EPL Gameweek 29 - Forest on the Brink of Europe

We look back at the best action from EPL gameweek 29, which featured plenty of drama, as well as the first cup final of the season.

Ipswich 2-4 Nottingham Forest: Forest Move Five Points Clear of Chelsea 

Nottingham Forest moved one step closer to confirming their first Champions League participation in over 40 years with four goals against relegation-threatened Ipswich. 

Three goals in six minutes set the tone of this match as Forest was rampant at the end of the first half. Nikola Milenkovic opened the scoring just after the hour mark before Anthony Elanga hit a quickfire double to stretch the Tracker Boys’ back line.

As they often do, Ipswich showed plenty of fight and hit back through Jens-Lys Cajuste, who found the back of the net with an excellent finish from outside the box.

It was soon four through Jota Silva, and while Ipswich were able to hit back a second time through George Hirst, they are now winless in their last 10 EPL games. 

The result puts Forest five points above Chelsea in fourth and six ahead of Manchester City, who dropped to fifth after a home draw with Brighton. There are still nine games to go, but YesPlay now has Forest down as 1.61 shots to end a 40-year hiatus from Europe’s top table. 

As for Ipswich, who are now nine points behind Wolves in 17th position, they are trading at 8.35 with the same site to avoid the drop.

Liverpool 1-2 Newcastle: Toon Army Make History at Wembley

While it wasn’t strictly in the EPL, it would be folly not to mention Sunday’s EFL Cup final, which saw two of the league’s juggernauts lock horns. Liverpool arrived as the strong favourites to provide a first trophy for Arne Slot, but it was Eddie Howe and his men who wrote themselves into Newcastle folklore by defeating Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final. 

Newcastle-born Dan Burn got the fans off their seats, left unmarked from a corner to tower above the Liverpool defence and head his side into the lead at the break. The Toon Army started to believe that this could be their day early in the second half when Alexander Isak tapped home from another corner, but Liverpool’s blushes were spared when footage showed Bruno Guimarães blocking Caoimhin Kelleher in the Reds net during the buildup to the goal. 

Arne Slot’s side suffered penalty shootout heartache against Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League during the week, and their hopes of a Wembley redemption took another blow moments later, as Isak was able to pounce in the box to beat Kelleher for a second time in a matter of minutes. 

Throwing the kitchen sink at Newcastle, Federico Chiesa scored his second goal of the season in added time of the second half to make it a nervy finish to the game. But despite their best efforts, it was all too late as Newcastle managed to hold on for their first major trophy since lifting the FA Cup in 1955.

Both sides will take a two-week break for international football to take centre stage, but there is a lot up for grabs when they return to EPL action. Newcastle are two points behind Chelsea in fourth with a game extra to play, with Bet.co.za valuing their hopes of a top-four finish at 3.00. 

Isak has been a key figure for Newcastle this season, with 19 goals in the EPL, eight goals behind the current Golden Boot leader Mo Salah. He has work to do to reel in the Egyptian, though is trading at a tempting 26.00 to lift the golden boot.

Bournemouth 1-2 Brentford: Home Loss Dents European Hopes for The Cherries

Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth are chasing a first-ever season playing in Europe but faced a setback this weekend when letting a  1-0 lead slip at home to Brentford. 

Milos Kerkez’s cross took a heavy deflection off Vitaly Janelt to hand the Cherries an early lead, but Brentford’s all-time leading EPL goalscorer Yoane Wissa brought the teams back on level terms, rising highest with a glancing header. 

The Bees completed the comeback in the second half courtesy of an emphatic half-volley from Christian Norgaard, who moved his side to within six points of the European spots in the process.

It still remains unclear just how many places will seal European qualification in May, though it’s likely to be at least seven, putting Brentford in a realistic position to challenge themselves. It certainly isn’t over for Bournemouth, either, who are three points behind sixth-placed Newcastle. 

Tic Tac Sports Betting currently show odds of 6.00 for the Cherries to make their way into the top six by the end of the season, whilst it’s 51.00 for Brentford to do so.