Premier League Top 5 Finish: State of play, remaining fixtures, betting odds and more | OneFootball

English Premier League

The race to finish in the top five is on

With the race to finish in the Premier League top five, and with it a place in next season's Champions League, set to go right down to the wire, Mike Norman outlines the current state of play, remaining fixtures and betting odds for all the teams in contention...

*First Published Monday 21 April

(will be updated after each game involving a top five finish contender)

Top 5 Finish the Premier League's end-of-season saviour

The destination of this season's Premier League title has all but been a foregone conclusion since the start of the year, and the three relegation places have all been decided with five games of the season to go. So just as a reminder, Liverpool will be crowned champions this season and Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton - the three newly-promoted clubs - will all be going straight back down to the Championship.

So thank goodness then that the people at Premier League towers who have to put forward the games to be shown live on TV each weekend have been saved by without doubt the best Top 5 Finish race we've ever had.

And the reason it's the best top five finish race the Premier League has ever seen is because never before has finishing fifth in the table guaranteed you a place in next season's Champions League, as it will this campaign.

Liverpool and Arsenal will almost certainly finish in the top five this season (it will take a miracle for the Gunners not to finish top five) meaning just three points separate five clubs chasing the three remaining places.

As It Stands

Nottingham Forest are in pole position in terms of league position following their gutsy 2-1 win over Tottenham on Monday night, but a win for Manchester City over Aston Villa on Tuesday night will move them up to third in the table. A win for Villa will move them up to fourth, level on points with Forest, and knock City out of the top five.

In terms of the current betting odds, it's still Man City that the Sportsbook fancy most to finish in the top five, with Nottm Forest and Newcastle also fancied to finish in those lucrative places. Chelsea is the other club firmly in with a chance of finishing in the top five this season.

Key:  GP = Games Played, Pts = Points, GD = Goal Difference

Remaining Fixtures for all Five Teams

- Home fixtures in bold- (League position of opponents in brackets)- Teams to play index = average league position of teams still to play

Nottingham Forest

Six-game form:  ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌ ❌ ✅

- Brentford (11)- Crystal Palace (12)- Leicester (19)- West Ham (17)- Chelsea (5)

Teams to play index:  12.8

Newcastle United

Six-game form:  ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ❌

- Ipswich (18)- Brighton (10)- Chelsea (5)- Arsenal (2)- Everton (13)

Teams to play index:  9.6

Manchester City

Six-game form:  ❌ 🤝 ✅ 🤝 ✅ ✅

- Aston Villa (7)- Wolves (15)- Southampton (20)- Bournemouth (8)- Fulham (9)

Teams to play index:  11.8

Chelsea

Six-game form:  ✅ ❌ ✅ 🤝 🤝 ✅

- Everton (13)- Liverpool (1)- Newcastle (3)- Manchester United (14)- Nottingham Forest (6)

Teams to play index:  7.4

Aston Villa

Six-game form:  ❌ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅ ✅

- Manchester City (4)- Fulham (9)- Bournemouth (8)- Tottenham (16)- Manchester United (14)

Teams to play index:  10.2

'Ifs and buts' to play a key role

With a teams to play index of 7.4 Chelsea appear to have the hardest set of fixtures but it is extremely likely that when they play Liverpool the Reds will have secured the Premier League title and have nothing to play for. They may also be nursing a title-winning hangover.

The Blues also have to face bottom half sides Everton and Man United who will also have nothing to play for, and in the case of United, they could be set to play a Europa League final just five days later meaning they'll almost certainly rest players for the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Newcastle have the second hardest set of fixtures according to their teams to play index of 9.6 but like Chelsea they have three games that might be easier than you'd first imagine. They have home games against relegated Ipswich (not mathematically relegated but 99.9% certain to be) and bottom half Everton, while when they play Arsenal the Gunners could be certain of finishing second and possibly be in preparation for a Champions League final.

Aston Villa have a teams to play index of 10.2 but they have a very tough away fixture at Manchester City on Tuesday evening and they also have to face teams (Bournemouth and Fulham) still chasing European football. However, their final two games are against Man United and Tottenham so it would be ideal for Villa if both of those clubs book their place in the Europa League final. True, they will play United after the final but that could still be in their favour.

With teams to play indexes of 11.8 and 12.8 respectively, Man City and Nottingham Forest appear to have the easiest run-ins of all five clubs. City play no club currently in the top six but do have to play a few teams (Bournemouth and Fulham) chasing European football, while Forest don't play any team currently in the top half of the table until the final day of the season when they host Chelsea at the City Ground.