Gary Neville believes Arsenal and Manchester United will miss out on a top four finish this season.
Premier League leaders Chelsea maintained their seven-point gap at the top of the table with a hard-fought win over Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Eden Hazard scored two first-half goals either side of Sergio Aguero’s equaliser to ensure the Blues moved a step closer to becoming champions.
Second-placed Tottenham continued their impressive run with an unlikely victory over Swansea – Spurs were 1-0 down with just minutes remaining but rallied to clinch a 3-1 win.
Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool dropped two points at home to Bournemouth, while Arsenal picked up their first victory since February, beating struggling West Ham 3-0.
The race for a Champions League qualifying spot is certainly heating up, with 11 points separating Tottenham and sixth-placed Manchester United.
But Neville believes Arsenal and United will now find it difficult to break back into the top four.
When asked how the table will finish, the former England defender told Sky Sports: ‘I think it will be the current top four – Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester City.
‘It was inconceivable to think that Chelsea were going to go the whole season without dropping points.
‘They will drop more points before the end of the season, there’s no doubt about that because they have some tough fixtures coming up but can the others capitalise and are they capable of going on the run required to be able to catch them?
‘Liverpool’s fixtures are better [than their rivals] – Arsenal and Man United will fall short, but I do think United will win the Europa League.
‘So many of the United games, they should have won and could have won. They just haven’t got that killer instinct to kill teams off.
‘They make it so difficult for themselves to get in the top four. If you like at the fixtures they’ve got, it is so tough. I
think too many mistakes have been made.
United face Belgian outfit Anderlecht in the quarter-final of the Europa League next week – the winners of the competition qualify for the Champions League.
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