Premier League Top Five Predictions: Writers Reveal Their Picks for 2024/25

Adrian Clarke, Adrian Kajumba, Alex Keble and Ben Bloom predict the contenders' remaining matches AND final Premier League positions

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As a thrilling race for UEFA Champions League places heads into the final two weekends of the season, football writers Adrian Clarke, Adrian Kajumba, Alex Keble and Ben Bloom have predicted the results and final Premier League standings for the six clubs involved.

You can have a go at doing this too. Click here, or below, to select your results for the relevant matches AND the four teams who you think will join Liverpool in claiming a top-five finish.

Top five

We want YOUR predictions for the top-five race

Tell us who will win each remaining match AND which four clubs will join Liverpool in securing Champions League football

Remaining matches in the top-five race

Saturday 17 May

Villa Park, Birmingham

Aston Villa

00:00

Spurs

Stamford Bridge, London

Chelsea

00:45

Man Utd

Sunday 18 May

London Stadium, London

West Ham

18:45

Nott'm Forest

Emirates Stadium, London

Arsenal

21:00

Newcastle

Wednesday 21 May

Etihad Stadium, Manchester

Man City

00:30

Bournemouth

Sunday 25 May

Craven Cottage, London

Fulham

20:30

Man City

Old Trafford, Manchester

Man Utd

20:30

Aston Villa

St. James' Park, Newcastle

Newcastle

20:30

Everton

The City Ground, Nottingham

Nott'm Forest

20:30

Chelsea

St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton

Southampton

20:30

Arsenal

Adrian Clarke

Predicted results 

Aston Villa 3-1 Spurs

Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd

West Ham 1-2 Nott'm Forest

Arsenal 2-2 Newcastle

Man City 3-2 Bournemouth

Fulham 1-3 Man City

Man Utd 0-1 Aston Villa

Newcastle 4-0 Everton

Nott'm Forest 1-1 Chelsea

Southampton 0-2 Arsenal

Adrian Clarke's final table

Position Club GD Pts

2 Arsenal +35 72

3 Man City +27 71

4 Newcastle +27 70

5 Aston Villa +10 69

6 Nott'm Forest +13 66

7 Chelsea +19 65

Aston Villa’s phenomenal form seems to have been timed to perfection, so I can see Unai Emery’s men beating Tottenham Hotspur, who may be distracted by the Europa League Final, before winning at Old Trafford against a Manchester United side with nothing at stake. Villa are the team with the most momentum in the top-five race.

I expect Nottingham Forest to miss out on Champions League football now, but they can still finish strongly. West Ham United’s home record isn’t good under Graham Potter, and in front of a passionate City Ground crowd, I don’t see Forest losing to Chelsea on the final day.

Four points from the remaining two matches for Nuno Espirito Santo’s men could be enough to land sixth place ahead of a Blues outfit shorn of suspended striker Nicolas Jackson.

Injury-hit Arsenal have a tricky home game against Newcastle United, but surely they can’t lose to them for a fourth time this season, after their away league defeat and both legs of the EFL Cup semi-final?

That’s my logic anyway, so I think the Gunners will cling on to runners-up spot, just ahead of Manchester City.

After their uncharacteristic blip of a goalless draw at Southampton, I’ll be surprised if Man City make any more slip-ups.

Adrian Kajumba

Predicted results 

Aston Villa 3-0 Spurs

Chelsea 3-0 Man Utd

West Ham 1-1 Nott'm Forest

Arsenal 2-1 Newcastle

Man City 2-0 Bournemouth

Fulham 1-3 Man City

Man Utd 0-3 Aston Villa

Newcastle 3-1 Everton

Nott'm Forest 2-0 Chelsea

Southampton 0-3 Arsenal

Adrian Kajumba's final table

Position Club GD Pts

2 Arsenal +37 74

3 Man City +28 71

4 Newcastle +24 69

5 Aston Villa +13 69

6 Chelsea +20 66

7 Nott'm Forest +14 66

Arsenal will finish strongly, with two wins, to hang on to second place.

Man City should also have enough to claim maximum points from their final fixtures, with a defeat for Newcastle at Arsenal enabling them to leapfrog Eddie Howe’s side and finish third.

Newcastle have the fallback of a favourable final match against an Everton side with little to play for to get over the line.

Villa have arguably the best fixtures left, against the two Europa League finalists, which should help them overtake Chelsea to claim fifth.

Spurs' eyes will be on next week’s final when they travel to Villa on Friday while Man Utd's season will effectively be over, Europa League win or not, by the time they host Emery’s side on the final day.

That leaves Forest and Chelsea, without suspended striker Jackson, who will both drop points and come up just short.

Alex Keble

Predicted results 

Aston Villa 3-0 Spurs

Chelsea 1-1 Man Utd

West Ham 1-1 Nott'm Forest

Arsenal 2-1 Newcastle

Man City 3-1 Bournemouth

Fulham 0-1 Man City

Man Utd 1-3 Aston Villa

Newcastle 3-1 Everton

Nott'm Forest 2-1 Chelsea

Southampton 0-2 Arsenal

Alex Keble's final table

Position Club GD Pts

2 Arsenal +36 74

3 Man City +27 71

4 Newcastle +24 69

5 Aston Villa +12 69

6 Nott'm Forest +13 66

7 Chelsea +18 64

Ruben Amorim’s angry words following Man Utd's defeat to West Ham last weekend means his team will be fired up for a classic sit-back-and-counter game at Stamford Bridge that will damage Chelsea’s Champions League hopes.

This could hand a top-five spot to Villa, who should beat a heavily-rotated Spurs side before winning at Old Trafford four days after United’s exhausting, season-ending Europa League final.

Forest have slowed significantly and could labour at a rejuvenated West Ham before rallying for one last big win at home to Chelsea, although it may be too little too late should Newcastle ease past Everton on the final day.

Meanwhile, Arsenal can secure second place by winning at home to a Newcastle side that has only won one away Premier League game all season against a team currently higher than 14th, while Man City should safely navigate their way past AFC Bournemouth and Fulham.

Ben Bloom

Predicted results 

Aston Villa 3-1 Spurs

Chelsea 2-2 Man Utd

West Ham 0-0 Nott'm Forest

Arsenal 1-1 Newcastle

Man City 1-0 Bournemouth

Fulham 2-2 Man City

Man Utd 1-0 Aston Villa

Newcastle 3-0 Everton

Nott'm Forest 2-2 Chelsea

Southampton 0-4 Arsenal

Ben Bloom's final table

Position Club GD Pts

2 Arsenal +37 72

3 Newcastle +26 70

4 Man City +25 69

5 Aston Villa +8 66

6 Chelsea +19 65

7 Nott'm Forest +12 64

They might not have been in peak form recently, but it is unthinkable for Arsenal not to claim Champions League football, especially with the cushion of a trip to Southampton on the final day.

Newcastle and Man City have been in decent form, although Pep Guardiola’s side, in particular, face two opponents who can land a blow against the best teams.

The pressure on City to pick up maximum points should be eased by Chelsea facing Forest on the final day, and it looks to be a battle between those two clubs and Villa for the other Champions League spot.

It could go down to the wire and I cannot see any of that trio winning both of their remaining matches. But, with Forest rocking and Chelsea habitually inconsistent, Villa can sneak into fifth by defeating dire domestic opponents who have their sights set elsewhere, on a European final.

Now have YOUR say

Do you agree with our writers? Select below the FOUR teams who YOU think will join Liverpool in the top five at the end of the season.

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