Brighton can beat Champions League-chasing Bournemouth to move themselves into the top-four mix

There are still a couple of hurdles to clear but the race for a top-four Premier League finish is about to enter the home straight with some unlikely outsiders waiting to pounce. Liverpool and Arsenal are odds-on favourites to finish first and second and usual suspects Manchester City and Chelsea are also among the pack chasing Champions League football next season.

Aston Villa, who will be battling for a place in the quarter-finals next week, and Newcastle, who joined the European elite a couple of years ago, are also in contention but any team in the top 11 could potentially gatecrash the party with a strong finish.

Nottingham Forest are best suited to do so as they are currently third, while Bournemouth, Brighton, Fulham and Brentford – down in 11th but just seven points behind City in fourth – are also in with a realistic shot with a dozen matches and 36 points up for grabs.

It’s not mathematically impossible for other clubs to scrap their way into the frame, especially if the Premier League wins a fifth Champions League place as seems increasingly likely, but let’s not get sidetracked. Another round of league matches kick-off this week with ninth-placed Brighton entertaining Bournemouth at the Amex Stadium and the Seagulls can feast on the Cherries, taking maximum points at 23/20 with Betway.

Villa, are at improving Crystal Palace and despite being buoyed by Saturday’s 2-1 win at home to Chelsea they will have to settle for a share of the spoils at Betway’s 5/2. The Cottagers are suffering a bit of a blip which is likely to continue at Molineux, where Wolves are 15/8 with Unibet to gain the three points which will take them further away from the bottom three.

Meanwhile, Chelsea, who have picked up just three points from the last 12, can beat rock-bottom Southampton at Stamford Bridge by more than two goals – even though they have scored three times just once in their last 11 league matches – at 6/5 with William Hill, Paddy Power, bet365 and others.

The best bet to finish in the top four? Brighton’s run-in isn’t the toughest and they are worth a speculative punt at 18/1 with Paddy Power and Betfair. • Australia are 3/4 with Betway to build on their Champions Trophy victory against England by beating South Africa in Rawalpindi. Travis Head was dismissed cheaply in Lahore but can bounce back in style by being the top batter in the contest at 7/1 with Sky Bet while he is 10/3 with Paddy Power and Betfair to clobber the most runs for his team.

• Hull, Stoke, Northampton and Bradford for Tuesday’s Football League acca. Arrow MORE: Gary Lineker names the striker Arsenal should sign ahead of Chelsea and Man Utd. Arrow MORE: Gary Neville hits out at Arsenal ‘obsession’ after Liverpool extend lead at top.

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