Nottingham Forest, Newcastle, Man City, Chelsea and Aston Villa: Who has the best run-in? | OneFootball

With just four matches remaining of the Premier League season, only five points separate third and seventh in the race for Champions League qualification.

Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Manchester City, Chelsea and Aston Villa will battle to secure the final two spots in Europe’s premier cup competition, with Arsenal and Liverpool having all but secured their places.

And with Reds having sealed their 20th top-flight title at a canter and all the three relegation spots already confirmed, the race for the top five is all that’s left to provide drama before the final weekend.

Forest were on course for a sensational return to the top level of European football, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have lost three of their last four in the Premier League, plus their defeat to City in the FA Cup semi-finals.

But with several of the sides in third to seventh still set to play each other as well as the champions-elect and relegated sides, which teams are best placed to finish in the top five come the end of May?

Newcastle United

Points: 62 (played 34)

Eddie Howe’s side were flying high after their Carabao Cup triumph and dominant wins over Manchester United and Palace, but they were quickly brought down to Earth with that 4-1 drubbing against Aston Villa.

They responded by beating Ipswich, but the Magpies will have to navigate a fairly difficult set of fixtures if they are to return to the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, as they face Arsenal and Chelsea on consecutive weekends before finishing the season at home to Everton.

This means that their next fixture against Brighton is a must-win, with the Seagulls having beaten them twice already this season they’ll have to be careful about slipping up too.

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Newcastle are in a strong position but face tough games against Chelsea and Arsenal (PA Wire)

Remaining fixtures

4 May: Brighton (A)

11 May: Chelsea (H)

18 May: Arsenal (A)

25 May: Everton (H)

Manchester City

Points: 61 (played 34)

Pep Guardiola’s side find themselves in unfamiliar territory with four games left to go, but the Spaniard has already emphasised the potential importance of qualifying for Europe’s top-tier competition.

Thankfully for the champions, they have arguably the kindest set of fixtures out of the five sides. Their huge win over Aston Villa, which came thanks to Matheus Nunes’ 94th minute winner, is followed by fixtures against Wolves and Southampton.

After that, City need to navigate matches against Bournemouth and Fulham, with the difficulty of those likely to depend on whether each side is still hunting their own place in European competition.

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Guardiola celebrates Nunes’ late winner (Getty Images)

Remaining fixtures

2 May: Wolves (H)

10 May: Southampton (A)

18 May: Bournemouth (H)

25 May: Fulham (A)

Chelsea

Points: 60 (played 34)

Though Chelsea are still well-positioned to make the top five, some of their fans will be wondering how it’s this close after being second in December. However, they were the big winners of Forest’s home defeat against Brentford on Thursday night, as their hopes are in their hands.

A poor run of form has led to some discontent at the Bridge, but the dramatic comeback win over Fulham and victory over Everton has restored some belief ahead of arguably the toughest run of fixtures out of the these five clubs.

There is certainly no ‘easy’ game remaining for the Blues, as they face champions Liverpool at the Bridge before the final home game of the season against Manchester United is sandwiched between difficult away trips to fellow top-five chasers Newcastle and Forest.

It could all come down to those last three fixtures for Enzo Maresca and his young side.

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Neto's late winner at the weekend ensured Chelsea remain in the competition for the top five (Getty Images)

Chelsea’s remaining fixtures are as follows:

4 May: Liverpool (H)

11 May: Newcastle (A)

16 May: Manchester United (H)

25 May: Nottingham Forest (A)

Nottingham Forest

Points: 60 (played 34)

Are the wheels coming off Forest’s incredible season after a fourth defeat in five games? Brentford added to their recent slump with a 2-0 win at the City Ground on Thursday night, which came after the dispiriting FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City.

However, their fixture list is looking the kindest of the contenders, as they face two of the most out-of-form sides in the league in Leicester and West Ham, as well as a Palace side who may well be looking ahead to an FA Cup final against Manchester City later this month.

“We have to find in ourselves. But I don’t see (pressure), I see belief, desire and commitment,” Nuno Espirito Santo said. “But the reality is we are struggling in some aspects of our game – focus and determination to be practical and solve the situations that are simple to solve.”

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Forest are looking to return to the European Cup for the first time since 1980 (Getty Images)

Forest’s remaining fixtures are as follows:

5 May: Crystal Palace (A)

11 May: Leicester (H)

18 May: West Ham (A)

25 May: Chelsea (H)

Aston Villa

Points: 57 (played 34)

Villa’s brilliant recent form has been hit by back-to-back defeats, to Manchester City late on at the Etihad and to Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Unai Emery’s side must pick themselves up quickly, and they face potential stumbling blocks in the form of Bournemouth and Fulham, who themselves are chasing lower European competition.

However, Villa may be able to count on wins in their last two matches against Spurs and United - who have written off their Premier League campaigns as they look to prepare for a Europa League final.

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Villa will be looking to emulate this season's successful Champions League campaign next term (Getty Images)