All eyes were aimed at Liverpool and Arsenal during the Premier League weekend while the couple of heavily fought victories extended in the title race, but what about the sides among them?
The challenge for the Champions League places took a number of new twists and turns with defeats for Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea, as well as victories for Manchester City and Bournemouth. Fulham and Brighton are not out of comparison after victories over teams above them, while Aston Villas was a huge blow to a 10-man Ipswich at home.
So with England who looks for five places on the top table of the European football of next season, and consistency that challenges the parties for them, who is best ready for a top five finish? With Liverpool and Arsenal who most likely saw the top two, we asked our team that ends third to fifth.
John Cross
If Manchester City catches light, I still think they could push the spitsless Arsenal for second place. There. I said it. But at least the men of Pep Guardiola will make the Champions League places and my bet would be third.
If you needed the evidence that City still received large versions, you should not look beyond their demalcastle in Etihad on Saturday. Having said all that, I think Newcastle will end in the top five. No team with the sparkle of Alexander Isak, pace of Anthony Gordon and the efficiency of Jacob Murphy can miss the top phase of European football.
My last choice is Bournemouth. What a relief. Andoni Iraola should be in the conversation of the manager of the year (not winner, only in the conversation) for the job he does. They play good football, disturb the big boys and I hope that one of the unexpected teams will arrive. What a story that would be.
I still hope that Nottingham Forest will make it. I think they have been fantastic and I love the city. Aston Villa can trust the cups, but Unai Emery deserves a statue for what he has done. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Newcastle, 5th – Bournemouth
Chris McKenna
It is clear that the top two is now virtually sorted and a collapse from Liverpool, they will end the top with Arsenal Second.
Manchester City is not completely back on their best, but they show enough glimpse that they can put together a run and it will be a surprise for me if they do not finish the third position.
Fourth place is a lot harder to predict, but I believe that Nottingham Forest will achieve enough victories to return a shock to the Champions League. Fifth is everyone at this stage, but I think Chelsea will have just enough quality to get them over the line, while their rivals are getting into a team for the place of the team and other competitions such as Aston Villa Push in the Champions League. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Nottingham Forest, 5th – Chelsea
Tom Victor
Despite their tough first half of the season, Manchester City are traditionally strong finishers and the gap remains small enough that they should not even hit top equipment to crack the top four. However, the other places look far from certain.
A slump in the middle season is nothing new for Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who saw his Leicester side flirting with the top two falling into the championship before he finished strong. A repeat of that momentum shift This term could serve the blues well in a tight race for Champions League football.
Nottingham Forest has had ups and downs lately, but has quietly developed a decent team depth and have the bonus of a bit of a pillow over that just among them. For that reason I support the men of Nuno to claim that fifth place, although it will be a bit up close. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Chelsea, 5th – Nottingham Forest
Sam Meade
So the top two are anything but set, probably with Liverpool for Arsenal. Manchester City would be my tip for the best of the rest, they showed how electric they can be at the weekend and Guardiola will undoubtedly challenge his team to leave their bad mid -season behind and make a statement for the following season .
Fourth, and the only guaranteed Spot Champions League, I think it will eventually go to Newcastle. They have a bad achievement in them, as we saw, but talent is perhaps the fourth best team in the country and have a guarantee for goals in Alexander Isak.
Among them it is extremely competitive and fifth place can still mean Champions League football. It was a fantastic story and, given their ability to win and dig difficult games, I think Nottingham is holding forest and will post a great finish.
I would say that it is between them and villa, but with their involvement in the Champions League still hinders their competition form, their match at the beginning of April can be huge. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Newcastle, 5th – Nottingham Forest
David Anderson
I think the top five will be, because it is the end of the season with Chelsea and Newcastle the biggest names to be missed. Liverpool and Arsenal will be the top two and I expect Manchester City to continue their recovery and finishes third.
Nottingham Forest has a wobble and have only won two of their last five, are banging by Bournemouth and losses from Fulham. Nuno Espírito Santo has all the experience that is needed to arrange their nerves and get it over the line.
Bournemouth are the form horses and only Liverpool has defeated them in their last 13 Premier League matches since 23 November. Andoni Iraola lets them play a high intensity, high-Dringing game, where they are excess about opponents, and they have the quality needed in important areas to win competitions.
