Hammers top four fate predicted

Ray Parlour has tipped Manchester United to qualify for the Champions League at the expense of West Ham.

The Hammers are firmly in the battle to finish in the top four, along with a number of other clubs at the top end of the Premier League.

David Moyes’ side ended the weekend in fifth, prior to United’s clash with Wolves on Monday, and were sitting just one point behind Arsenal in fourth.

Spurs are a point further back with two games in hand, while United were seventh prior to kick-off.

However, Parlour reckons Ralf Rangnick’s side will have enough to qualify for Europe at the expense of the competition but he has stopped short of ruling the Hammers out entirely.

Indeed, the ex-Arsenal star believes that a trolley dash involving a striker and a centre-back could well see the Hammers finish in the top four, assuming that Manchester City, Liverpool, and Chelsea occupy the top three spots.

Speaking to talkSPORT, as per Metro, he said: “If he [Rangnick] can get that little bit of a buzz around Manchester United again, they’ve got better players probably than most of the squads.

“Then you look at Spurs, I think it’s close between Spurs and Arsenal. The north London derby coming up will be massive for both sides.

“And then West Ham, you still can’t write them off. I know they had that little bit of a blip but they’ve bounced back very well against Palace and Watford. But it’s all about the transfer window for me, West Ham need a few more players coming in. Certainly a striker is desperate. They’ve really been dismantled at the back… whether they look at centre-half.

“A lot of it is going to come down to signings in January. Not just the top four, but at the bottom as well.

“If I’m going to stick my neck out, I would certainly go with Manchester United still [to finish fourth].”