All eyes were on Liverpool and Arsenal over the Premier League weekend as the pair ground out hard-fought wins in the title race, but what about the sides beneath them?

The challenge for the Champions League places took some new twists and turns with defeats for Nottingham Forest, Newcastle and Chelsea, as well as wins for Manchester City and Bournemouth. Fulham and Brighton aren’t out of the equation after wins over teams above them, while Aston Villa’s draw at home to a 10-man Ipswich was a huge blow.

So with England looking set for five places at next season’s top table of European football, and consistency seemingly eluding the sides challenging for them, who is best set for a top five finish? With Liverpool and Arsenal looking extremely likely to be the top two, we asked our team who finishes third to fifth.

If Manchester City catch light, I still think they could push striker-less Arsenal for second. There. I said it. But at the very least, Pep Guardiola’s men will make the Champions League places and would be my bet for third.

If you needed proof that City have still got big performances then you should look no further than their demolition of Newcastle at the Etihad on Saturday. Having said all that, I think Newcastle will finish in the top five. No team with the brilliance of Alexander Isak, pace of Anthony Gordon and efficiency of Jacob Murphy can miss out on European football’s top stage.

My last choice is Bournemouth. What a breath of fresh air. Andoni Iraola should be in the Manager of the Year conversation (not winner, just in the conversation) for the job he is doing. They play good football, upset the big boys and I’m hoping that one of the unexpected teams gets in. What a story that would be.

I’m still hoping Nottingham Forest make it. I think they have been fabulous and I love the City Ground. Aston Villa might rely on the cups but Unai Emery deserves a statue for what he’s done. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Newcastle, 5th – Bournemouth

Obviously the top two is pretty much sorted now and barring a collapse from Liverpool, they’ll finish top with Arsenal second.

Manchester City aren’t fully back to their best but they’re showing enough glimpses that they can put a run together and it will be a surprise to me if they don’t finish third from this position now.

Fourth place is a lot harder to predict but I believe Nottingham Forest will get enough wins to make a shock return to the Champions League. Fifth is anyone’s at this stage but I reckon Chelsea will have just enough quality to get them over the line while their rivals for the spot run out of steam down to squad depth and pushing in other competitions such as Aston Villa in the Champions League. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Nottingham Forest, 5th – Chelsea

Despite their tough first half to the season, Manchester City are traditionally strong finishers and the gap remains small enough that they shouldn’t even need to hit top gear to crack the top four. The other spots, however, look far from certain.

A mid-season slump is nothing new for Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca, who saw his Leicester side flirt with falling out of the top two in the Championship before finishing strongly. A repeat of that momentum shift this term could serve the Blues well in a tight race for Champions League football.

Nottingham Forest have had ups and downs of late, but have quietly developed decent squad depth and have the bonus of a bit of a cushion over those just below them. For that reason, I’m backing Nuno’s men to claim that fifth spot, though it will be a close-run thing. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Chelsea, 5th – Nottingham Forest

So the top two are all but set, likely with Liverpool ahead of Arsenal. Manchester City would be my tip for best of the rest, they showed how electric they can be at the weekend and Guardiola will no doubt be challenging his team to put their poor mid-season form behind them and make a statement ahead of next season.

Fourth, and the only guaranteed Champions League spot, I think will eventually go to Newcastle. They do have a poor performance in them, as we saw, but talent wise may be the fourth best team in the country and have a guarantee of goals in Alexander Isak.

Below them it is hugely competitive and a fifth place finish could yet mean Champions League football. It has been a fantastic narrative and, given their ability to win difficult games and dig in, I do think that Nottingham Forest will hold on and post a stellar finish.

I’d say it is between them and Villa, but with their involvement in the Champions League still hampering their league form, their game in early April could be huge. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Newcastle, 5th – Nottingham Forest

I think the top five will be as it is come the end of the season with Chelsea and Newcastle the biggest names to miss out. Liverpool and Arsenal will be the top two and I expect Manchester City to continue their recovery and finish third.

Nottingham Forest are having a wobble and have only won two of their last five, being thumped by Bournemouth and losing to Fulham. Nuno Espírito Santo has all the experience needed to settle their nerves and get them over the line.

Bournemouth are the form horses and only Liverpool have beaten them in their last 13 Premier League games since November 23. Andoni Iraola has them playing a high-intensity, high-pressing game, where they swarm all over opponents, and they have the quality needed in key areas to win matches.

