· 19 May 2025, 17:30
**It's actually crazy just how tight things are in the race for the three remaining Champions League places with just one game left to go.**
Manchester City have two games remaining, thanks to playing in the FA Cup final on Saturday. A win for them against Bournemouth on Tuesday night will all but seal their place in the Champions League, leaving Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest to battle it out for the remaining two places on Sunday.
Chelsea and Nottingham Forest play each other on Sunday in perhaps the biggest game of the day, while Newcastle are fortunate to be at home to Everton.
It's that fixture that has Paul Merson convinced Newcastle will qualify for Europe's top competition.
Paul Merson believes Everton have nothing to play for on Sunday
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Speaking on Sky Sports after Newcastle's 1-0 defeat at Arsenal, the former Gunner backed Newcastle to qualify owing to the fact that they play Everton on the final day.
> “I’d have to go with Newcastle \[being\] safe.
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> “I only say that because Everton have got not a lot to play for.”
Bournemouth could get a result against Man City to keep things super exciting on Sunday
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Merson pointed out that it won't be an easy game for Man City against Bournemouth, and seeing their performance on Saturday, he's got a good point.
We expect Aston Villa will make light work of Manchester United on the final day, so Newcastle really must win at St James' Park.
Everton may have nothing left to play for, but they aren't going to roll over for us, you can be sure of that. Jordan Pickford would certainly not let that happen, so we still have a job to do, but as long as our lads do it, we don't care if it's 1-0 or 5-4 or 10-0, the three points are what matter. We can handle finishing fifth on goal difference, just give us Champions League football.