Title won & relegation done... this is what else to look out for

With four rounds of Premier League fixtures left to play, the key issues have already been wrapped up - and it's happened in record time.

Runaway leaders Liverpool were crowned champions after thumping Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.

The previous day, Ipswich Town followed Southampton and Leicester City into the Championship when they lost 3-0 at Champions League-chasing Newcastle.

That means it is the first time in Premier League history that all three relegations and the champions have been confirmed with four games remaining, surpassing the previous record from the 2020-21 season.

So what else is there to get excited about before the 2024-25 campaign draws to a close on 25 May?

Quite a bit, in fact.

While it is unlikely that 11 Premier League teams will end up in Europe next season, at least five are guaranteed a Champions League place via the league because of England's performance in Uefa's coefficient rankings.

That number could rise to six if Manchester United or Tottenham win the Europa League, or even seven in the unlikely event that Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal triumph in the competition and finish outside the top five.

Only five points separate Aston Villa in seventh and third-placed Newcastle, but the handful of sides below Unai Emery's team still harbour hopes of capping memorable campaigns with European qualification.

Fulham, Brighton, Bournemouth, Brentford and even FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace, who are 12th, are still in contention with four games left.

And let's not forget sixth-placed Nottingham Forest, who are looking to qualify for Europe's premier competition for the first time since 1980 after a truly magnificent season under Nuno Espirito Santo.

After their relegation was confirmed on 8 April, Southampton have little but pride to play for this season.

Well, that and beating Derby's record Premier League low of 11 points from the 2007-08 season.

Saints need just one more point to avoid the ignominy of becoming the joint-worst Premier League team of all time, but given their dreadful form this season, it is far from guaranteed they will get it.

Aside from a significant trip to Everton (see below), Southampton face fellow relegated side Leicester as well as Manchester City and Arsenal in their final four games.

Stats supplier Opta expects Simon Rusk's team to get two draws from those games, which would lift them on to 13 points overall.

No pressure, Saints.

With the relegation places already set in stone, the remaining teams at the bottom are involved in a rather unglamorous race to avoid finishing just above the drop zone.

Wolverhampton Wanderers, who have won their past six in the top flight, top that mini-league, which also features Everton, Manchester United, Tottenham and West Ham United.

Everton fans may have accepted 17th spot earlier this season, but the Toffees are hoping to finish as high as possible and start the 2025-26 season at the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium with momentum on their side.

West Ham have also managed to stave off relegation, but manager Graham Potter - who has picked up only 13 points in his 14 league games since succeeding Julen Lopetegui - said after Saturday's defeat at Brighton that the Hammers' season has "not been good enough".

Manchester United and Tottenham have both endured woeful league campaigns, regardless of where they end up finishing.

But being the worst side to avoid the drop - points-wise, at least - would be a huge source of embarrassment, even if one of the two teams ends up lifting the Europa League.

David Moyes and his players have two more home games to look forward to before their 133-year stay at Goodison Park comes to an end.

The Toffees host Ipswich next weekend before facing Southampton in their final game at the stadium, which opened in 1892.

It is guaranteed to be a poignant, emotionally charged occasion - one the Toffees will be desperate to mark with victory against the league's bottom side.

But even supporters of other clubs will feel a pang of sadness when Z-Cars, the soundtrack to the start of every Everton home game, rings out for the final time before kick-off on 18 May.

The move to the 52,888-capacity Bramley-Moor Dock ground will mark the start of a new era for the club.

After months of speculation, both Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have signed new Liverpool contracts in recent weeks.

However, with just a handful of games remaining, the future of Trent Alexander-Arnold remains undecided.

Real Madrid are in talks to sign the 26-year-old full-back, who is in the final three months of his current contract and free to discuss a move abroad - but a deal has yet to be agreed.

A key member of the Reds team that won the Premier League, Champions League and Club World Cup in the space of just 14 months in 2019 and 2020, Alexander-Arnold was tight-lipped after scoring Liverpool's winner at Leicester last weekend, saying: "I'm not going to speak on my situation."

There may still be another twist in a transfer saga that has been hanging over the club for some time.

But if the local boy they call "the Scouser in our team" does decide to leave, Alexander-Arnold could hardly wish for a better send-off than lifting the Premier League trophy at a packed Anfield on Sunday.