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

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The Independent

·22. April 2025

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

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With just five matches remaining of the Premier League season, only three 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 the Reds likely to win their 20th top-flight title at a canter and two out of 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’s 2-1 win over Tottenham on Easter Monday propelled Nuno Espirito Santo’s side back up to third in the table, with Newcastle suffering a potentially damaging 4-1 loss to Aston Villa and Chelsea fighting back to beat local rivals Fulham 2-1 in the 93rd minute.

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?

Nottingham Forest

Points: 60

Forest’s win over Spurs means that they enter the final five gameweeks in a slightly more commanding position than their rivals as they look to return to European Cup participation for the first time since 1980.

The two-time winners are well-placed to do so too, was 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 shipped 10 goals across their matches against Newcastle and Manchester City.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side must contend an FA Cup semi-final against City this weekend, before they return to league action against Brentford on 1 May, but it could all come down to a final-day clash at home to Chelsea.

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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:

1 May: Brentford (H)

5 May: Crystal Palace (A)

11 May: Leicester (H)

18 May: West Ham (A)

25 May: Chelsea (H)

Newcastle United

Points: 59

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 drubbing against Villa.

And 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 – versus Ipswich this weekend – is a must-win, while they’ll have to be careful about slipping up against Brighton too, with the Seagulls having beaten them twice already this season.

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Newcastle's 4-1 loss to Villa could prove a damaging result in the race for the Champions League spots (Getty Images)

Newcastle’s remaining fixtures are as follows:

26 April: Ipswich (H)

4 May: Brighton (A)

11 May: Chelsea (H)

18 May: Arsenal (A)

25 May: Everton (H)

Manchester City

Points: 58

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

Thankfully for the champions, they have arguably the kindest set of fixtures out of the five sides. Plenty could ride on the result they get against Aston Villa in their next game, but that is followed by fixtures against Wolves and Southampton.

After that, the Cityzens 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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City arguably have the most favourable fixtures out of the teams hunting a top-five spot (Getty Images)

City’s remaining fixtures are as follows:

22 April: Aston Villa (H)

2 May: Wolves (H)

10 May: Southampton (A)

18 May: Bournemouth (H)

25 May: Fulham (A)

Chelsea

Points: 57

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.

A poor run of form has led to some discontent at the Bridge, but the dramatic comeback win over Fulham 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 Everton and 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:

26 April: Everton (H)

4 May: Liverpool (H)

11 May: Newcastle (A)

16 May: Manchester United (H)

25 May: Nottingham Forest (A)

Aston Villa

Points: 57

Villa briefly looked like their Champions League charge had faltered, but some brilliant recent form – coupled with the general feeling around the club after reaching the competition’s quarter-final and FA Cup semi-final – has propelled them back into contention.

Unai Emery’s side may need to beat Manchester City to really put themselves back into contention, 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 as they look to qualify for the competition in back-to-back seasons.

Before that though, an FA Cup semi-final against Palace beckons this weekend, and the result there could have a huge impact on the end of Villa’s season.