Preview: Juventus vs Manchester Metropolis – Stats, Group Information, Line-ups
With Liverpool already topped Premier League champions and on the cusp of securing second place, the race for the remaining Champions League spots guarantees to go right down to the wire. Manchester Metropolis, dethroned after 4 years of home dominance, are combating to salvage a top-three end amid mounting strain from Newcastle United and Chelsea.
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Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are lurking within the shadows, with solely 4 factors separating 5 groups heading into the final two matchdays.
With only a handful of matches left, skinny margins, head-to-head clashes and schedule predicaments will form the ultimate standings as we dive straight into our predictions.
Manchester Metropolis
Man Metropolis’s four-year reign within the Premier League got here to an emphatic finish two weeks in the past as Liverpool dethroned Pep Guardiola’s costs with 4 video games to spare.
Shedding their stranglehold on the division for the primary time since 2020 is the least of the Cityzens’ issues now that their top-five ambitions dangle by a thread.
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A well timed return to type, which had seen Guardiola’s crew win 4 consecutive league video games for the primary time for the reason that opening 4 rounds, got here in useful.
Metropolis can end because the runners-up within the best-case situation after closing the hole on second-placed Arsenal to a few factors, however securing Champions League soccer stays the principle goal.
Three factors towards Southampton ought to’ve been a foregone conclusion, however Man Metropolis slumped to a scoreless draw at St Mary’s Stadium.
Subsequently, they can not take Bournemouth and with no consideration within the closing two rounds regardless of boasting a two-point cushion over sixth-placed Villa.
Newcastle United
Newcastle’s type has dwindled on the worst second, with the Magpies faltering in three league outings (W1, D1, L1), together with a 1-1 draw towards Brighton & Hove Albion a fortnight in the past.
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Nevertheless, Eddie Howe’s males have not too long ago reigned supreme at St James’ Park, profitable six successive league video games, together with a 2-0 triumph towards fellow Champions League contenders Chelsea.
Regardless of a toughest-looking schedule amongst top-five hopefuls – no less than on paper – the Magpies are in pole place to return to Europe’s most prestigious membership competitors.
Certainly, their formidable type on house soil renders a final-day conflict towards a near-certain win.
Beating Arsenal in North London within the penultimate spherical may show a tall order, but the Gunners’ current downfall signifies Newcastle may safe a top-five end with a recreation to spare.
Chelsea
Beginning Matchday 36 stage on factors with fourth-placed Newcastle, in-form Chelsea had each cause for optimism after peaking on the good time.
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Along with beating Djurgarden 5-1 on combination to succeed in the Europa Convention League closing, the Blues had received their final three league matches, together with a 3-1 triumph towards Liverpool.
That unimaginable win towards the newly-crowned champions noticed Cole Palmer finish a long-standing aim drought within the Premier League, maybe marking the Chelsea talisman’s return to type.
Palmer’s resurgence could possibly be simply what the physician ordered amid Enzo Maresca’s faltering quest to discover a remedy for Chelsea’s journey illness, with the crew profitable simply as soon as on their final ten league travels.
The most recent disappointment passed off at St James’ Park as Newcastle beat them 2-0.
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Maresca’s future at Stamford Bridge in all probability hinges on bringing Chelsea again to the elite stage of European soccer, however a gruelling schedule may nonetheless undermine his pursuit of a top-five end.
Chelsea will put their Champions League aspirations on the road towards out-of-sorts Manchester United and overachieving Nottingham Forest within the final two rounds.
Nottingham Forest
A season initially pegged as historic for Forest has spiralled into disarray on the again of their rotten patch since beating Man Utd in the beginning of April.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s males have since received simply as soon as in six league encounters (D2, L3), considerably compromising their possibilities of eating out at Europe’s high desk for the primary time since 1980/81.
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After dropping out of the highest 5 for the primary time for the reason that begin of the season, Forest needed to stem the bleeding towards the already-relegated Leicester Metropolis final weekend.
Finishing their first league double over the Foxes since 1994/95 was crucial for Forest following a gut-wrenching 1-1 stalemate at Crystal Palace.
But, all they might take was a 2-2 draw on house turf.
Espirito Santo’s facet should not lose hope, contemplating a single-point hole to fifth-placed Chelsea is much from unattainable, particularly with the 2 groups locking horns on the ultimate weekend.
Earlier than that crunch assembly on the Metropolis Floor, Forest will commerce tackles with bottom-half West Ham United in a must-win fixture on the London Stadium.
Aston Villa
Unai Emery earned hero standing at Villa Park final season as he steered the membership again to the Champions League for the primary time this century.
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The Spaniard’s hopes of replicating that success are on the precipice of collapse regardless of Villa’s spectacular run of seven wins from their final eight league outings (L1).
With solely three factors separating Villa from a coveted fifth place, there’s no room for error on the tail-end of an exhausting marketing campaign marred by accidents and battles on a number of fronts.
Final up for Emery’s facet was the go to to the Vitality Stadium, the place they’d didn’t beat Bournemouth of their final three top-flight showdowns (D1, L2), conceding exactly twice on every event.
Nevertheless, Ollie Watkins’ match-winning strike towards the top of the primary half reignited the Lions’ top-five pursuit, drawing them stage on factors with fifth-placed Chelsea.
Nevertheless, after defying their current struggles in Boscombe, Villa have a combating probability, as they face Tottenham Hotspur and Man Utd within the season finale.
