Nottingham Forest sit seventh in the Premier League table going into Sunday's final round of matches. PA
Nottingham Forest sit seventh in the Premier League table going into Sunday's final round of matches. PA
Nottingham Forest sit seventh in the Premier League table going into Sunday's final round of matches. PA
Nottingham Forest sit seventh in the Premier League table going into Sunday's final round of matches. PA

Premier League predictions: Nottingham Forest to beat Chelsea but both miss out on top five


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The 2024/25 Premier League season concludes on Sunday, May 25, with a full round of fixtures taking place. The games are scheduled to run simultaneously and all will kick off at 7pm UAE time. See below for our predictions.

Bournemouth v Leicester City

Bournemouth's faint hopes of European qualification are over following their midweek loss at Manchester City. The Cherries' remaining target is to end the season in the top half – they are currently 11th and could finish as high as ninth.

Relegated Leicester's late rally of seven points out of a possible nine – which saw Jamie Vardy reach 200 goals ahead of his summer exit – has lifted them to 18th, a position they will keep if they manage at least a draw here.

Prediction: Bournemouth 2 Leicester 0

Fulham v Manchester City

Despite a Premier League record points haul of 54, Fulham have missed out on European football next season after falling to four defeats in their final six games.

Thanks to their superior goal difference, City require just a point to seal their Uefa Champions League spot following a midweek 3-1 win over Bournemouth and after going 10 games unbeaten in the run in.

Prediction: Fulham 1 Man City 2

Ipswich Town v West Ham United

Ipswich will be trying to win at Portman Road for only the second time this season before they drop back down to the Championship, having not secured three points home or away since beating Bournemouth on April 2.

West Ham are stumbling towards the finish line after winning just once in 10 games leaving them three places outside the relegation zone – albeit a hefty 15 points clear of 18th-place Leicester.

Prediction: Ipswich 1 West Ham 1

Liverpool v Crystal Palace

Champions Liverpool have taken just one point from three games since securing the title in what has been comfortably their worst run of the season.

Palace followed up their historic FA Cup final victory by beating Wolves 4-2 – when Eddie Nketiah grabbed a double – on Tuesday, taking them to a club record Premier League points tally of 52.

Prediction: Liverpool 3 Palace 2

Manchester United v Aston Villa

A disastrous season hit a new low on Wednesday when United were beaten by Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final, which means no European football next season for Ruben Amorim's men. They sit 16th in the table and are without a win in eight matches – their worst ever run in the Premier League.

Villa's Champions League hopes hang in the balance. Three wins on the spin leaves them sixth – and a place in the Europa League – on the same 66 points as Chelsea and Newcastle but with those two enjoying a vastly superior goal difference.

Prediction: Man United 1 Villa 3

Nottingham Forest v Chelsea

It's seventh against fifth in the final day's big game with Forest sitting just one point behind Chelsea. Nuno Espirito Santo's side won at West Ham last time out, ending a run of two draws and a defeat, leaving them in the Europa Conference League spot.

Chelsea have won four of their last five matches, including wins over Liverpool and Man United, but know only three points here guarantees them a top-five place.

Prediction: Forest 3 Chelsea 1

Newcastle United v Everton

After their defeat at Arsenal last weekend, fourth-place Newcastle need three points here to seal their top-five spot and cap off a historic season that saw them win the League Cup and end a 70-year wait for a domestic trophy.

Everton sealed an emotional win against Southampton last week in what was their final match at Goodison Park before moving to the newly named Hill Dickinson Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock. Whatever the result on Tyneside, the Toffees will finish the campaign in a respectable 13th place.

Prediction: Newcastle 3 Everton 0

Southampton v Arsenal

Southampton's dismal season has seen them win just two matches – against Everton and Ipswich – out of 37, lose 29, score the least amount of goals in the division (25) and concede the most (84).

Arsenal's win over Newcastle sealed second spot for a third season in a row but they are still 12 points behind Liverpool going into the season finale.

Prediction: Southampton 1 Arsenal 4

Tottenham Hotspur v Brighton

Spurs go into this match having ended their 17-year trophy drought by beating Man United in the Europa League final in Bilbao. But their Premier League form has been abysmal having taken one point from six games and sit fourth from bottom.

Brighton kept alive their Europa Conference League hopes by beating Liverpool 3-2 on Monday, leaving the Seagulls eighth, three points above ninth-place Brentford.

Prediction: Spurs 2 Brighton 3

Wolves v Brentford

After a seven-game unbeaten run (six wins, one draw), Wolves have now lost three in a row and could potentially drop from 14th to 17th if they lose here and Spurs, Man United and West Ham all win.

Brentford's loss at home to London rivals Fulham ended a four-game win streak and means they need to beat Wolves and Brighton to lose if they want to grab eighth in the table and a potential Europa Conference League spot.

Prediction: Wolves 2 Brentford 2

LILO & STITCH

Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Rating: 4.5/5

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

While you're here
The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part one: how cars came to the UAE

 

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Company Profile

Company name: NutriCal

Started: 2019

Founder: Soniya Ashar

Based: Dubai

Industry: Food Technology

Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount

Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia

Total Clients: Over 50

War and the virus
The five pillars of Islam
GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

While you're here

Michael Young: Where is Lebanon headed?

Kareem Shaheen: I owe everything to Beirut

Raghida Dergham: We have to bounce back

In numbers

1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:

  • 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
  • 150 tonnes to landfill
  • 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal

800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal

Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year

25 staff on site

 

RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
  •  2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket

Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books

In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.

 

There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.

 

More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.

 

The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

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Updated: May 23, 2025, 4:00 AM`