Paul Fennessy

SUNDAY SAW arguably the primary four teams in the race for fourth compete in the Premier League.

While Arsenal and Man City both had wobbles this weekend, you get the sense they will be the main title rivals to table toppers Liverpool based on what they achieved previously.

Assuming they occupy the top three come the end of the season, that leaves one more spot up for grabs to guarantee Champions League football — although a fifth-place finish could also potentially seal entry to Europe’s premier club competition depending on how well English teams perform in Europe.

Of the rest, Chelsea, Man United, Tottenham and Aston Villa will aspire for a top-four finish.

At the same time, others cannot be ruled out. Newcastle have had an inconsistent start but secured an impressive win over Arsenal in Saturday’s early kick-off.

And even the unfancied Nottingham Forest sit third after 10 games, having survived a relegation battle last season.

Based purely on today’s results, it is tempting to say Spurs are in the strongest position in the race for fourth.

Having trailed Aston Villa 1-0 at half-time, the North Londoners’ much-improved second-half performance saw them prevail 4-1.

But Ange Postecoglou’s men are surely the most unpredictable of the contenders, summed up by the fact that Crystal Palace secured their first win of the season against them last weekend, but Tottenham followed that up by dumping Man City out of the League Cup on Wednesday.

Most people were tipping Spurs for a top-four finish after they won 4-0 at Villa at a key stage last season. It left them two points behind Unai Emery’s men with a game in hand. But Tottenham had to settle for fifth, after losing six of their final 11 matches.

Villa overachieved by securing fourth last year and repeating that feat might be a struggle.

As impressively organised as they were in the first half, once the hosts equalised, they capitulated similarly to West Ham two weeks ago at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The Midlands club remain just one point off third-place Forest and have earned some impressive results this season, most notably the defeat of Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

However, there are signs the strain of balancing European and domestic commitments is starting to catch up with them.

Having started with four wins from five, the Birmingham-based outfit have only won one of their last five Premier League fixtures.

The frustration of today’s setback was exacerbated following second-half injuries to Matty Cash and goalscorer Morgan Rogers.

Villa also lost two key players in the summer, with Moussa Diaby and Douglas Luiz joining Al Ittihad and Juventus for £50 million (€60 million) and £42 million (€50 million) respectively.

The jury is still out on whether the likes of Ross Barkley, Amadou Onana and Ian Maatsen will be good enough recruitments to compensate for Villa’s losses and help them retain their Champions League status.

Given that they are six points off fourth, Man United are ostensibly the least likely of the teams mentioned to challenge for the spot.

The Red Devils’ return of 12 points from 10 games is their worst start to a league campaign since the 1986-87 season.

They also had a managerial change in November of that year, when Alex Ferguson replaced Ron Atkinson and ultimately guided the club to an 11th-place finish.

So swiftly turning a club like United around won’t be easy — even a managerial legend like Ferguson struggled at this task initially.

Ruben Amorim won’t complete his move to Old Trafford until 11 November and is unlikely to have ample funds to avail of, with predecessor Erik ten Hag having already spent heavily on players.

Yet the outgoing Sporting Lisbon coach is among the most highly-rated young managers in Europe for a reason, with some pundits previously tipping him as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at Man City.

Past managers including Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have overseen a swift upturn in fortune after taking over, even if they have not maintained a winning run in the long term. Therefore, it would be foolish to dismiss Man United in the race for fourth.

Chelsea's Cole Palmer has been among the Premier League's most impressive performers so far this season. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

But at the moment, Chelsea appear the strongest of the teams outside the big three of Liverpool, Man City and Arsenal.

Many critics felt ditching Mauricio Pochettino in the summer was a backwards step after the Blues had shown significant signs of improvement towards the end of last season.

Still, new manager Enzo Maresca has adapted impressively since moving to the club from Leicester City.

The Londoners are just a point off Forest in fourth and looked the better team at Old Trafford this afternoon, showing good character to rescue a point after going behind to a Bruno Fernandes penalty in the 70th minute.

Much has been made of their gargantuan squad of expensively assembled players — a factor that undoubtedly hindered Pochettino and caused some unrest in the dressing room.

But Maresca has shown the necessary ruthless attitude, casting aside unwanted players like Raheem Sterling and showing relative consistency in selection so far.

And what stands out about Chelsea compared to most other teams competing for fourth is their squad depth.

Today, for example, they had the luxury of introducing Marc Cucurella (a Euro 2024 winner with Spain), Enzo Fernandez (a 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina) and Mykhailo Mudryk (a €70 million signing potentially rising to €100 million) from the bench.

Meanwhile, the likes of Joao Felix (five years ago, signed by Atlético Madrid for €126 million, the fourth highest sum ever paid in football at the time), Benoît Badiashile (signed for €37 million last year) and Christopher Nkunku (signed for €62 million last year) were unused subs.

The London club have spent recklessly since the Todd Boehly era began, but by the law of averages, they have managed to make some astute purchases.

Cole Palmer is the Premier League’s most impressive attacking midfielder this season, they have a solid-looking backline and much-maligned striker Nicolas Jackson is belatedly showing why the club signed him for £32 million (€38 million) on an eight-year deal from Villarreal.

And perhaps most significantly, the Blues will get better the more matches they play.

Of Chelsea’s starting XI against Man United on Sunday, their oldest player was 26-year-old goalkeeper Robert Sánchez. All the outfield players were 24 or under.

While this lack of experience partially explains why it is too early to see them challenge clubs like Man City and Liverpool, Chelsea’s youthful vibrancy suggests a club with better days ahead.