Liverpool has officially won the Premier League title, although we had been waiting a while for it to be mathematically confirmed. The relegation places have also been decided, with Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich Town going straight back down to the Championship. However, the European qualifying spots are still up for grabs in English soccer's top flight.
Premier League standings
TEAM | RECORD (last five games) | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
Liverpool | W-L-W-W-W | 82 |
Arsenal | W-D-D-W-D | 67 |
Newcastle | W-W-W-L-W | 62 |
Man City | W-D-W-W-W | 61 |
Chelsea | W-D-D-W-W | 60 |
Nottingham Forest | W-W-L-L-W | 60 |
Aston Villa | W-W-W-W-L | 57 |
Fulham | L-W-L-L-W | 51 |
Brighton | L-L-D-L-W | 51 |
Bournemouth | L-D-W-D-D | 50 |
Brentford | W-L-D-D-W | 46 |
Crystal Palace | W-L-L-D-D | 45 |
Wolves | W-W-W-W-W | 41 |
Man United | L-D-L-L-D | 39 |
Everton | L-D-W-L-L | 38 |
Tottenham | L-W-L-L-L | 37 |
West Ham | L-D-L-D-L | 36 |
Ipswich Town | W-L-D-L-L | 21 |
Leicester City | L-L-D-L-L | 18 |
Southampton | D-L-L-D-L | 11 |
Can Nottingham Forest still qualify for the Champions League?
Of course, Liverpool has already qualified for next season's Champions League. Arsenal, Newcastle United, Manchester City, and Chelsea currently occupy the other top five places. However, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa both have an outside chance of finishing in a Champions League qualifying position.
It would be a shame for Forest to miss out on a place in the top five, especially as they were at one point considered challengers to Liverpool for the title. Nuno Espirito Santo's side has been the surprise package of the Premier League season. However, they could end the campaign on a disappointing note. Forest do have a game in hand this week against Brentford, if they win, then they will move up to third in the division.
If Forest wins or draws on Thursday, Chelsea will drop out of the top five. Enzo Maresca's side is undefeated in its last five games, with three victories and two draws. The Blues could be hitting form at just the right time. They play Forest on the final day of the season, which could be a shootout for a Champions League spot.
Will Aston Villa be in European soccer's premier competition again?
Villa also have a chance of being in the Champions League again next season. However, it will be difficult for Unai Emery's side with on-loan Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford potentially missing the rest of the season with a hamstring injury. If Villa do not finish in the top five, then it will hinder their chances of signing Rashford permanently.
Fortunately, Villa have a very strong attack. Rashford's injury will allow Ollie Watkins back into the side. Watkins will be playing with a point to prove after playing second fiddle to Rashford recently. Villa did very well in the Champions League this season, they made it to the quarter-finals, where they lost to one of the favorites, Paris Saint-Germain.
Arsenal have all but qualified for the Champions League
It is only a matter of time before Arsenal mathematically qualify for the Champions League. It has been disappointing that Mikel Arteta's side has not been able to challenge Liverpool for the title this season. However, when the Gunners failed to sign a striker in January with Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz injured, it was always going to be very difficult.
Arsenal are still in the Champions League and play PSG tonight. The French side has already knocked out Liverpool and Villa, so the Gunners know what they are coming up against. The Gunners did very well to defeat Real Madrid in the quarter-finals, so their match-up with PSG should be a classic.
United and Tottenham can also still qualify for the Champions League
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are both 14th and 16th, respectively, in the Premier League. However, they could still qualify for the Champions League via the back door route of winning the Europa League.
Both teams are in opposite semi-finals of the competition, with United playing Athletic Bilbao and Spurs facing Bodø/Glimt. Therefore, they could meet in the final at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, where they will be fighting for not just the title but a playoff for who will be in the Champions League next season.
Who will be in the Europa League and the Europa Conference League?
Forest currently occupies sixth place, which will earn them a place in the Europa League. This would still be some achievement for a side that many thought would be relegation candidates at the start of the campaign.
The other Europa League place goes to the winner of the FA Cup — Crystal Palace play Manchester City in the final of that competition. City are currently in the Premier League's top five, though, so if they qualify for the Champions League, then the Europa League place will go to another English side that has not secured a place in Europe.
Newcastle have secured a place in the Europa Conference League by winning the EFL Cup, but they could still qualify for the Champions League. Therefore, the Conference League place would go to the highest-placed Premier League team that has not already qualified for European competition.