With only five matches remaining for most clubs, the fight at the top of the table remains wide open.
Liverpool are almost certain to clinch the title, but the gap between second-placed Arsenal and seventh-placed Aston Villa is just nine points, leaving six teams still in the hunt for a Champions League berth. ..Continue Reading
Thanks to England’s strong UEFA coefficient, five Premier League teams are set to qualify for Europe’s top tournament next season.
According to Shearer, however, a couple of clubs in contention are likely to miss out.
It’s widely expected that Liverpool and Arsenal have already secured two of the five available spots, barring any major slip-ups in the final stretch.
Newcastle currently sit third, only two points clear of Aston Villa after their recent defeat to the Midlands side, meaning the fight for the remaining three places is still fierce.
Defending champions Manchester City, Chelsea, and an in-form Nottingham Forest are all pushing hard for qualification, but Shearer predicts that only one of those three will make it into the top five, with the other two falling just short.
Writing for BBC Sport, the Newcastle legend revealed: “As I said on MOTD2, right now my guess would be that maybe Chelsea and Forest will be the teams who miss out – but that situation could change very quickly.
“There will be ups and downs for all five clubs involved but they have all got valid reasons for thinking they can and will make it.
“They all have the same incentive too – getting in the Champions League, or not, is massive because of the financial rewards it brings.”
Despite pointing out that Premier league games will become increasingly hard to predict as some teams will no longer have anything to play for, Shearer believes Chelsea’s run-in until the end of the season could hold them back.
He added: “Even with that in mind, though, I still look at Chelsea’s fixtures as being among the toughest, just because they have got to travel to two of their rivals, Newcastle and Forest, as part of their run-in.”
Shearer also noted that a dip in form for players like Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer will no doubt hold Enzo Maresca’s side back in their hopes for Champions League football.
While he argued that Man City, Villa and Newcastle will finish ahead of Forest simply due to the experience and desire of clubs of their size.
