Every Premier League outfit will be eyeing a spot in the top five with England’s top flight poised for an extra Champions League team.
For years all eyes have been on the top four, but an impressive showing in Europe means a fifth team stands to benefit. The race to become that fifth team is hotly contested with Nottingham Forest in third looking nervously over their shoulder as they hope for a happy ending to their fairytale season.
Aston Villa may have been well beaten on Tuesday night at Crystal Palace but they remain firmly in the hunt despite sitting down in tenth. Unai Emery’s side cracked the top four last term and will be determined to ensure their Champions League venture lasts more than a season.
Manchester City and Chelsea, two previous winners of Europe’s top prize, find themselves competing with south coast outfits like Brighton and Bournemouth, who can both remember life in League One less than two decades ago.
With the title seemingly heading to Liverpool the race for the top five, not the destination of the Premier League trophy, is where all eyes will likely be in the final months of the season.
We take a look at how each team is fixed as they eye the riches of the Champions League next season.
Nottingham Forest
Plenty tipped them for relegation, but how they’ve proved everyone wrong as Nuno Espirito Santo leads them on an impressive charge. Forest have continued to pick up results with their defensive resilience a huge asset. As are the goals of Chris Wood with the New Zealander proving that the club have a poacher who will continue to produce in the final third.
Three losses in their last four games represents some of their worst form of the season and their Champions League hopes could well come down to a game on the final day against Chelsea at the City Ground.
Chelsea
A much needed win over Southampton bought the Blues back into the top four, but their staggering drop off since Christmas has to be a concern. They were within two points of Liverpool before Christmas, but are now struggling to hold onto a Champions League spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side have continued to deceive and Cole Palmer’s form has also fallen away, which seems to have had an impact on the entire team. Nicolas Jackson’s injury leaves the team without their main striker for now and they also have the Europa Conference League to think about, which leaves them with the unenviable Thursday – weekend turnaround.
Man City
Everyone keeps waiting for them to click into gear but it isn’t quite happening. One week they’re hammering Newcastle and the next they’re outplayed by Liverpool. In a very un-Pep Guardiola move they spent big in January and Omar Marmoush does look like he has the spark they need going forward. Rodri’s absence leaves a huge void, although he could return before the season is out.
Other than a possible FA Cup this year has been a right off at the Etihad, but they simply have to secure a Champions League spot otherwise it goes from a poor year to a disaster. Imagine Guardiola’s final season being played out with Europa League football. The season’s final game at Fulham could be crucial come the final reckoning.
Newcastle
Missing out on the Champions League last year was forgiven given they were competing in it for the first time and, as new clubs find out, playing midweek and then on Saturday is no easy task. Eddie Howe can lean reliably on the goals of Alexander Isak and the Magpies know they have the firepower to compete with the best.
They are lacking the consistency that would put them higher up the table, but showed early this season they can string together a run of wins. They are free from European football and that could prove crucial, but they know that their future ambitions will be massively aided by Champions League revenue.
Bournemouth
Last year Andoni Iraola did an impressive job as an unknown name, this year he’s beyond exceeded that. Bournemouth picked up a 3-0 win at Manchester United for the second straight year and, despite the doubters, they’ve not fallen away.
The Cherries have claimed some huge scalps and have unlocked some true gems in the likes of Dean Huijsen whilst Justin Kluivert is proving a huge hit in the final tihrd. The fixture list hasn’t been kind to them though – three of their final four games are against Arsenal, Aston Villa and Man City.
Brighton
The Seagulls rarely make a poor step when it comes to recruitment and managerial hires and Fabian Hurzeler, coupled with signing the likes of Georginio Rutter, Matt O’Riley and Yankuba Minteh has Brighton in the European hunt once again.
The team have just strung together three wins on the bounce for the first time this season, seeing off some of their closest rivals in the process, and Kaoru Mitoma looks back to his best. The next few weeks are likely to prove defining with games to come against Fulham, Man City and Aston Villa.
Fulham
The west Londoners have gone quietly about their business but Marco Silva is proving what a shrewd operator he is. Statement wins at the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle have underlined their credentials and Fulham have managed to make Raul Jimenez look like the striker he was when he lit it up at Wolves several years ago. All eyes are likely to be on the final day, when they’ll host Pep Guardiola and Man City in a potential winner takes all clash.
Aston Villa
Villa have endured the struggles that Newcastle did last term, which is part of the deal when negotiating the Champions League for the first time. An impressive European adventure has them in the last 16, but their Premier League record when returning from Champions League action is poor.
That will need to be addressed if Unai Emery is to keep the team moving forward, especially with the European revenue key to their plans. Big names were added in January with Marcus Rashford set to play a key role, albeit he will sit out a potentially defining final day when the team play at Old Trafford.
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