Alex Ferguson predicts Premier League title race will be wrapped up early

A happy ending for the fairytale?

With nine games left in the Premier League season, the only question on everyone's lips is can Leicester City hang on and spring the biggest upset in years? The Foxes hold a five-point lead over nearest challengers Tottenham, with Arsenal a further three points back, but it would be easy to imagine Leicester players tightening up as the prospect of an unlikely title grows ever greater. However, one man who knows a bit about winning titles reckons that not only will Leicester hang on, they will actually pull away from the pack to put the title race to bed with plenty of games in hand. Asked if Leicester will stay on top, former Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson told an audience at a Cheltenham Festival preview night: "Of course they can, they'll win it with three games to spare." That's just before Leicester travel to Old Trafford to face United, and Ferguson had bad news for his former club. After watching them put in an abject display against Liverpool at Anfield in the Europa League on Thursday, the Scot wrote off United's hopes of a place in the top four, while predicting that West Ham would spring another huge surprise by edging out Manchester City for fourth place.