The race to qualify for the Champions League is going down to the wire on the final day, with Manchester City, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United all in the picture.
Liverpool and Arsenal are both assured of a spot in the Champions League next season, but after the top two, it’s all up for grabs for the remaining three places.
Manchester City are third on 68 points, while Newcastle, Chelsea and Aston Villa are all on 66, with Nottingham Forest one point behind in seventh place.
Opta’s supercomputer has now predicted which of the five Champions League-chasing clubs will finish in the top five alongside Liverpool and Arsenal.
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Man City, Newcastle and Chelsea backed to qualify for Champions League with Villa and Forest tipped to miss out
Opta’s supercomputer has simulated the 10 fixtures relevant to the top five 10,000 times and produced a probability for each club relating to each position they could still finish in this term.
City have been given a 96.8 percent chance of finishing either third, fourth or fifth in the Premier League table.
Meanwhile, Newcastle’s predicted likelihood of securing a top-five spot come 6pm on Sunday stands at 82.1 percent.
Chelsea have been given a 57.9 percent chance of qualifying for the Champions League, while Aston Villa have been handed a 43.1 percent chance.
Finally, Forest’s predicted likelihood of returning to Europe’s top club competition stands at 19.8 percent.
Therefore, the Opta supercomputer predicts that the order of the top five will remain as it is by the end of matchday 38.
Tottenham have also qualified for the Champions League after beating Manchester United in the Europa League final earlier this week.
How much money each club could earn in the Champions League
The Athletic predicted how much money each of the above clubs could get in the Champions League should they qualify.
They sought to make clear that they are estimates, as this season’s Champions League distributions aren’t known yet, along with being the first year of a new format that employs some intricate calculations.
In addition, much would also depend on who each team would play in the group – some fixtures would be more lucrative than others – as well as how far each club would go and their recent history in the competition.
With that in mind, they have estimated that City ‘should still top £50million in prize money’ if they qualify next season, even if they failed to get a single point in the 2025/26 competition.
Next up are Chelsea, who have been tipped to pocket at least £48million, and then come Villa, predicted to earn at least £35million.
Up next are Newcastle with a predicted £32million set to enter their coffers, and finally come Forest, predicted to earn a ‘hair below Newcastle’s £32million’.
