Michael Owen verdict on Champions League qualifying race | OneFootball

Michael Owen has been discussing the competition for Champions League places with five Premier League clubs chasing three places – Manchester City, Newcastle United, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa.

Only three rounds of Premier League matches remain before the season ends.

Monday night saw Nottingham Forest get a point at Crystal Palace thanks to a 1-1 draw.

So how do things look in the race to secure a position of third, fourth or fifth in the Premier League?

The five competing Premier League clubs, their respective current positions (as at Thursday 6 May 2025) and the remaining matches in the Champions League chase:

Man City 64 points GD +24

Southampton (A), Bournemouth (H), Fulham (A)

Newcastle United 63 points GD +21

Chelsea (H), Arsenal (A), Everton (H)

Chelsea 63 points GD +21

Newcastle (A), Man U (H), Forest (A)

Forest 61 points GD +12

Leicester (H), West Ham (A), Chelsea (H)

Villa 60 points GD +6

Bournemouth (A), Spurs (H), Man U (A)

Michael Owen and Jamie Carragher talking to Sky Sports about the race for Champions League qualification, following Crystal Palace 1 Nottingham Forest 1 on Monday night:

Michael Owen:

“I don’t think that point [for Nottingham Forest] is bad at all.

“If they had lost [against Crystal Palace] and were stuck on 60, three points behind Newcastle and Chelsea, then they would need results to go their way.

“This way it is still in their hands.

“I can see it being a shootout at home to Chelsea on the final day.

“I don’t think that’s a bad point at all.”

Jamie Carragher:

“This point may be really important considering what’s happening next weekend. They’ve [Forest] got Leicester [City] at home, a game they should win.

“Newcastle and Chelsea play each other. If that’s a draw, they go level with them, and if one of them loses, they go above one of them. The rest have really tough games. There will be points dropped next week, no doubt about it.

“Tonight may not feel like the greatest result in the world as a Nottingham Forest fan, but if they win next week, it’s a guarantee that teams will drop points.”

The third last round of matches for the five clubs are at the weekend and on Saturday 10 May it is Southampton v Man City (3pm) followed by Bournemouth v Villa (5.30pm), before then on Sunday 11 May it is Newcastle v Chelsea (12pm) and Forest v Leicester (2.15pm).