Premier League top five race poised for nail-biting finale | OneFootball

With Liverpool already crowned Premier League champions and Arsenal on the cusp of securing second place, the race for the remaining Champions League spots promises to go down to the wire. Manchester City, dethroned after four years of domestic dominance, are fighting to salvage a top-three finish amid mounting pressure from Newcastle United and Chelsea.

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are lurking in the shadows, with only four points separating five teams heading into the last two matchdays.

With just a handful of matches left, thin margins, head-to-head clashes and schedule predicaments will shape the final standings as we dive straight into our predictions.

Manchester City

Man City’s four-year reign in the Premier League came to an emphatic end two weeks ago as Liverpool dethroned Pep Guardiola’s charges with four games to spare.

Losing their stranglehold on the division for the first time since 2020 is the least of the Cityzens’ problems now that their top-five ambitions hang by a thread.

A timely return to form, which had seen Guardiola’s team win four consecutive league games for the first time since the opening four rounds, came in handy.

City can finish as the runners-up in the best-case scenario after closing the gap on second-placed Arsenal to three points, but securing Champions League football remains the main objective.

Three points against Southampton should’ve been a foregone conclusion, but Man City slumped to a scoreless draw at St Mary’s Stadium.

Therefore, they cannot take Bournemouth and Fulham for granted in the final two rounds despite boasting a two-point cushion over sixth-placed Villa.

Newcastle United

Newcastle’s form has dwindled at the worst moment, with the Magpies faltering in three league outings (W1, D1, L1), including a 1-1 draw against Brighton & Hove Albion a fortnight ago.

However, Eddie Howe’s men have recently reigned supreme at St James’ Park, winning six successive league games, including a 2-0 triumph against fellow Champions League contenders Chelsea.

Despite a toughest-looking schedule among top-five hopefuls – at least on paper – the Magpies are in pole position to return to Europe’s most prestigious club competition.

Indeed, their formidable form on home soil renders a final-day clash against Everton a near-certain win.

Beating Arsenal in North London in the penultimate round could prove a tall order, yet the Gunners’ recent downfall indicates Newcastle could secure a top-five finish with a game to spare.

Chelsea

Starting Matchday 36 level on points with fourth-placed Newcastle, in-form Chelsea had every reason for optimism after peaking at the perfect time.

In addition to beating Djurgarden 5-1 on aggregate to reach the Europa Conference League final, the Blues had won their last three league matches, including a 3-1 triumph against Liverpool.

That incredible win against the newly-crowned champions saw Cole Palmer end a long-standing goal drought in the Premier League, perhaps marking the Chelsea talisman’s return to form.

Palmer’s resurgence could be just what the doctor ordered amid Enzo Maresca’s faltering quest to find a cure for Chelsea’s travel sickness, with the team winning just once on their last ten league travels.

The latest disappointment took place at St James’ Park as Newcastle beat them 2-0.

Maresca’s future at Stamford Bridge probably hinges on bringing Chelsea back to the elite level of European football, but a gruelling schedule could still undermine his pursuit of a top-five finish.

Chelsea will put their Champions League aspirations on the line against out-of-sorts Manchester United and overachieving Nottingham Forest in the last two rounds.

Nottingham Forest

A season initially pegged as historic for Forest has spiralled into disarray on the back of their rotten patch since beating Man Utd at the start of April.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have since won just once in six league encounters (D2, L3), significantly compromising their chances of dining out at Europe’s top table for the first time since 1980/81.

After dropping out of the top five for the first time since the start of the season, Forest had to stem the bleeding against the already-relegated Leicester City last weekend.

Completing their first league double over the Foxes since 1994/95 was imperative for Forest following a gut-wrenching 1-1 stalemate at Crystal Palace.

Yet, all they could take was a 2-2 draw on home turf.

Espirito Santo’s side must not lose hope, considering a single-point gap to fifth-placed Chelsea is far from unattainable, especially with the two teams locking horns on the final weekend.

Before that crunch meeting at the City Ground, Forest will trade tackles with bottom-half West Ham United in a must-win fixture at the London Stadium.

Aston Villa

Unai Emery earned hero status at Villa Park last season as he steered the club back to the Champions League for the first time this century.

The Spaniard’s hopes of replicating that success are on the precipice of collapse despite Villa’s impressive run of seven wins from their last eight league outings (L1).

With only three points separating Villa from a coveted fifth place, there’s no room for error at the tail-end of an exhausting campaign marred by injuries and battles on multiple fronts.

Last up for Emery’s side was the visit to the Vitality Stadium, where they had failed to beat Bournemouth in their last three top-flight showdowns (D1, L2), conceding precisely twice on each occasion.

However, Ollie Watkins’ match-winning strike toward the end of the first half reignited the Lions’ top-five pursuit, drawing them level on points with fifth-placed Chelsea.

However, after defying their recent struggles in Boscombe, Villa have a fighting chance, as they face Tottenham Hotspur and Man Utd in the season finale.