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 two points separate five clubs chasing the three remaining places.

As It Stands

Newcastle are in pole position in terms of league position at the time of writing, but a win for Nottingham Forest over Tottenham on Monday night will move them back up to third in the table.

In terms of the current betting odds, it's Manchester City that the Sportsbook fancy most to finish in the top five, with Newcastle and Chelsea also fancied to finish in those lucrative places. Aston Villa 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

Newcastle United

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

Teams to play index:  9.6

Manchester City

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

Teams to play index:  11.8

Chelsea

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

Teams to play index:  7.4

Nottingham Forest

- Tottenham (16)- Brentford (11)- Crystal Palace (12)- Leicester (19)- West Ham (17)- Chelsea (5)

Teams to play index:  13.33

Aston Villa

- 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 13.33 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.