With the coronavirus pandemic having brought a halt to the Premier League campaign, Liverpool are yet to discover whether they will be given the opportunity to end their three-decade wait for a league title.
However, the majority of the 20 clubs in England's top flight face an anxious wait over their own positions, whether that be to do with European qualification or potential relegation to the Championship.
Naturally, the current global crisis has caught everyone off guard, resulting in frequent meetings being held between the powers-that-be at their respective organisations. However, it naturally raises the question of what would have happened in years gone by had the Premier League been ended after gameweek 29.
Today, we are looking at 1995-96, meaning that Newcastle United supporters probably already know what is coming. They ended the season having missed out on the top-flight crown by just four points as Manchester United regained the crown which they had lost 12 months earlier.
However, the Magpies had been ahead by one point with a game in hand after gameweek 29. They held that advantage despite putting together a three-match winless streak, which included a 1-0 defeat at home to their rivals in early March.
Although the North-East outfit still recorded a respectable 17 points from their closing 10 fixtures, Man United dropped just two points from their last nine outings.
Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal held third, fourth and fifth place respectively after gameweek 29, positions which they had retained by the end of the campaign to secure qualification for Europe.
There was also no change when it came to Queens Park Rangers and Bolton Wanderers finishing the season in the bottom two spots, subsequently leading to their relegation to Division One.
However, despite sitting above the drop zone after gameweek 29, Manchester City would join QPR and the Trotters in the second tier due to possessing a poorer goal difference to Coventry City and Southampton respectively.
Remarkably, there was very little change throughout the division during the final two months of the season. None of the 20 teams moved up or down the standings by more than two places.
Darren Plant
