How many points Man City need to finish fourth ahead of Newcastle, Chelsea & Aston Villa - according to Opta

Manchester City gave their Champions League hopes a boost on Wednesday night as they beat Leicester City in a drab but albeit comfortable 2-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.

Jack Grealish scored after two minutes and was holding back the tears as he later dedicated his first goal in nearly 16 months to his younger brother Keelan on the 25th anniversary of his death. Omar Marmoush added a second as he crashed an effort in off the bar after a mistake from the Foxes. They also managed the victory without star striker Erling Haaland after the Norwegian international picked up an injury against Bournemouth last weekend.

It proved to be an important win for Pep Guardiola’s side, who were beaten 1-0 by top-four rivals Nottingham Forest ahead of the international break. Champions League rivals Aston Villa and Newcastle United both won, with Eddie Howe’s men jut one point behind City. Villa sit a further two points back in seventh. Forest remain third after a 1-0 win over Manchester United on Tuesday. On Thursday, Chelsea moved back into fourth with a narrow 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur. They are one point above City with eight games remaining.

How many points Man City need to finish fourth - according to Opta

Opta’s final predicted Premier League table has judged the 66-point mark to be enough to finish in fourth and guarantee Champions League football next season. Leaders Liverpool are backed to win the title with 90 points, around 12 ahead of Arsenal in second. Nottingham are forecast to reach 70 points - while City are being predicted to finish fourth with 66 points - just one ahead of Newcastle United in fifth with 65.

Chelsea are tipped to finish sixth on 63 points with Villa to remain in seventh, with 60 points. It means City would need 15 points from their final eight games in order to secure fourth spot.

Speaking after their win over Leicester, Guardiola said: “It wasn’t easy with 10 players behind the ball in the box and we missed the third goal to be more relaxed. But we didn’t concede anything until near the end and I’m pleased for a good performance.”

Man City’s final 8 Premier League games compared to top-four rivals

Man City: Man Utd (A), Crystal Palace (H), Everton (A), Aston Villa (H), Wolves (H) Southampton (A), Bournemouth (H), Fulham (A).

Nottingham Forest: Aston Villa (A), Everton (H), Tottenham (A), Brentford (H), Crystal Palace (A), Leicester (H), West Ham (A), Chelsea (H).

Chelsea: Brentford (A), Ipswich (H), Fulham (A), Everton (H), Liverpool (H), Newcastle (A), Man Utd (H), Nottingham Forest (A).

Newcastle: Leicester City, (A), Man Utd (H), Crystal Palace (H), Aston Villa (A), Ipswich Town (H), Brighton & Hove Albion (A), Chelsea (H), Arsenal, (A) Everton (H).

Aston Villa: Nottingham Forest (H), Southampton (A), Newcastle United (H), Man City (A), Fulham (H), Bournemouth (A), Tottenham Hotspur (H), Man Utd (A).

Brighton: Crystal Palace (A), Leicester City (H), Brentford (A), West Ham United (H), Newcastle United (H), Wolves (A), Liverpool (H), Tottenham Hotspur (A).

Bournemouth: West Ham (A), Fulham (H), Crystal Palace (A), Man Utd (H), Arsenal (A), Aston Villa (H), Fulham (A), and Leicester (H).

Fulham: Liverpool (H), Bournemouth (A), Bournemouth (A), Chelsea (H), Southampton (A), Aston Villa (A), Everton (H), Brentford (A), and Manchester City (H).