Qualification for the UEFA Champions League remains a fiercely contested prize in the Premier League, with six of the top seven clubs winning their midweek fixtures.
That tally could become seven from seven when sixth-placed Chelsea host Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday, with Enzo Maresca's side having the chance to return to the top four with a victory.
In the meantime, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Aston Villa all boosted their Champions League hopes with Wednesday wins, 24 hours after second-placed Arsenal and third-placed Nottingham Forest both claimed their own victories. Liverpool also triumphed to restore their 12-point lead at the top.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
30 | +43 | 73 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
30 | +30 | 61 |
| 3 |
Nott'm Forest
NFO
|
30 | +15 | 57 |
| 4 |
Man City
MCI
|
30 | +17 | 51 |
| 5 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
29 | +10 | 50 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
29 | +16 | 49 |
| 7 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
30 | -1 | 48 |
| 8 |
Brighton
BHA
|
30 | +3 | 47 |
| 9 |
Fulham
FUL
|
30 | +4 | 45 |
| 10 |
Bournemouth
BOU
|
30 | +11 | 44 |
Premier League pundits Michael Owen and Leon Osman have discussed the prospects of Man City, Newcastle and Villa finishing in the top four or five places, given the Premier League could be granted a fifth place in the Champions League for next season.
Manchester City - 51 points
Man City played their first match since top goalscorer Erling Haaland was ruled out for up to seven weeks, and despite that blow they made light work of beating Leicester City 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium.
Jack Grealish, with his first Premier League goal since December 2023, and January signing Omar Marmoush both scored in the first half to begin allaying fears about the impact of Haaland's absence.
Osman says: "There's big pressure on Marmoush to get the goals, for others to step up. Grealish, who hadn't scored in over a year, stepped up and got a goal tonight. They need a bit more of that.
"With the structure of the club, the players they have, and what they're trying to achieve, they need to be in the Champions League next season. I don't think it's a given with Haaland out, but I think they should make it if their experienced players step up."
Owen says: "When you look at Man City's lack of attacking players, you think about how they let Liam Delap go to Ipswich. He's been incredible. How they could do with someone like him to fill the void, because it's not a natural No 9 who's going to replace Haaland. It's different players; midfielders and false nines.
"They'll do well to patch that team up without him and keep winning."
Newcastle United - 50 points
As EFL Cup winners, Eddie Howe's men already hold a European place for next season - in the UEFA Conference League. But Newcastle will be able to upgrade that spot to a UEFA Champions League or Europa League place if they finish high enough in the Premier League, an objective they continued to pursue by beating Brentford 2-1 at a buoyant St James' Park on Wednesday night with goals from Alexander Isak and Sandro Tonali.
Osman says: "I wondered whether they'd be able to get back to the standards they've set. Brentford, who were exceptional at home at the start of the season, are actually good away from home now so that was a really tricky fixture for Newcastle. He [Howe] picked the exact same team that won the cup final and basically said, 'You've shown me what you're capable of, now go out there and do it again.' This was a real statement of 'Our season has got a way to go yet' and they've shown they're in a great position to achieve what they want."
Owen says: "The celebrations must've been incredible over the last week or two. But [they had] to refocus on an important job because they've got a really good chance of qualifying for the Champions League in the top five.
"They hold the [fifth] place now, on 50 points, with a game in hand on the teams above them. It's absolutely brilliant what Newcastle are doing. And Isak is a brilliant player. I love him. There are few very good centre-forwards around at the moment. Everybody is desperate for one and they'll be trying to prise him away from Newcastle. They've got something special and they need to keep him."
Aston Villa - 48 points
Unai Emery's team could gain entry to the Champions League in 2025/26 by winning this season's competition, having joined Arsenal in reaching the quarter-finals. But with a tough tie to come against Paris Saint-Germain, they will want to keep open the option of qualifying through their Premier League position.
Their chances of doing that were aided by an impressive 3-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion, who they moved above after Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen - all new additions to the Villa squad in the winter transfer window - scored at the Amex Stadium.
Osman says: "Their bench looks phenomenal really doesn't it? They had a couple of people who were not involved, yet still they just look strong. You think they could probably make 11 changes every game and you'd be guessing as to what Emery's strongest team is at the minute.
"I think he's got a great rotation. He's kept them all fresh over the last six weeks or so to make sure they've all had minutes and they're all available, and I think that's a great sign for all the big games they've got in the run-in, to make sure they're firing on all cylinders come the end."