Battle for Premier League top four heats up

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United are eight points clear of fifth-placed West Ham and are on track to finish in the top two for only the second time since they were last champions in 2013.

Manchester City already have one hand on the Premier League trophy but the battle for the top four is likely to go down to the wire as a clutch of clubs seek to join Europe’s elite next season.

Manchester City, Manchester United, Leicester and Chelsea currently occupy the top four places in the English top-flight.

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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United are eight points clear of fifth-placed West Ham and are on track to finish in the top two for only the second time since they were last champions in 2013.

United’s run-in does not appear too tricky, although they still have to travel to Tottenham and host Liverpool. They also play top-four rivals Leicester at Old Trafford.

Leicester came agonisingly close to qualifying for the Champions League for only the second time in their history last season but missed out on the final day, beaten by United.

Brendan Rodgers’ side, who last month beat United in the FA Cup quarterfinals, look more robust this year and are just one point behind the Red Devils.

Leicester face Manchester City this weekend before a run of kinder fixtures, but they will be keen to maintain a buffer, with a difficult set of matches to end the season – against United, Chelsea and Spurs.

Chelsea, still unbeaten in all competitions since Thomas Tuchel took over from Frank Lampard in January, are in fourth spot but have less margin for error and are also still involved in the FA Cup and Champions League.

They also face a challenging run-in, with consecutive matches against City, Arsenal and Leicester in May.