Sir Alex Ferguson believes that the Premier League has become a lot more competitive but feels that it will again develop into a two-horse race over time.

Chelsea currently head the pack by five points and are 5/6 favourites to regain the title, with Manchester United available at 3/1 and Arsenal at 10/3.

Tottenham (80/1), Aston Villa (250/1) and Manchester City (25/1) have all made good starts to the season and lie above last season’s runners-up, Liverpool (40/1) in the table to emphasise that the gap is closing on the Big 4.

However, the United boss feels that come the business end of the season, the title race will be whittled down to two.

“I had a feeling about there being a change last season. The top teams are losing games and more points than ever through the early part of the season,” Ferguson said.

“That gives rise to the hope that it could be a very competitive league. But my experience tells me that two teams break away towards the last part of the season.”

Ferguson though believes the race for the Champions League places has become harder than ever, and is unsure as to which clubs will come out on top.

“I could toss a coin and that could be my best chance of deciding who could break into the top four out of Tottenham, Aston Villa, Everton and Manchester City with all the money they have,” he added.

“That’s a difficult competition in itself and any one of them is capable of doing that.”

Manchester City are currently 4/6 favourites to win the Premier League Without the Big 4, with Spurs available at 9/4, Villa at 5/1 and Everton priced at 20/1.