Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, West Ham - top-four race analysed

Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace on Sunday

Could Arsenal miss out on a top-four finish?

The Gunners were in the midst of the title race a couple of months ago but a run of poor form has seen them slip behind Leicester and Tottenham and, with Manchester United gaining ground, their Champions League qualifying spot is at risk.
It seems Premier League leaders Leicester have one place all but sewn up, while Tottenham are looking up rather than down in second.

But what about the rest? Will Manchester City's Champions League semi-final distract them? Can Manchester United sneak in during the final stages? Or will West Ham cause a shock?
We assess the chances of the top-four chasers...

Premier League table

PL position	Team	Games played	Goal difference	Points
3rd	Man City	33	28	60
4th	Arsenal	33	22	60
5th	Man Utd	33	10	56
6th	West Ham	33	12	53

Form
Leicester are top of the Premier League and top of the form table, despite a 2-2 draw at home to West Ham on Super Sunday. Along with second-placed Tottenham, the Foxes seem set for Champions League football next season.
Leicester are 17 points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United. Tottenham's gap to Louis van Gaal's men is nine points, with both having five games to play.

Man City beat Chelsea 3-0 to boost their top-four hopes

Manchester City are second in the form table after a comfortable 3-0 win at Chelsea on Saturday Night Football. Manuel Pellegrini's men are in the semi-finals of the Champions League and seem to have hit their stride at the business end of the season.
City cannot afford to slip up in the league, though, with United just four points back and Van Gaal's side picked up another three points with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
Arsenal dropped points at the weekend, though, drawing at home with Crystal Palace. That result came on the back of last week's draw with West Ham. The Hammers have drawn their last four and will need to get back to winning ways to grab a top-four place.

Newcastle vs Man City

Remaining fixtures for teams in race for fourth

Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	West Ham
Newcastle (a)	West Brom (h)	Crystal Palace (h)	Watford (h)
Stoke (h)	Sunderland (a)	Leicester (h)	West Brom (a)
Southampton (a)	Norwich (h)	Norwich (a)	Swansea (h)
Arsenal (h)	Man City (a)	West Ham (a)	Man Utd (h)
Swansea (a)	Aston Villa (h)	Bournemouth (h)	Stoke (a)

Man City head to Newcastle on Tuesday night - a team they've beaten 12 times in a row in the Premier League - and, looking at their run-in, they'll be optimistic of a strong finish to the domestic campaign, regardless of their European commitments.
Stoke (h), Southampton (a), and Swansea (a) should offer opportunities to take maximum points, while City's penultimate fixture, at home to Arsenal, offers the ideal stage for Pellegrini's men to strike a direct blow against a top-four rival.

Marcus Rashford (L) put Man United on course for victory over Aston Villa on Saturday

Sunday, May 8 will no doubt be circled in Arsene Wenger's diary, too. Like City, Arsenal will hope to win their other remaining games - against West Brom (h), Sunderland (a), Norwich (h) and Aston Villa (a) - but that trip to the Etihad could be key.
Manchester United - who beat both City and Arsenal in their previous meetings with them - are aiming to put themselves in a position to capitalise on any slip-up and will be favourites to win at least four of their five remaining games. The other comes against leaders Leicester.
As for West Ham, they play United on Tuesday, May 10 and will need to win that final fixture at Upton Park, plus the majority of their other four remaining games to spring a surprise.

Andy Carroll has scored four goals in two games to boost West Ham

Current injuries

Team	Number of injuries (According to physioroom.com)
Man United	5
Man City	5
Tottenham	3
Arsenal	2

Manchester United are currently hampered by five injuries to first-team players - Ander Herrera, Adnan Januzaj, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Luke Shaw and Will Keane are all unavailable.
Man City are also without five players, although Samir Nasri, listed by physioroom.com as having a muscular injury, will aim to return to action as soon as possible, given his long lay-off for much of this season. Gael Clichy, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and Vincent Kompany are also suffering.
Santi Cazorla and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are the only Arsenal players currently sidelined, while Diafra Sakho missed West Ham's 2-2 draw at Leicester but is hopeful to return in time for the weekend's clash with Watford. Long-term absentee Carl Jenkinson is West Ham's only other player in the treatment room.

Arsenal vs W Brom

Arsenal's clash with Man City in the penultimate round of fixtures could be key

With just four points separating third and fifth - and West Ham only seven points out of the picture - the race for the top four is far from over. It's tough to call, too.
After conceding a last-minute equaliser at Leicester, it may be West Ham have too much to do, but Manchester United will be optimistic of reeling in the two teams above them.
A win for either Man City or Arsenal when they meet in the penultimate round of fixtures could send the loser crashing out of the Champions League qualifying spots.
City's involvement in the Champions League semi-finals cannot be discounted, either. Pellegrini's side face a trip to Southampton and that home game with Arsenal immediately after their ties with Real Madrid. Could their exertions in Europe damage their domestic ambitions?
How City and the other teams in contention deal with the pressure of the run-in will be key.