Nottingham Forest have to defeat Chelsea on the final day of the Premier League season to stand any chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
The Premier League has five places for next season’s Champions League, two of which have been taken by champions Liverpool and second-placed Arsenal.
Tottenham Hotspur have also qualified for Europe’s top club competition through winning the Europa League. Qualification via third, fourth and fifth is still up for grabs and five teams are in contention.
Only a win will do for Forest on the final day due to the vastly superior goal differences of Manchester City (3rd), Newcastle United (4th) and Chelsea (5th).
Should Forest beat Chelsea at the City Ground, they will leapfrog their opponents and qualify for the Champions League if Aston Villa (6th) or Newcastle fail to win.
Villa travel to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United on the final day, while Newcastle host Everton at St James’ Park.
Forest would only be able to catch third-placed Man City if they lost to Fulham and there was a 13-goal swing.
A draw would only be sufficient in the unlikely event that not only do Villa lose, but Newcastle also lose to Everton by at least 10 goals.
As a result of Crystal Palace winning the FA Cup, only the team that finishes sixth will qualify for the Europa League alongside the Eagles.
As things stand, the seventh-placed team will qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League but there is a twist. If Chelsea beat Real Betis in the final of the Conference League on Wednesday, and finish seventh, then they will qualify for the Europa League and the team that finishes eighth – currently Brighton – will go into the Conference League.
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