Premier League Top 4 Finish: Liverpool 2/1 after both Uniteds lose

• Top 4 race blown wide up by defeats for two Uniteds

• Liverpool on a roll and can end season with nine consecutive wins

• Newcastle require two more victories

• Brighton still in with a chance but have a trio of tough games

Liverpool are 2/1 on the Betfair Sportsbook to record a Top 4 Finish after beating Brentford on Saturday before both Newcastle and Manchester United lost their Sunday games.

The Reds - who have been matched at a high of 30.029/1 on the Betfair Exchange to finish in the top four - are now just one point behind the Red Devils and three behind the Magpies.

However, Jurgen Klopp's men have just three games remaining while the two teams immediately above them each have four games to play.

Newcastle are 1/9 to finish in the top four while Manchester United can be backed at 1/4.

Kind run-in for Reds

- Leicester (a)
- Aston Villa (h)
- Southampton (a)

Liverpool made it six wins on the spin thanks to Mo Salah's first half goal against the Bees on Saturday, and they have every chance of finishing the season with nine consecutive victories given their relatively kind run-in.

An away trip to relegation-threatened Leicester will be tough simply because the Foxes will be fighting for their lives, but should they take all three points there then Klopp's men will be massive favourites to win their final two games.

A home match against an Aston Villa team with potentially nothing to play for before an away game at rock-bottom (and likely to be already relegated) Southampton should pose little problems for Klopp's men.

It's very possible then that Liverpool will get to 71 points with a goal difference of at least +28.

Ten Hag needs nine points

- Wolves (h)
- Bournemouth (a)
- Chelsea (h)
- Fulham (h)

If Liverpool do get to 71 points then Manchester United will need to win at least three of their four remaining games to finish above them. Eight points will not be good enough because of their far inferior goal difference (currently +8).

Following two 1-0 away defeats on the spin - the latest being at West Ham on Sunday - the good news for Erik ten Hag is that three of his team's four remaining games are at Old Trafford.

Also beneficial to United is that all four of their remaining games are against teams with absolutely nothing to play for. Wolves and Bournemouth are safe from relegation while Chelsea and Fulham are guaranteed to finish mid-table.

However, United's form has been terrible of late, winning just one of their previous seven games in regulation time and failing to score a single goal in four of those matches.

Two wins required for Magpies

- Leeds (a)
- Brighton (h)
- Leicester (h)
- Chelsea (a)

Newcastle are undoubtedly in pole position in the race to finish in the top four despite losing at home to Arsenal on Sunday.

They have a three point cushion over Liverpool in fifth, have a game in hand, and crucially they have a far better goal difference (+32) than the Reds and Man Utd.

Mathematically Eddie Howe's men require six more points, and they'll be confident of getting them with games against struggling Leeds and Leicester as two of their remaining four matches.

A home game against Brighton will be extremely tough, but should Newcastle need a result on the final day of the season then they'll be confident of doing so away to a Chelsea team in poor form that will have absolutely nothing to play for.

Seagulls not completely dismissed

- Everton (h)
- Arsenal (a)
- Newcastle (a)
- Southampton (h)
- Man City (h)
- Aston Villa (a)

Should both Liverpool and Brighton win all their remaining fixtures then the Seagulls will actually finish on 73 points, two ahead of the Reds, so perhaps we shouldn't completely dismiss them at 11/1 in the Top 4 Finish market.

However, Roberto de Zerbi's men have tough away games upcoming against title-chasing Arsenal and top four rivals Newcastle. And their penultimate game of the season is againt Premier League champions Manchester City.

Brighton do have some winnable games remaining, and we should never rule out a team that has surprised us all season, but realistically they're unlikely to finish with more than 68 points, and that won't be good enough to finish in the top four.

Top 4 Finish Odds:

- Newcastle 1/9
- Mancester United - 1/4
- Liverpool 2/1
- Brighton 11/1

*odds correct as of 12:30, Monday 8 May