Europe

Nottingham Forest boosted their hopes of securing Champions League soccer subsequent season at struggling Ipswich on Saturday.

The end result allowed third-placed Forest to open a six-point hole over Manchester Metropolis in fifth, who had been at Etihad Stadium by a Brighton facet additionally chasing European soccer.

Fourth-placed Chelsea’s hope of placing a long way between themselves and Metropolis had been dealt a blow on Sunday Which means they’re one level forward of Pep Guardiola’s facet.

Newcastle, who’re sixth and on Sunday, at the moment are solely some extent behind Metropolis and two adrift of Chelsea and have a sport in hand on each.

Brighton, like Newcastle, are on 47 factors, whereas Bournemouth are again on 44 following a to Brentford.

Fulham are eighth and 4 factors off the highest 4 after beating

Man Metropolis ‘have 9 video games, 9 finals’

At this stage final season, Forest had been battling to remain within the high flight.

Nonetheless, regardless of overseeing the transformation from relegation candidates to a cost for Champions League qualification, boss Nuno Espirito Santo shouldn’t be able to get carried away.

” what I take into consideration the desk,” mentioned Forest’s Portuguese supervisor.

“What we’ve is to deal with ourselves, deal with ourselves. Work as a lot as we will as a result of there’s a number of soccer to be performed but.

“Fourteen of our gamers are going away on worldwide break. We want all of them the perfect and hope they will come again wholesome so we will proceed the journey.”

In the meantime, supervisor Guardiola mentioned he might really feel the anxiousness round Etihad Stadium throughout Manchester Metropolis’s draw in opposition to the Seagulls, however he stays assured they may qualify for Europe’s elite membership match.

“I am at all times assured – in that I’m a grasp. I do have moments [when] I can doubt however I discover the precise manner, the positiveness in every thing.

“It’s more durable to get high 4 than individuals assume and I respect Nottingham [Forest] and Brighton.

“I do know it will likely be tough for a lot of causes however we’ve 9 video games, 9 finals.”

Can Seagulls and Bees mount European push?

Talking to the BBC’s Match of the Day, Brighton midfielder Jack Hinshelwood outlined their rising confidence of qualifying for Europe for less than the second time of their 124-year historical past.

“The run we’re on we have gone into each sport believing we will beat anyone. The followers have been unbelievable. If we will maintain this momentum going it will be laborious to cease us,” he mentioned.

“Final season we had a style of what Europe may be like. As a membership we’re driving to getting again to that feeling.”

Brentford captain Christian Norgaard additionally utilized an optimistic tone to their prospects after defeating Bournemouth on the south coast.

“We knew, right now of the season, the place we’re and the place they’re, it was a must-win sport if we need to go for one thing a bit greater this season,” he mentioned.

“Why not attempt to go for it [Europe]? We’re fairly away from the relegation battle. Now we must always be capable of play with that freedom, to actually attempt to assault the final 9 video games.

“There are such a lot of good groups preventing for these European spots, however I believe we’ve the standard to nail considered one of them.”

Who is ready to qualify for Champions League?

Statistics supplier Opta’s League Prediction mannequin estimates the chance of groups ending in every place.

The mannequin evaluates the chance of every match final result (win, draw or loss) by utilizing betting market odds and the Opta Energy Rankings.

The chances and rankings are primarily based on historic and up to date staff performances, plus it considers the power of opponents.

It estimates Liverpool are 100% sure to complete within the high 4 and have a 99.25% likelihood of successful the Premier League title.

Arsenal presently have a 99.84% chance of ending the season within the high 4, whereas Nottingham Forest’s chances are high as much as 68.99%, and Manchester Metropolis’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League for a fifteenth successive season are 59.86%.

Chelsea’s probabilities dropped to twenty-eight% after shedding to Arsenal, however Newcastle at 30.54% are tipped to be strongly in competition.

However there’s then a drop-off to Brighton and eighth-placed Aston Villa, who’re given simply 7.21% and a pair of.84% probabilities respectively.

Statistics correct on Sunday, 16 March at 19:25 GMT,

How do nations earn an additional Champions League spot?

Every nation’s league earns a coefficient rating primarily based on how their groups carry out in Uefa’s three males’s European membership competitions: the Champions League, Europa League and Convention League.

Coefficient factors are earned via match outcomes – two for a win and one for a draw.

The factors earned by golf equipment from the identical home league are added up and divided by the variety of golf equipment the league has in Europe.

For instance, if the Premier League had 100 factors, that may be cut up by the variety of groups enjoying in Europe (seven), giving England a coefficient of 14.28.

This season, bonus factors can be found to golf equipment enjoying within the Champions League, which is advantageous to leagues with extra golf equipment competing in it, resembling Germany and Italy.

International locations that end within the coefficient desk’s high two locations earn a further Champions League spot for the next season.

These spots are awarded to the groups who end within the first place beneath the usual Champions League allocation in these leagues.

Within the Premier League, the highest 4 golf equipment mechanically qualify for the Champions League through league place, so any further place would go to the staff in fifth.

Further spots for the 2024-25 Champions League got to Bologna and Borussia Dortmund, who completed fifth in Serie A and the Bundesliga respectively.