Friday night setback for Newcastle United Champions League hopes | OneFootball

The Champions League contest is racing towards the finishing line.

Three weeks on Sunday, we will know for sure which three of five Premier League clubs (Villa, Chelsea Man City, Forest and Newcastle United) have qualified via their domestic league position, alongside Liverpool and Arsenal.

It is inevitable there will be plenty of twists and turns in these next few weeks and on Thursday night we saw Brentford deservedly win 2-0 at Forest to do Newcastle United a favour.

Sadly, on Friday night it was a setback for Newcastle United and others, as Man City fluked the three points.

Wolves had won their last six Premier League matches and they were once again they carried far more threat than their opponents. Jorgen Strand Larsen had scored six goals in those last six matches/wins and maybe his absence through injury at the Etihad was the factor that allow Man City off the hook.

At 0-0, Wolves cut through the Man City defence and had one of those situations where they ended up with two players ahead of the last defender and one had to just square it for the other to tap into an open goal. Sadly, that simple pass proved beyond the Wolves player and it was played just too far in front of his teammate.

Wolves also hit the woodwork in both halves, as well as having a shot cleared off the line by a Man City defender.

In contrast, Man City at home scored with just one of two chances they had on target all night, Kevin de Bruyne with the killer strike from a Doku cutback.

Pep Guardiola and his side seeing the woodwork as their biggest asset this past week, as Forest struck it three times at Wembley on Sunday in their FA Cup semi-final.

Friday night’s win means that Man City move above United into third, although Eddie Howe’s side will return to that position is winning at Brighton on Sunday.

This is how the Premier League table now looks on the morning of Saturday 3 May 2025:

The action keeps coming for the Champions League hopefuls and it is Villa v Fulham at 12.30pm this afternoon.

Saturday 3 May

Villa v Fulham (12.30pm) TNT Sports

Sunday 4 May

Brighton v Newcastle (2pm) Sky Sports

Chelsea v Liverpool (4.30pm) Sky Sports

Monday 5 May

Palace v Forest (8pm) Sky Sports

Saturday 10 May

Southampton v Man City (3pm)

Bournemouth v Villa (5.30pm) Sky Sports

Sunday 11 May

Newcastle v Chelsea (12pm) TNT Sports

Forest v Leicester (2.15pm) Sky Sports

Friday 16 May

Chelsea v Man U (8pm) Sky Sports

Sunday 18 May

Villa v Spurs TBC Sky Sports (Spurs have asked about moving this match due to proximity to Europa League final on 21 May but it will be televised live by Sky Sports regardless of which date)

West Ham v Forest (2.15pm) Sky Sports

Arsenal v Newcastle (4.30pm) Sky Sports

Tuesday 20 May

Man City v Bournemouth (8pm) Sky Sports