Just five matches remain for most Premier League teams with the fates of many clubs still up in the air. Nick Miller offers up his five major questions prior to the season's conclusion on May 15.

1. CAN LEICESTER HANG ON?

If one of the more traditional powers was seven points clear at the top with five games remaining, nobody would ask this question, but since it's Leicester, and people have been half-waiting for them to slip up for about six months, some still are. But they have shown absolutely no indication that they will falter, grinding out victories in recent weeks by tightening up their defence and relying on nicking the odd goal, edging closer and closer to their implausible prize. With a focus that has hardly wavered, Claudio Ranieri's side are advancing with cold-eyed certainty, game after game.

As an indication of their current mental state, club performance psychologist Ken Way told The Times this week: "I'm not a busy man at the moment...I was even able to take a short holiday last week and not worry about it....The dressing room is buoyant...There is a party atmosphere, but it's also extremely focused. Nobody is thinking about the consequences of what they're doing. It's one game at a time, like Claudio has said all along."

All of which doesn't sound like a team that are going to choke any time soon. It'll probably take a little while after the end of this season for us all to really take in what Leicester have achieved, but even without that perspective, this has still been utterly incredible in the original sense of the word.

2. WHO WILL FINISH SECOND, AND WILL IT MATTER?

As you'll probably know, if you've had any contact with any Arsenal fans recently at all, it's been nearly 21 years since Tottenham finished above Arsenal in the league, but on that occasion both North London sides ended in the relative irrelevance of seventh and 12th places, respectively. This time, a runners-up spot is on offer, and it would have differing relevance to both teams.

For Tottenham, while they will no doubt be disappointed not to win the league, at least it will be a symbol of progress, their highest ever Premier League finish and their first runners-up spot since 1963. For Arsenal, all they would have is the satisfaction of beating their rivals again -- which isn't nothing, but equally any position between second and fourth is essentially meaningless for them.

That's been the standard for the last 12 seasons, neither particular success nor failure, and whether they come second or third hardly makes a difference. If they don't win the league, little has been achieved, but for Tottenham second place will mean something.

3. WHAT WOULD RELEGATION DO TO SAM ALLARDYCE'S REPUTATION?

While everyone is rightly getting excited about the goings on at the top of the table, the real action is towards the bottom this weekend. Not right at the bottom, with bottom feeders Aston Villa set to be officially put out of their misery, and 19th place Newcastle's prospects looking bleak to say the least, but in the scrap to avoid the third relegation spot. The two candidates, Sunderland and Norwich, meet this weekend. While a draw or defeat will simply make things more uncomfortable for the Canaries, should Sunderland lose, the Black Cats' time may well be up. They will still have a game in hand, but would be seven points adrift with five games remaining: a grim prospect for Sam Allardyce's side.

So what would dropping into the second tier do to Allardyce's reputation? He could use the excuse of not having a full season at the helm; that he undoubtedly inherited something of a mess and they have very clearly improved since he arrived in October. And yet Sunderland are, in terms of points from safety, currently only one better than when he took the job, some 24 games and a transfer window ago.

Allardyce's opinion of himself will probably remain quite high, and he recently hinted that he wouldn't stick around should they drop, but would a Premier League side give him a decent job after this? For Allardyce, there might be more on the line than Sunderland's place in the top flight.

4. CAN ROBERTO MARTINEZ SALVAGE SOMETHING FROM THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON?

A little positivity, in a world where people enjoy complaining, is of course no bad thing. Too much positivity, however, and you start to look a little strange, and Roberto Martinez has definitely fallen into that category over the last season. The Everton manager described their 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace on Wednesday as "incredible," when most who watched the game would perhaps go no further than "solid" for a performance against a team who had just won their first game in 14.

It's a theme with Martinez, excessively praising mediocre results and performances, as the consensus generally tells us that this has been an incredibly underwhelming campaign for the Toffees, causing a significant proportion of their support to turn on the manager.

Leighton Baines eventually apologised for suggesting there was a lack of chemistry in the Everton squad last week, an apology that further infuriated those in the stands, but his initial statement rang true. As things stand it looks like Martinez is wasting a brilliant collection of young players, "guiding" the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Ross Barkley and John Stones to 12th in the table and in terms of points closer to the relegation zone than the top four.

With new owners/investors making the decisions at Goodison Park, Martinez needs something to impress them in the remainder of the season. If they don't win the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United, he'll need something pretty spectacular in the league to strengthen the case for keeping him on.

5. COULD WEST HAM PIP THE MANCHESTER SIDES TO A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PLACE?

If West Ham just miss out on an unlikely spot in the top four, they will have an excessive number of draws to blame: no team have drawn more than the Hammers' 13, and if a couple of those had been turned into victories, they would be breathing right down Manchester City's necks for fourth place.

As it is, West Ham are five points behind City with six games remaining, yet they will be encouraged by their fixtures which look relatively favourable: they have Leicester this weekend, but after that the Hammers face Watford, West Brom, Swansea and Stoke, with their penultimate game at home to Manchester United.

Louis van Gaal's men have similar levels of difficulty, but City have to face Chelsea, Arsenal and a ticklish away trip to Southampton. Making up five points in a short amount of time is a tall order, but it's perfectly possible for a West Ham side that have already defied most expectations this season.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by Nick Miller

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