TOP FOUR IS A STEP TOO FAR FOR JOSE

WITH Chelsea 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League, it would appear the identity of the 2017 champions is already known. But what about the fight for the Champions League places that is raging beneath Antonio Conte’s imperious team?

As we head into the international break, Tottenham are in possession of second spot after yet another home win while Manchester United’s unbeaten run has finally seen them move up from sixth place.

And with Everton just six points behind Liverpool – with a Merseyside derby to come a week on Saturday – we can’t rule out Ronald Koeman’s improving team either.

With a quarter of the season to go, anything could happen. Here, Sportsmail tries to make sense of it all:

Arsenal

THE GOOD NEWS Arsenal always finish the season well, usually when it’s too late in terms of trophies. It is very possible that this will happen again. THE BAD NEWS There is too much confusion and uncertainty around Arsenal at the moment. It seems that Arsene Wenger will stay but what about players such as Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil? Arsenal don’t look like a team who have any kind of collective will and understanding any more and it is likely they will now pour all their emotional energy into their FA Cup semi-final against City. KEY STAT Arsenal have lost four out of five league games for the first time since April 1995 (under caretaker manager Stewart Houston).

PREDICTION: Fifth

Everton

THE GOOD NEWS Koeman and his players have enjoyed a season of real progress and anything they achieve from here is a bonus. That means there should be an absence of pressure and with Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku on form, they have the capacity to hurt teams. Everton know that a win in the derby on April 1 would scare the life out of their neighbours. THE BAD NEWS Everton have played more games than anyone but Liverpool and that will probably prove crucial. They are on a great run and started the season brightly. But 10 games that yielded seven points between September and December will come back to haunt them. KEY STAT Everton have had more different scorers than any other side in the top flight prediction this season (15).

Tottenham

THE GOOD NEWS Mauricio Pochettino’s team are in form, they are not in Europe, and they seemingly have a desire to win every remaining home game before White Hart Lane is pulled down at the end of the season.

With a seven-point lead over Manchester United in fifth, it would be some fall from grace if they were not to make the top four.

The fixture list is in their favour, too. Over a two-week period at the start of May, Spurs face Arsenal, West Ham and United but before then they have a run of winnable games that could see them with one foot over the line before Wenger’s team travel down the Seven Sisters Road on April 30. THE BAD NEWS Tottenham are not the same team without Harry Kane. Their prolific centre forward is hoping he can return early from injury after the international break but would be advised not to rush.

With no natural replacement, Tottenham could arguably cope without him at Burnley a week today but beyond that his return to health will be crucial.

Spurs also have the memory of last season’s late collapse to deal with.

Will it haunt them or make them stronger this time round? We will see. KEY STAT Spurs are yet to lose at home in the league – the only previous topflight season they have remained unbeaten at home was 1964-65 (21 games, 0 defeats).

PREDICTION: Third

Manchester City

THE GOOD NEWS City have not lost in the Premier League for more than two months and have improved since their wobbles of mid-winter.

They have key players fit and firing – David Silva and Leroy Sane in particular – and in Willy Caballero a goalkeeper who has taken an opportunity presented by Claudio Bravo’s problems by raising the levels of his own performances.

City’s squad also has a depth that is not really matched by anybody else’s and, once consecutive games against Arsenal and Chelsea are out of the way, they face a run to the finish line that cannot help but encourage them. THE BAD NEWS Coach Pep Guardiola says his team’s problems lie in attack but they don’t. It’s City’s tendency to leak goals that holds them back and that is a problem that does not look like being solved until the summer transfer window. In nine league matches against the current top seven, City have shipped 16 goals so far. Next up is Arsenal and Chelsea away. KEY STAT City are unbeaten in seven league matches – their longest streak under Pep Guardiola.

PREDICTION: Second

Liverpool

THE GOOD NEWS When it clicks for Liverpool, there is nobody more capable of taking teams apart and recent performances against Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City (two wins and a draw) should give Jurgen Klopp’s team confidence to push on. Klopp is not the kind of manager to transmit pressure to his players, either. THE BAD NEWS The form of their best player, Philippe Coutinho, should worry them. When the little Brazilian doesn’t fire, Liverpool can struggle for inspiration. Coutinho was taken off against Burnley and again at City on Sunday. Liverpool’s run-in features a stack of games against middle-ranking teams who will sit deep and smother their opponents. They will need Coutinho then. KEY STAT Liverpool have taken 20 points in 10 games against the top six this season, but just 19 points in 10 games against the bottom six.

PREDICTION: Fourth

Manchester United

THE GOOD NEWS No manager in the Premier League has performed better than Jose Mourinho over the winter and he is the best weapon United have as they try to reel in their rivals. You can see the anxiety written over the faces of Guardiola and Wenger but you don’t see that in Mourinho. United are also unbeaten in the league since mid-October and after Liverpool and Arsenal dropped points on Sunday, their great rivals now have their top-four destiny in their own hands for the first time. THE BAD NEWS Given their fixture schedule and participation in the Europa League, something has to give and I think it will. United still have to travel to Tottenham, Arsenal and City and I think that will get them in the end. KEY STAT Manchester United ended the weekend inside the top five for the first time in 184 days (since September 16).

PREDICTION: Sixth – Daily Mail