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

Five teams are fighting for three places as they enter the final four matches of the Premier League season

With just a few matches remaining of the Premier League season the race for Champions League qualification is going down to the wire.

Newcastle United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest will battle to secure the final spots in Europe’s premier cup competition, with Arsenal having all but secured their place and Liverpool crowned as champions.

Arne Slot’s sealed their 20th top-flight title at a canter, while the three relegation spots already confirmed, leaving the race for the top five as all that’s left to provide drama before the final weekend.

The strong performances of the English sides in Europe has earned an extra qualification place for next season’s Champions League, while Manchester United or Tottenham will be a sixth entrant after the Premier League pair set up a Europa League final meeting.

But which teams are best placed to finish in the top five come the end of May? Let’s take a look...

Newcastle United

Points: 66 (played 36)

Newcastle’s victory over Chelsea was huge in the race of the top-five, and they may even be eying a place in the top-two if they can beat Arsenal for the fourth time this season when they go to the Emirates next week.

Sandro Tonali’s early goal gave Newcastle a dream start at Stamford Bridge and they held on secure an important victory over Enzo Maresca’s side, who were down to 10 men after Nicolas Jackson’s red card, when Bruno Guimaraes sealed a massive three points late on.

One more win could be enough for Newcastle to secure top five. The Arsenal fixture is tough, and their record at the Emirates is woeful, but Newcastle then finish the season at home to Everton.

Tonali scored the early against Chelsea (Getty Images)

Remaining fixtures

18 May: Arsenal (A)

25 May: Everton (H)

Manchester City

Points: 65 (played 36)

Pep Guardiola has already emphasised the potential importance of qualifying for Europe’s top-tier competition after a difficult season for the defending champions.

A damaging draw at Southampton was a serious slip-up as Manchester City missed out on the chance to move level on points with Arsenal in second, opening the door to those below to close the gap.

Guardiola’s side now need to navigate potentially problematic matches against Bournemouth and Fulham, who are both pushing for a top-half finish.

Remaining fixtures

18 May: Bournemouth (H)

25 May: Fulham (A)

Chelsea

Points: 63 (played 36)

Oh Nicolas Jackson, what have you done? Chelsea’s run of five wins in a row came crashing to a halt against Newcastle, in a potentially damaging defeat that was not made any easier by the striker’s first-half red card for elbowing Sven Botman.

Chelsea’s hopes will come down to their final home fixture of the season, at home to Europa League finalists Manchester United, and then away to fellow top-five challengers Nottingham Forest on the final day. They were helped by Leicester’s late equaliser against Forest on Sunday afternoon, which kept Chelsea in the top five, ahead of Aston Villa on goal difference.

Nicolas Jackson holds up his hand after he was sent off against Newcastle (REUTERS)

Chelsea’s remaining fixtures are as follows:

16 May: Manchester United (H)

25 May: Nottingham Forest (A)

Aston Villa

Points: 63 (played 36)

A gutsy win at Bournemouth was vital for Aston Villa as Ollie Watkins again showed his worth. It’s a pleasant enough end to the season for Unai Emery’s side, too, with their last two matches against Europa League final combatants Tottenham and Manchester United - whose focus may well lie elsewhere.

Villa will be looking to emulate this season's successful Champions League campaign next term (Getty Images)

Villa’s remaining fixtures are as follows:

18 May: Tottenham (H)

25 May: Manchester United (A)

Nottingham Forest

Points: 62 (played 36)

A point against Crystal Palace only partially stopped the rot after four defeats in five games, but a 2-2 draw against already relegated Leicester was a real blow, particularly as Forest could have jumped ahead of Chelsea with a win.

They will need to beat West Ham and then Chelsea on the final day to have a chance of finishing in the top-five.

Forest are looking to return to the European Cup for the first time since 1980 (Getty Images)

Forest’s remaining fixtures are as follows:

18 May: West Ham (A)

25 May: Chelsea (H)