Brighton & Hove Albion currently lead the way as they compete with Tottenham and Aston Villa for a Europa League position
Brighton & Hove Albion are one point ahead of both Tottenham and Aston Villa, with the Seagulls having the chance to extend their lead even further as they have two games in hand over their European rivals. Speaking after the defeat at Villa Park, acting head coach Ryan Mason admitted that the Lilywhites are now in a real fight to secure European football.
Brighton are clearly in the driving seat for a Europa League berth and they can take a big step towards sealing a spot in Europe's second club competition when they play one of their two games in hand on Thursday evening at Newcastle United. Their final game in hand comes six days later as Premier League leaders Man City make the trip to the south coast.
So how many points do Brighton need to end Tottenham and Aston Villa's top-six aspirations? football.london takes a look below.
The maximum number of points both Spurs and Villa can achieve this season is 63 as they are both currently on 57 with two games remaining. Brighton can match that tally by achieving five points from their last four games and that would be enough for a Europa League position due to their superior goal difference even if the other two teams win both their final games.
As things stand, the Seagulls are on +21 with Tottenham and Villa on +6 and +4 respectively. Achieving six points from 12 would guarantee that the south coast club finish above their European rivals, although five points would suffice unless there is a major goal difference swing in what remains of the season.
Roberto De Zerbi's team will be confident of achieving that total, especially after bouncing back in style to record a convincing 3-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday after previously crashing to a 5-1 defeat to Everton in their last home game. Brighton do have some very tricky games coming up as they face top-four sides Newcastle United and Man City either side of their home clash against Southampton.
The Seagulls then travel to Aston Villa on the final day in what could be potentially a key game in the fight for Europa League football if results go against Brighton prior to then. All Tottenham can do right now is beat Brentford and Leeds United in their final two matches and hope that their fellow European contenders drop points along the way.
20/05 - Brentford (H)
28/05 - Leeds United (A)
18/05 - Newcastle (A)
21/05 - Southampton (H)
24/05 - Man City (H)
28/05 - Aston Villa (A)
20/05 - Liverpool (A)
28/05 - Brighton & Hove Albion (H)