sat eighth, have a 17.1% chance of qualifying for Europe's flagship tournament. Brighton currently sit seventh, but have a slither of a chance at 1.6%.

The drop

Being sat in a relegation spot at the tail end of December is like skirting on the edge of a black hole's event horizon - if you're not careful, you won't escape.

Wolves are in serious trouble - rock bottom with ten points to their name and a severe lack of shooting boots - they've just a 32.4% chance of surviving, as per Opta.

Southampton and Forest are also on the cusp of doom, both suffering with a leaky defence and inconsistent form. The Saints have a 45.9% chance of survival, while the so-called Tricky Trees are pretty much at a coin-flip with 48.9%.

At this point in the season, it would take a miracle for bottom three to turn their fates around - but it's not impossible. Three other clubs could realistically take any one of their places.

Everton - 36.1% chance of getting relegated

Bournemouth - 29.4% chance of getting relegated

Leeds United - 27.0% chance of getting relegated

Fulham, West Ham, Brentford and Aston Villa are also far from safety, but should have enough quality to resist the drop.

*All of the figures used in this article are derived from the aforementioned Opta statistics, which - for further reading and explanation - can be found by following the external link above.