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Man City moved into third place after their 1-0 victory over Wolves at Etihad
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Ten points now separates the the five teams between third and seventh place
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Jamie Carragher
believes that
Nottingham Forest
will miss out on Champions League qualification following their crushing defeat by
Brentford
.
The former
Liverpool
defender reckons the final spot will be fought over by
Aston Villa
and
Chelsea
, while
Manchester City
and Newcastle will advance with ease.
Indeed, Carragher has backed City and the Magpies to finish ahead of second-place
Arsenal
, who remain in the competition and travel to Paris in the semi-final second leg next week.
‘I still think Newcastle and Manchester City can actually catch Arsenal,’ he said on Sky Sports. ‘Just with the situation Arsenal have in the Champions League,
Bournemouth
at home won’t be easy, then they go to Anfield, they’ve also got to play Newcastle as well. It’s a brilliant race.
‘Aston Villa have to win in the next couple of games to give themselves a fighting chance.’
City moved into third place after a 1-0 win over
Wolves
on Friday night, ten points clear of Villa who have a game in hand. Villa are coming off a miserable week after suffering a devastating last-ditch defeat at the Etihad before crashing out of the FA Cup.
Unai Emery’s men have arguably the toughest remaining fixtures but the progress of Tottenham and Manchester United – their final two opponents – in the Europa League may work in their favour.
‘Playing Spurs and Manchester United in their last two games might actually fall into their lap in terms of the Europa League final as well,’ he added. ‘I think this is going to go right to the wire. I don’t think Nottingham Forest are going to make it now, Villa might make a late push. I still think Chelsea will find it difficult looking at their fixtures.’
The Blues’ slate includes clashes against the newly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool, United and fellow
Champions League
chasers Newcastle and Forest on the final day.
Last month, Opta’s supercomputer predicted that City, Newcastle and Forest would join Liverpool and Arsenal in the top five.
Villa are the next hopeful to play, as they welcome Fulham to Villa Park on Saturday afternoon.
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