Premier League top-four fixture: Remaining matches, key clashes and planned finals for Aston Villa, Manchester United and Tottenham

The battle for a place in the Premier League's top four this season appears to be coming to an end once again.

Aston Villa, Tottenhamand manchester united They are all fighting for a place, assuming their title rivals Arsenal, Liverpool and Man City don't suffer a major collapse.

What makes it even more interesting is that we still don't know if England will get five places for the Champions League next year, instead of four.

So the only thing these three teams can do is accumulate as many points as possible and hope that they are enough at the end of the season to play with the European elite.

Here, talkSPORT.com takes an in-depth look at the race for champions league soccer.

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Aston Villa – 4th

The Villans have enjoyed an incredible campaign and face the final part of the season in the lead to secure the Champions League.

Unai EmeryThe men began the year with eight straight home wins and after a win over Arsenal By early December, they were well into the title race.

Since then, they have fallen a bit and have now lost three games at home, leaving them with the fourth-best home record in the division.

One of them was a 4-0 humiliation by Spurs, which leaves Villa just three points clear of their rivals.

The Villans have won five of their last 12 league games and have some problems finishing in the top four.

As for their remaining games, they still have to play. city ​​of manchester and Arsenal away from home and welcome Liverpool for their last game at Villa Park this season.

If they can pick up points they will be in the top four, but it looks as if they have lost a bit of form at the wrong time.

Expected finish: 5th

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Tottenham – 5th

Tottenham, low Ange Postecoglou In his first season as a Premier League manager, they have been a breath of fresh air.

They have the fifth best home and away records in the league and have scored 59 goals so far; only the four teams above them have achieved more.

Spurs have played freely all season, while James Maddison and Micky van de Ven have proven to be excellent signings.

Inconsistency has cost them at times this year, with good results followed by bad ones, leaving their top four hopes hanging in the balance.

They have one less game against Villa which will be vital but, like the Villans, they face Man City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Once again, it is likely these games that will decide his fate.

Expected finish: 4th

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Manchester United – 6th

After finishing third last year in Erik ten HagDuring his first season as Man United manager, the future looked bright for the Red Devils.

However, it has largely been a campaign to forget for United.

They were knocked out of the Champions League, finished last in their group and have never been in contention for the title, while a top four is still quite unlikely.

But the players are returning from injury and have won five of their last seven in the league to slowly close the gap on Spurs and Villa.

So it all comes down to the remaining games and the games against Arsenal and Liverpool look tough, while Newcastle and Brighton are probably fighting for European places.

But despite having a slightly easier race than their opponents on paper, the gap is too big to close for the top four.

Expected finish: 6th

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