Chelsea boosted their hopes of Champions League football next season as they moved back into the top four with victory over Tottenham Hotspur.
Enzo Fernandez scored the only goal at Stamford Bridge on Thursday (3), but the Blues dominated against a struggling Spurs side.
The win lifted Chelsea above Manchester City into fourth place and makes the race for Europe all the more exciting, with a fifth Champions League spot for English clubs all but guaranteed.
Manchester City, Aston Villa and Carabao Cup winners Newcastle were all victorious on Wednesday (2), while Brighton and Bournemouth suffered what could prove to be costly home defeats.
Nottingham Forest also strengthened their bid to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at the City ground on Tuesday (1).
With most sides having eight league games left to play, there are just eight points separating Chelsea in fourth and 10th-placed Bournemouth.
Data analysts Opta now give Forest a 79% chance of finishing in the top four and rate them as 92.3% prospects for a top-five position through its prediction models.
Pep Guardiola’s City will miss out on a fifth successive Premier League title, but Opta gives them a 54.3% chance of finishing a testing campaign in the top four.
Chelsea, though, have been given just a 28.3% chance of reaching the Champions League, while there’s a 32.2% chance for Newcastle, who are two points and two places below the Londoners.
