The race for the Champions League spots is heating up, with Manchester City, Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, and Aston Villa all vying for a spot.
Let’s see who has the best chance of making it?
Manchester City
Despite not being at their best this season, in the last couple of games, Pep Guardiola’s side have started to regain the form which saw them retain the Premier League Title for the fourth time in a row.
However, due to injuries to key players such as Rodri, they have been nowhere near their usual selves.
However, Omar Marmoush’s singing has made their attack even more fearsome in terms of a goalscoring threat.
Marmoush has six goals in 11 appearances in the Premier League this season,
But with Erling Haaland still out with an ankle injury, City will be hoping that he and the likes of Savinho and De Bruyne can be amongst the goals, as they look to secure Champions League football next season
City beat Aston Villa 2-1 in a crucial clash on Tuesday. There is no doubt that the winner of that game will take a giant stride towards retaining their Champions League status.
Despite facing relegated Southampton, Forest, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and Bournemouth, it is not an easy run-in.
Guardiola’s side would probably need three wins from four to guarantee themselves a spot in next season’s competition.
Nottingham Forest
Despite back-to-back defeats against Villa and Everton, it has still been a hugely successful season for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.
Currently sixth in the league, two back-to-back defeats away at Villa and at home to Everton have their fate for Champions League Football hanging in the balance.
However, Monday night’s 2-1 away win at Tottenham Hotspur has put them on the brink of achieving their goal.
“We embrace the challenge. We are ahead of a big week for us, we’re going to Wembley to compete against a big team and there are a lot of games ahead of us. As long as we keep this approach, competing well, you never know.”
Espirito Santo: Sky SportsBrentford, Crystal Palace, West Ham, and Chelsea will be a tough run in for the East Midlands side, you would suspect that six points from those final four games, should be enough to guarantee a place in next season’s competition.
Can they do it?
Chelsea
Fresh from their incredible West London derby comeback win against Fulham, Enzo Maresca’s Blues still keep their hopes of Champions League football alive.
The question is, are they consistent enough?
Despite the victory at Craven Cottage, the two draws against Brentford and Ipswich mean that their fate of playing in Europe’s premier competition remains in the balance.
However, the Chelsea boss insists that whatever happens, it has still been a successful season for them.
“Chelsea in the last two years have never been in the Champions League spot and this season we spent the whole season there,” “Today doesn’t change my view, it is already a good season and can become very good if we finish in the Champions League spot.
Maresca: BBC Sport
As it stands, The Blues are level with Villa in sixth and two points behind Newcastle in fifth, .
Everton, Liverpool, Newcastle, Manchester United, and Nottingham Forest are the remaining five fixtures left.
It seems a challenging task, given Chelsea’s recent form, but they must win all five of those games to stand a realistic chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
Can they do it?
Aston Villa
Though it has been a good couple of weeks for Unai Emery’s side, the defeat against City has also left their hopes of Champions League football in the balance.
As it stands, they are seventh with 57 points from 34 games.
However, the performance in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final, plus the games in between, gives the West Midlands side a chance of returning to Europe’s elite competition next season.
Yet the Villa Boss insist that this isn’t the time to panic.
“We have to accept this defeat,” “We played a very competitive match for 90 minutes. “It is a key moment in the Premier League. My idea against Manchester City was to compete and win, getting close to the level we are achieving.”
Emery: Birmingham Mail
Post the FA Cup semi-final with Crystal Palace on Saturday, Fulham, Bournemouth, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United are their last five games till the end of the season.
Can they make it back into Europe’s elite?
Newcastle United
Since their Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool, Eddie Howe’s Magpies have grown in strength from strength to strength, with just one defeat in their last five games.
A big reason for this is Alexander Isak’s form.
Isak, along with Erling Haaland, is the Premier League’s joint-second top scorer with 21 goals behind Mohammed Salah, who has 27.
With Eddie Howe absent due to pneumonia, Assistant Coach Jason Tindal, who has been put in charge, seems to be doing a decent job.
Despite the 4-1 defeat at Villa, the 5-0 win against Crystal Palace has kept them in the hunt for a Champions League spot.
“We are third in the Premier League and if you had said to anyone at the football club at the start of the season, would you be happy with being third in the Premier League with five games to go, I think everybody would have said yes.“
Tindall: The Mag
Ipswich, Brighton, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Everton are their final five fixtures of the season.
You would suspect that one or two more wins would guarantee them a spot in next season’s competition.
Who will make it to next season’s competition?
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