After the first weekend of the Premier League season, Gary Neville has already made changes to his top-four predictions.
Manchester United got off to a rough start, falling 1-0 to Arsenal thanks to a mistake by Altay Bayindir that led to a goal straight from a corner. Arsenal then sat back and defended their lead for the rest of the match.
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In other results, Liverpool began their title defence with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth, while Manchester City looked sharp in their 4-0 victory over Wolves. Despite United’s loss, there is hope that Ruben Amorim can help them improve on last season’s disappointing 15th-place finish.
The club have added four new faces this summer: Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Diego Leon and Benjamin Sesko. Those signings are expected to help United pick up more wins and improve on last season’s tally of 42 points.
Gary Neville backs Man Utd to make top-four
Football is a results business. Amorim’s success at Manchester United won’t be measured just by how the team plays, but whether he can turn performances into wins.
While United didn’t come away with any points against Arsenal, there were still positive signs for supporters to take from the match.
The way United played has already had an impact on Gary Neville’s Premier League predictions, with the former captain adjusting his top-four picks after watching their opener.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Neville said: “It’s a late change but I think there’s a bit of science [behind it].”
“Last season, I remember watching Chelsea on the first game of the season and, at that point, no one had Chelsea finishing in the top four I watched them against City and I thought: ‘They are not bad, that will do damage this season, that’s a good team’.
“When I watched United [against Arsenal], I thought the performance was very good and I think they will get a goalkeeper. I’m banking on that – they will not make the mistake of not getting a goalkeeper in.
“When you bring a goalkeeper in, and you have those players up front with that front line and you have no European football, I think they will surprise people.
“Last week I had them finishing sixth to eighth, but I thought the performance was really good and I genuinely liked it.”
Neville makes title prediction
Neville also spoke about his title prediction for this season. He said Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal are all strong candidates for silverware this year.
The former England international believes Viktor Gyokeres’ arrival could be what finally gets Arsenal over the line after back-to-back second-place finishes under Mikel Arteta.
“I think they are all in with an equal chance so I’ve got no certainty that Arsenal are going to win it,” he added.
Neville went on to say: “They’ve been consistent over the last three years and I do feel they will get there at some point. They are reliable and solid and they’re consistent which is important.”
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