Sir Alex Ferguson, the manager of Premier League champions Manchester United, believes any one of Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton is capable of breaking into the Premier League's top four positions, which bring qualification to the lucrative Uefa Champions League.

Participation in the competition is worth huge sums to the Premier League's 'big four' - Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United. Over the last six years, according to a study produced by Italian sports business consultancy StageUp, each member of the big four has received more than €130 million from the Champions League, with Chelsea leading the way on €184 million from the competition.

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But Ferguson, speaking at an inaugural dinner of the League Managers' Association Hall of Fame 1000 club, celebrating those who have managed more than 1,000 domestic league or cup matches, predicted that any one of City, Spurs, Villa and Everton could crack the cartel.

"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 told Sky Sports. "That's a difficult competition in itself and any one of them is capable of doing that."

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He added: "The top teams are losing games and more points than ever through the early part of the season. 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."

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Tottenham, Villa and Manchester City currently sit fourth, fifth and sixth in the table, above Liverpool, while Everton are in 12th.