Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have been predicting the Premier League table after just one match, with Liverpool and Manchester United tipped to finish around the top four
Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Liverpool
Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have predicted the Premier League(Image: (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images))
With the Premier League season finally underway, Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have tried their hand at predicting the league's key positions by the time it comes to a close.
The pair agreed on most things, but there was a disparity in where they placed their own teams, Liverpool and Manchester United, by the end.
It comes as both teams had a far from perfect opening weekend, displaying the job that both Andoni Iraola and Michael Carrick have on their hands for the rest of the season. For Liverpool, the first match was a tough one away at Newcastle United, who presented something of an unknown quantity. The Reds got caught on the counterattack quite often throughout the match, falling behind twice.
The Merseyside outfit battled back both times, however, as a Cody Gakpo strike and a late Dominik Szoboszlai penalty rescued a point for the visitors to get the season up and running.
As for Manchester United, there were clear issues on display in a 2-0 defeat to newly-promoted Hull City, as defensive unrest and a blunt attack got the team off to a far-from-ideal start.
Following those displays, perhaps any small whispers of a potential title push have been wiped away in favor of talk about a realistic finish in the top four.
Neville believes that will be made up of Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City, while he has Manchester United sneaking into fourth over Liverpool, a slight difference from Carragher, who has the same top three, but the Reds getting in over the Red Devils.
Andoni Iraola the head coach / manager of AFC Bournemouth with Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick after the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Manchester United
Andoni Iraola and Michael Carrick could battle it out for a top four finish(Image: (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images))
When asked why he picked Man United over Liverpool, Neville said on Sky Sports: "Do you want me to be honest? I can't separate United and Liverpool in fourth place; I genuinely have no idea...
"A couple of weeks ago I had United in third, I didn't have Chelsea where they were, but as you get nearer to the season you start to look at the squad, and you start to think about it, you start to think about Chelsea and the fact they have no European football, that'll give them a big edge.
"I think City are in a better position than United. Look at the moment, I'm not convinced by United or Liverpool really, but I do think they'll finish fourth and fifth. I've just gone United fourth purely because I'm a United fan."
As for Carragher and the possibility of a top-four finish for Liverpool, he said: "I think they'd want more, but I think just looking at the Chelsea situation, Liverpool where they are right now, the transfer window's got a week to go, so who knows what's going to happen in the next week.
"He [Iraola] could maybe change his tune and maybe sneak into the top three, but I don't see any way they'd be in the top two, and I don't see any way they can mount a title challenge. So a little bit of what Gary has said just there, if you said to me now as a Liverpool fan, you'll have Champions League football, or you'll be in the top four or five, and you could win a cup, I'd shake on that right now."
It underlines the transitional nature both clubs find themselves in, with the first week highlighting many of the problems and concerns that have existed over the summer.
There is still plenty of time to go, however, and both Liverpool and Manchester United could find a way to compete at the top level before the season comes to a close.