Nottingham Forest kept their European ambitions alive with a hard-fought victory over West Ham, while Arsenal secured their spot in next season’s competition after defeating Newcastle.
Forest’s unexpected push for Champions League football had appeared to be slipping away in recent weeks, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad winning just one of their last six matches. ..Continue Reading
However, they delivered an improved performance on Sunday, clinching a 2-1 win at the London Stadium against a struggling West Ham side, despite the Hammers’ recent triumph over Manchester United.
Morgan Gibbs-White, who has enjoyed an outstanding season at the City Ground, continued his impressive form by opening the scoring in the 11th minute against a below-par West Ham.
Nikola Milenkovic’s second-half header all but sealed the result for Forest, ensuring their Champions League hopes remained intact with their 19th win of the season, despite Jarrod Bowen pulling one back late on.
The victory moves seventh-placed Forest to 65 points ahead of the final matchday, leaving them with a chance to leapfrog Manchester City, Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Newcastle United in the battle for a coveted top-five finish.
Champions League permutations
Premier League top-seven
Liverpool (83 points, two games remaining)
Arsenal (71 points)
Newcastle United (66 points)
Chelsea (66 points)
Aston Villa (66 points)
Manchester City (65 points, two games remaining)
Nottingham Forest (65 points)
What Chelsea need to qualify for the Champions League?
Beating Nottingham Forest would guarantee their place in next season’s Champions League. And a draw would be enough if Man City or Aston Villa failed to win on the final day.
However a loss could be enough depending on Man City and Aston Villa’s final results
What Newcastle need to qualify for the Champions League?
Beating Everton would guarantee their place in the 2025-26 Champions League, But a draw may be enough, as could a defeat, depending on results elsewhere
What Man City need to qualify for the Champions League?
Beating Bournemouth and Fulham would guarantee their place in the Champions League. And four points would likely be enough, three and two may be.
Anything less and City would fail to qualify for the Champions League and drop into the Europa League.
In the late fixture, Declan Rice’s superb curling effort secured Arsenal a 1-0 victory over Newcastle, guaranteeing their place in next season’s Champions League.
Thanks to England’s strong UEFA coefficient this season, the top five Premier League teams, along with the Europa League winners—either Manchester United or Tottenham—will qualify for Europe’s elite competition.
Beyond Champions League qualification, Arsenal are also fighting to maintain their position as the second-best Premier League side for the third consecutive year.
Former Gunners midfielder Paul Merson has emphasized the significance of finishing second while securing a spot in the Champions League.
‘I think is it,’ he said on Sky Sports. ‘Just to stay consistent, I think it’s important.
‘If they fizzle out and finish third or fourth it won’t look very good. You want to leave it positive and then you can go and buy some players and improve the squad this summer.’
The sixth-placed team in the Premier League and the FA Cup winners will secure qualification for the Europa League.
Manchester City, the reigning Premier League champions, currently occupy sixth place but still have two matches left to close the gap on Aston Villa and Chelsea.
Following their defeat to Crystal Palace in Saturday’s FA Cup final, Pep Guardiola’s squad missed out on automatic European qualification, while Oliver Glasner’s Eagles have now booked their place in continental competition next season.
On Nottingham Forest’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League, City Ground manager Nuno said: ‘It’s great. Let’s enjoy it, it’s going to be a good week for us.
‘If we’d thought in the beginning of the season that we’d be playing to play in the Champions League we’d sign it. Chelsea are a tough team so let’s prepare well.’
Forest star Gibbs-White added: ‘Chelsea are an incredible team in good form so we’ll have to go back to the drawing board this week and focus on how we want to win that game.
‘It’s a do or die moment, one last push and we have to give it everything – the fans, the staff and us. We’ll be going in wanting three points.
‘We want Champions League and we’ll do our best to put on a good performance and get the three points.’
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