The race to clinch fourth spot in the Premier League table and a coveted place in the Champions League will seemingly go right down to the wire, with no fewer than four teams still harbouring realistic ambitions of dining at Europe's top table.

Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are all firmly in contention to finish above the dotted line next month, but some teams are enjoying much better fortunes than others as we approach the Easter period.

Continental commitments, injuries and something as simple as taking chances when they arrive will all prove pivotal in the race for fourth place, but who holds the upper hand in the race for Champions League football?

Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at what can be expected from the four contenders for the remainder of the season and which team is best-positioned to qualify for the 2022-23 Champions League.

West Ham United

The only top-four contending team still having to juggle Premier League and European commitments, West Ham may now feel that the Europa League represents their best shot at a coveted Champions League place, with Lyon lying in wait for Thursday's second leg after a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium.

The Hammers have played the most amount of Premier League games this season out of the top-four contenders with 32, and while they will be expected to get the better of Norwich City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Burnley, David Moyes's side must also meet Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal before the season is up.

West Ham have gleaned 51 points from their 32 games to occupy sixth position in the table, but if Arsenal and Spurs win their games in hand, a nine-point gap will open up between the Hammers and their North London rivals.

The weekend's defeat to Brentford also saw West Ham's patchy win-loss-win-loss form in the Premier League continue, and with Moyes also waiting to learn the extent of Kurt Zouma's ankle injury, European success may be higher on the priority list for West Ham than a top-four finish.

Manchester United

With so much of the talk at Man United centring around their search for a new manager, Ralf Rangnick's attempts to keep his players focused on the task at hand is proving to be a struggle - if their recent form in the Premier League is anything to go by.

Man United are now considered the outsiders for a top-four finish as they lie seventh in the table - level on points with West Ham with a game in hand - and their run-in for the remainder of the season is hardly straightforward.

Meetings with Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea represent a difficult period for the club, and while they will expect to overcome Norwich City and Brighton & Hove Albion, a final-day clash away to Crystal Palace could spell trouble for them.

A 1-0 loss to Everton at the weekend means that it is now just one win from their last five in the Premier League for Man United, who may be forced to shine under the bright lights of the Europa League should they fail to produce in the big games from here on in.

Arsenal

At one point in the driving seat for the top four with a number of games in hand, it has been the same old story for Arsenal since the international break - lose a couple of integral players to injury and undo all of their hard work from the previous months.

Losing Kieran Tierney for the season and potentially Thomas Partey as well represents two significant blows for Mikel Arteta, whose sterling job with this young side cannot be ignored, and a first top-four finish since 2015-16 certainly cannot be ruled out for the Gunners just yet.

Back-to-back losses to Crystal Palace and Brighton have seen Arsenal drop down to fifth, but they have at least one game in hand on all of their top-four rivals and still only have a three-point gap to make up to fourth-placed Tottenham.

Taking maximum points from clashes with Southampton, Leeds United, Newcastle United and Everton is of paramount importance for the Gunners, who must still travel to Chelsea, West Ham and Tottenham, as well as facing Man United at home.

The North London derby with Tottenham on May 12 could very well determine who ends up in fourth and who settles for Europa League football, but devastating injuries, a lack of January transfer activity to replenish a thin squad and Alexandre Lacazette's continued failures in front of goal could all prove costly.

Tottenham Hotspur

Whoever said a back three was a negative approach to a football match clearly has not been paying attention to Antonio Conte's Tottenham in the past few weeks, with the Italian finally weaving his magic after a mixed start to life back in the capital.

Suffering four defeats from five between January and February led to some fans conceding the top-four race already, but Spurs have now claimed six wins from their last seven - including each of their last four - while they have struck a staggering 25 goals in that period.

With Rodrigo Bentancur providing the midfield stability and Dejan Kulusevski being the missing piece of the attacking puzzle with prolific partners Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, Tottenham's astute winter business and lack of European commitments has allowed them to storm into the top four with 57 points from 31 games.

A trip to Anfield to face Liverpool on May 7 represents possibly the only match Tottenham have left that they will not feel confident about winning - even with the news of Matt Doherty's season-ending injury - with Leicester City, Burnley, Norwich, Brentford and Brighton all at risk of being torn apart by Spurs' merciless attack.

Of course, Arsenal could throw a cat amongst the pigeons should they win their game in hand and take something home from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 12, but fourth spot is now Tottenham's to lose, and it is extremely difficult to envisage a well-drilled Conte side not locking horns with the European elite now.