The Premier League is back this weekend and predictions over how Manchester United will fare this season are coming thick and fast.
After the disaster which was Manchester United’s 2024/25 campaign, massive improvements are not only desired but also demanded at Old Trafford.
Ruben Amorim has a massive job on his hands to turn things around at United, having failed to string two Premier League wins together last season.
15th place will never be accepted at United, so immediate improvements will be needed to avoid pressure piling onto Amorim.
Rio Ferdinand has predicted United to finish in the top eight, which would be a big improvement on last season and potentially lead to European football.
Meanwhile, Paul Scholes has set a top six target for United, which happens to be where Ineos have challenged Amorim to finish during the 2025/26 season.
Roy Keane on punditry duty.
Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images
Roy Keane predicts where Manchester United will finish this season
Signs have been good for United during pre-season, having definitely improved on the pitch with some excellent transfers.
However, pre-season is rarely a good accurate show of where a team is at, and United can make a statement against Arsenal on the opening day this Sunday.
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Now, speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Roy Keane and Gary Neville have offered their predictions for where United will finish this season.
Keane went first, saying: “At best United for me, 8th or 9th. I’d be surprised [if United came 6th].”
Following on from this, Neville gave his prediction, but had stipulations.
“I think 5th or 6th is where you should be aiming for. I think you look at Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and City and you think difficult. But you need to be looking to break into that Villa, Newcastle, Spurs bracket.
“With no Champions League football, they have to be looking at 5th and 6th. Without a goalkeeper, I think he’s 8th or 9th.”
From the four United legends to make their predictions, it would seem that we can expect the Red Devils to finish anywhere from 5th to 9th in the league.
Where data says Manchester United will finish in the Premier League
United legends’ predictions for the campaign are always intriguing, as a helpful guide over whether our own verdicts are in line.
However, there are other methods to see where United could finish and by using data is one way.
Opta Analyst have shared their predicted Premier League table this week, placing United 12th in the league with just 49 points and an 11.13% chance of relegation.
This is however not something which takes into account factors such as summer signings, improvements on the pitch by United and others being weakened such as Bournemouth and Brentford.
United will finish much higher than 12th this season and definitely above the aforementioned teams. In actuality, United will probably finish somewhere in the middle of all these predictions at 7th or 6th.