Opta predicts final Premier League table after latest twists for Chelsea, Nottingham Forest, Man City & more

As 10-man Chelsea trudged off the pitch at St James’ Park on Sunday afternoon, not many associated with the Blues would have expected the club to remain in the Champions League places - but more twists in the race for the top five played into their hands.

Enzo Maresca’s side lost 2-0 to Newcastle United with Sandro Tonali opening the scoring after just two minutes. Nicolas Jackson was then sent off for violent conduct after 36 minutes and will miss the remaining two games of the season. Chelsea shut Newcastle out until the 90th minute when Bruno Guimaraes sealed victory for the hosts, who moved third in the table.

Victory would have moved Chelsea to third after Manchester City were held to a shock 0-0 draw by already-relegated Southampton. Then, in another major surprise, already-relegated Leicester City handed out another blow to one of Chelsea’s rivals.

Nottingham Forest stunned as Chelsea’s fate remains in own hands

Nottingham Forest knew that victory over Leicester would have moved them one point above Chelsea and shunted the Blues down to sixth heading into the final two games. However, after leading 2-1, Forest conceded in the 81st minute to the Foxes.

The game ended 2-2 and left Chelsea inside the top five on goal difference, above Aston Villa. Just four points sit between Newcastle in third and Forest in seventh. All teams in the top seven are guaranteed European football next season. Brentford are in a battle for eighth spot and could play in the Europa Conference League next season if Manchester City win the FA Cup. Crystal Palace will have Europa League football if they win the FA Cup, however.

Such is the tight nature of the race for the top five that Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis took to the pitch on Sunday for a very public remonstration with manager Nuno Espirito Santo after the draw with Leicester.

Opta predicted Premier League table for Chelsea after Newcastle United loss

Data experts at Opta have predicted that Arsenal will remain in second place after they battled for a 2-2 draw at Liverpool on Sunday, with the Gunners given a 99.95 per cent chance of a top-five finish. Newcastle, Manchester City and Chelsea are then given the next best chance to complete the table, finishing third, fourth and fifth.

The Magpies and City are both tipped to earn the similar amount of points with a 93.91 per cent and 92.91 per cent likelihood of clinching a place in the Champions League. Chelsea and Aston Villa are also tipped to finish on a similar amount of points but Chelsea’s chances of a top five place are rated at 54 per cent compared to 40.54 per cent for Villa.

The Blues have a much better goal difference, with plus 19 compared to plus seven for Villa. Meanwhile, Forest’s hopes have dwindled to 18.69 per cent and they are tipped for seventh. Brentford, Brighton and Bournemouth make up the top 10.

Looking ahead to Chelsea’s final two games, defender Marc Cucurella said: “Every game in this league is tough and the table shows it’s still tight. This is one of the best leagues in the world.

“We are preparing for this and we need to show we can play under pressure if we want to achieve our objectives. We need to play the game that we planned and show we are ready to play in these types of games.”