Ronald Koeman dismisses Arsenal and Manchester City from the title race after Leicester's latest win

Leicester City continued their incredible run in the Premier League and are currently the favourites to win the title at the end of the season. Their latest win was a 1-0 triumph over relegation battling Newcastle United on Monday (14 March), which restored their lead at the top of the table to five points over second placed Tottenham Hotspur.

Claudio Ranieri's team are currently 11 and 12 points ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City in third and fourth place respectively and Southampton manager Ronald Koeman believes it is the end of the road for the two clubs in the title race. The duo have a game in hand against the Foxes but the Dutch manager believes the gap is too big to be made up with just nine games left to play.

The Southampton manager, whose team is currently in seventh place as they battle for a place in Europe next season, believes it is now a two-horse race for the title between Mauricio Pochettino's team and the league leaders. Leicester have the best win-loss record in the league and have refused to be cowed down by the pressure of being the under dogs. There have been a number of occasions when their credentials have been doubted but their recent run under heavy scrutiny has dispelled most of the doubters.

Koeman believes the pressure on the players will increase when it comes to the final games and they know they are battling just one team for the title. Sir Alex Ferguson, however, has backed Leicester to win the Premier League this season and the former Manchester United manager believes they will win it with three games to spare.

"Eleven points from Arsenal, 12 from Manchester City — they are out of the title," Koeman said, in reaction to Leicester's 1-0 win over Newcastle, as quoted by Goal.com. "And it will be a fight between Tottenham and Leicester. And that makes, in my opinion, the difference between before the game, this result."

"Still Tottenham are close but still it's a fight between two teams, before this game it was a fight between four or five, and that's the difference that begins to run in your mind, if you're a Leicester player," the Saints boss added.