What could be decided in the Premier League this weekend?

While there are still four rounds of matches to be played in an enthralling 2025/26 Premier League campaign, and the title race is likely to need all of them to be decided, several clubs and players could achieve some of their objectives as early as this Matchweek.

Here we look at some of the targets that could be ticked off in the coming days, from the teams who are currently in the top five to the sides who are bidding to be in the top flight next season.

Three teams can clinch Champions League places

Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa could all book their places in next season’s UEFA Champions League with the right results this weekend.

As such, there’s an extra edge to Man Utd’s home clash with rivals Liverpool on Sunday, when victory for the hosts would seal a return to Europe’s top-tier club competition – regardless of what happens elsewhere in the Premier League.

Liverpool, likewise, can qualify with a win at Old Trafford, though they would also be relying on results elsewhere, needing Brighton & Hove Albion and AFC Bournemouth to drop points against Newcastle United and Crystal Palace respectively.

The same permutations apply to Villa, who host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening and enter Matchweek 35 level on points with Liverpool.

Even if Man Utd lose, they can secure Champions League football for the first time since 2023/24 as long as neither Brighton nor Bournemouth win.

So far, only the top two clubs, Arsenal and Manchester City have wrapped up Champions League qualification for next season – while every side down to 13th-placed Palace are still mathematically in contention.

For the second campaign running, the Premier League’s top five teams will qualify directly for the league phase of the Champions League.

Raya could land third Golden Glove

Arsenal’s David Raya is close to joining an exclusive club by becoming only the fifth goalkeeper to win three or more Premier League Golden Glove awards.

Leading the way on 16 clean sheets with four games to go, the Spaniard will guarantee at least a share of the honour if he records another shutout in the Gunners’ London derby at home to Fulham and Man City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma (13 clean sheets with five games to go) concedes any goals in his side’s trip to Everton on Monday.

Goalkeepers with most clean sheets, PL 2025/26

Goalkeeper Clean sheets David Raya (ARS) 16 Gianluigi Donnarumma (MCI) 13 Dean Henderson (CRY) 11 Jordan Pickford (EVE) 11

Raya, who shared the Golden Glove with Matz Sels of Nottingham Forest last season, is looking to follow in the footsteps of former Man City goalkeepers Joe Hart and Ederson and former Liverpool star Pepe Reina by topping the Premier League clean-sheet charts in three successive campaigns.

Hart and the former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech have won the joint-most Golden Gloves with four each, followed by Reina and Ederson on three.

Fernandes closing on assists record

The top flight’s outstanding creator this season, Bruno Fernandes needs to set up only one more goal for Man Utd to equal the record for the most assists in a single Premier League campaign and two more to break it.

Currently sitting on 19 assists, the Portuguese midfielder is hunting down the previous high of 20 set by Thierry Henry in 2002/03 and matched by Kevin De Bruyne in 2019/20.

Having assisted a goal in each of his three league outings since the international break, Fernandes — who created Harry Maguire’s winning goal in October’s reverse meeting with Liverpool at Anfield — will no doubt fancy his chances of at least drawing level this weekend.

And with four games to play, including Sunday’s exciting encounter, breaking the record outright is a distinct possibility for the 31-year-old.

Premier League 2 reaches quarter-final stage

The post-season phase in Premier League 2 continues this weekend, with eight Under-21 sides in playoff quarter-final matches.

On Friday, the reigning champions Man City travel to Villa, while Chelsea host Spurs in a London derby.

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