Antonio Conte says the top-four race will be ‘really tough’ (Picture: Sky Sports)
Antonio Conte believes Manchester United have all but secured a top-three finish in the Premier League, while he has backed Chelsea to mount a surprise challenge for the remaining top-four place.
With Arsenal and Manchester City involved in a thrilling title race and Man United continuing to impress under Erik ten Hag, Tottenham boss Conte feels there is only one Champions League spot up for grabs.
Spurs currently occupy the final top-four position and moved six points ahead of fifth-placed Liverpool on Saturday after beating Nottingham Forest 3-1, shortly after Jurgen Klopp’s side suffered a shock defeat to Bournemouth.
Newcastle United are seven points behind Tottenham with two games in hand, while Brighton would move level with Spurs if they won their three games in hand.
The challengers are certainly piling up at the business end of the season and Conte believes Chelsea should also be in the top-four conversation following their revival under Graham Potter.
The Blues have endured a dismal season but secured their third win in a row on Saturday to stay 11 points behind Tottenham with a game in hand.
‘We know very well the race for a place in Champions League will be really, really tough. You see the competitors,’ Conte said after Spurs beat Forest thanks to Harry Kane’s double and a Son Heung-min goal.
Conte was speaking after Tottenham beat Nottingham Forest (Picture: Getty)
‘You see there are many, many teams involved and I think in this moment there is only one place available because Man City and Arsenal are fighting to win the Premier League and Man United I think are showing they have great continuity of good results.
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‘I think there is one place and there are many teams, many important teams that are in this race.
‘We have to try to do our best and for sure I repeat for us to finish in the top four is like to win the Premier League. It happen last season and I spoke about miracle.
‘I continue to say maybe this season it be much more difficult, much more difficult because Liverpool is a competitor in this race.
‘Newcastle is a competitor and Newcastle is a different Newcastle to the past. They invest a lot of money and they have a strong team.
‘You see Chelsea and what happened there and their position, but I don’t consider Chelsea outside [the top-four race]. They have the possibility to win the last 11 or 12 games in a row because the squad is really, really strong.
‘But we need to think about ourselves. A top club looks at themselves, not to other results.
Chelsea continued their revival against Leicester City (Picture: Getty)
‘We have to be focused on our path and to try to do our best until the end of the season and then we see which is the position we are able to achieve.’
Tottenham were dumped out of the Champions League by AC Milan in midweek but the north London side managed to return to winning ways against Nottingham Forest and ease some of the immediate pressure on Conte.
Defending champions Manchester City also secured three points on Saturday, beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park to cut Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to two points.
The Premier League leaders play their game in hand tomorrow, with Mikel Arteta’s side travelling to Craven Cottage to face eighth-placed Fulham.
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‘The race for the Champions League will be really, really tough.’