05/10/26 10:09:00
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05/10 10:07 CDT Premier League: Villa only draws to hold up Champions League
qualification bid. Forest almost safe
Premier League: Villa only draws to hold up Champions League qualification bid.
Forest almost safe
By STEVE DOUGLAS
AP Sports Writer
Aston Villa still has work to do to secure Champions League qualification.
Nottingham Forest is almost safe from relegation.
Three days after meeting in the Europa League semifinals, Villa and Forest
returned to Premier League action and neither got the win they really wanted.
Villa was held 2-2 at already relegated Burnley and stayed in fifth place, four
points above sixth-place Bournemouth in the race to finish in the top five and
get into the Champions League. Both teams have two games left --- and both
still have to play title-chasing Manchester City.
Villa's players have another possible route into next season's Champions
League: By winning the Europa League.
If they do that and finish fifth in the league, then the team that places sixth
--- currently Bournemouth, though Brighton is only two points further back ---
would also get into Europe's top competition.
Forest equalized in the 88th minute through England midfielder Elliot Anderson
to grab a 1-1 draw with Newcastle and move seven points clear of the relegation
zone.
If third-to-last West Ham loses to first-place Arsenal later, Forest will be
mathematically safe. Arsenal will be desperate for a win to restore its
five-point lead over second-place Man City.
In another game Sunday, Crystal Palace twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with
Everton.
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Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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