Chelsea only won two of their last nine after Enzo Maresca seemed to be the title challenges before Christmas and Newcastle and Newcastle also gone in the wrong direction. They have lost their last three Premier League matches worrying and the Carabao Cup has become a distraction. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Nottingham Forest, 5th – Bournemouth
Mike Walters
We have seen this film before and we know how it ends. In the Romantic Scenario Hollywood we wave Bournemouth, Fulham, Nottingham Forest or even Brighton to the Champions League, who wish Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and the emperor Nuno, good luck while they sail to Calais.
And it would be very nice to see what Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich make the Legoland format Vitality Stadium, the cozy changing rooms in Craven Cottage and Mull of Kintyre Anthem in the city.
But in the country where money speaks the loudest, the most vulgar currency of football usually has the influence. So when the music stops, if there are five English clubs in the Champions League next season, I would expect that they are Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and – assuming they are not distracted too much by the cups – Newcastle. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Chelsea, 5th – Newcastle
James Winging
As underwhelming as this season is for Manchester City, I still expect them to be the best of the rest. As the demolition of Newcastle showed on Saturday, they are still a force to take into account when they switch it on and Omar Marmoush that touches the ground can be an ominous sign for the rest of the campaign.
Newcastle itself has the advantage of no European football and has been largely impressive in recent weeks. I like to get fourth place and return the next term of the continent to the top table of the continent. Nottingham Forest has shown signs that they might fall from the pace, although their defeats have been both sides of a pounding 7-0 win over Brighton.
Aston Villa drops too many points that they should not be and can be apologized for the distraction of a sensational European campaign, which reached the last 16 of the Champions League. After an impressive start, the Chelsea season fell off a cliff and there are problems behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.
My tip for fifth place is Bournemouth, and how great it would be. The cherries have been a revelation under Andoni Iraola and don't look like faltering. If England gets the extra place for next season, how brilliant would it be to see people like Real Madrid or Barcelona at Dean Court? Make sure it is, football gods. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Newcastle, 5th – Bournemouth
Oli gamp
Predicting the European places of the Premier League This season must be one of the most difficult tasks in recent memory. Only a week or two ago you would have supported Newcastle to claim fourth place – but suddenly they are for most of the conversation after their 4-0 loss for Manchester City, who should finish the season strongly to claim third, Ridiculously a total disaster.
Fourth and fifth place is therefore a shot between Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Newcastle. If Chelsea Nicolas Jackson had not lost for eight weeks and Joao Felix had lent to leaving himself with virtually no strikers, I would have tipped them to finish fourth. But the blues cannot find consistency under Enzo Maresca after their 3-0 loss against Brighton.
So I see Forest continuing their excellent campaign to seal Champions League football – which would be a stunning achievement for a team that was almost relegated last season. For the last European place – if it is awarded to the fifth team – I believe that the momentum of Bournemouth should see them to keep Chelsea marginal.
Scoring goals will be difficult for Chelsea without a head center and they still have to play Aston Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest. Bournemouth is well set up under Andoni Iraola and looks like an absolute nightmare to play, plus they have a much easier list of luminaire. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Nottingham Forest, 5th – Bournemouth
Mark Jones
If they were to leave the Champions League on Wednesday, the rest of this season will be built to the next for Manchester City, and I would expect that many of their fresher faces such as Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez will be for the rest of the campaign. That feeling of novelty plus a run at the FA Cup should be enough for a comfortable third party.
If the remaining Champions League places are decided on the quality of football, then Bournemouth will hopefully be fourth. This season they have really been one of the stories of world football, and their refreshing playing style deserves reward.
The fifth and last place is a bit more difficult. Nottingham Forest has been great, but Saturday's defeat against Fulham was expensive, and they are confronted with Newcastle, Arsenal and Man City in their next three. They have to get on the front foot more often, but I just can't see it.
Elsewhere Chelsea looks like they are going through a bit of a wobble where it might be difficult to escape, especially with so little firepower, and the other parties are a bit too inconsistent to my taste. Everyone can beat almost everyone, so in that case why not go for the best team? Those are Newcastle's. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Bournemouth, 5th – Newcastle
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