Chelsea have only won two of their last nine after Enzo Maresca had them looking like title challengers before Christmas and Newcastle are also heading in the wrong direction. They have worryingly lost their last three Premier League games and the Carabao Cup has become a distraction. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Nottingham Forest, 5th – Bournemouth

We’ve seen this movie before, and we know how it ends. In the romantic Hollywood screenplay, we wave Bournemouth, Fulham, Nottingham Forest or even Brighton off to the Champions League, wishing Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and the Emperor Nuno good luck as they set sail for Calais.

And it would be great fun to see what Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich make of the Legoland-sized Vitality Stadium, the cosy dressing rooms at Craven Cottage and Mull of Kintyre anthem at the City Ground.

But in the land where money talks loudest, football’s most vulgar currency usually holds sway. So when the music stops, if there are five English clubs in the Champions League next season, I would expect them to be Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and – assuming they are not too distracted by the cups – Newcastle. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Chelsea, 5th – Newcastle

As underwhelming as this season has been for Manchester City, I still expect them to be the best of the rest. As Saturday’s demolition of Newcastle showed, they are still a force to be reckoned with when they turn it on and Omar Marmoush hitting the ground running could be an ominous sign for the remainder of the campaign.

Newcastle themselves have the advantage of no European football and have been largely impressive in recent weeks. I fancy them to get fourth spot and return to the continent’s top table next term. Nottingham Forest have shown signs that they may well fall off the pace, albeit their defeats have been either side of a thumping 7-0 victory over Brighton.

Aston Villa are dropping too many points they shouldn’t be and can be excused for the distraction of a sensational European campaign which has seen them reach the last 16 of the Champions League. After an impressive start, Chelsea’s season has fallen off a cliff and problems remain behind the scenes at Stamford Bridge.

My tip for fifth spot is Bournemouth, and how wonderful it would be. The Cherries have been a revelation under Andoni Iraola and don’t look like faltering any time soon. If England does get the extra spot for next season, how brilliant would it be to see the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona at Dean Court? Make it so, football gods. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Newcastle, 5th – Bournemouth

Predicting the Premier League’s European places this season has to be one of the hardest tasks in recent memory. Only a week or two ago, you’d have backed Newcastle to claim fourth spot – but suddenly they’re out of the conversation for most after their 4-0 loss to Manchester City, who should finish the season strongly to claim third, barring a total disaster.

Fourth and fifth spot, then, is a toss-up between Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, Chelsea and Newcastle. Had Chelsea not lost Nicolas Jackson for eight weeks and loaned out Joao Felix to leave themselves with virtually no strikers, I would have tipped them to finish fourth. But the Blues can’t find any consistency under Enzo Maresca after their 3-0 loss to Brighton.

So I can see Forest continuing their superb campaign to seal Champions League football – which would be a stunning feat for a team that were nearly relegated last season. For the final European spot – should it be awarded to the fifth-placed team – I believe Bournemouth’s momentum should see them marginally hold off Chelsea.

Scoring goals will be tricky for Chelsea without a main centre forward and they still have to play Aston Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest. Bournemouth are well set up under Andoni Iraola and look like an absolute nightmare to play against, plus they have a much easier fixture list. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Nottingham Forest, 5th – Bournemouth

Were they to exit the Champions League on Wednesday then the rest of this season becomes about building towards the next for Manchester City, and I’d expect to see plenty of their fresher faces such as Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez for the remainder of the campaign. That sense of newness plus a run at the FA Cup should be enough for a comfortable third.

If the remaining Champions League places are decided on quality of football then Bournemouth will hopefully come fourth. They really have been one of the stories of world football this season, and their refreshing style of play deserves reward.

The fifth and final spot is a little trickier. Nottingham Forest have been great but Saturday’s defeat to Fulham was costly, and they face Newcastle, Arsenal and Man City in their next three. They are going to need to get on the front foot more often but I just can’t see it.

Elsewhere Chelsea look like they’re going through a bit of a wobble that it may be hard to escape from, especially with so little firepower, and the other sides are bit too inconsistent for my liking. Everyone can pretty much beat everyone, so in that case why not go for the best squad? That’s Newcastle’s. 3rd – Manchester City, 4th – Bournemouth, 5th – Newcastle

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