Gary Neville predicts where Liverpool FC and Arsenal will finish
Gary Neville explains why he is tipping Liverpool FC to miss out on a top-four finish in the Premier League this season
Former Manchester United star Gary Neville (Photo: Sky Sports)
Gary Neville is expecting to see Liverpool FC miss out on a top-four finish this season and claims Arsenal are still facing a “big job” to qualify for the Champions League.
The Merseyside outfit have struggled to find consistent form in the English top flight so far this term and they head into this weekend’s round of fixtures in 10th place in the table, having claimed just two wins from their opening eight games.
Liverpool FC – who have played one game fewer than many of their rivals – are without a win in their past three Premier League outings and lost 3-2 to leaders Arsenal at The Emirates last weekend.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have started the season brightly and are currently a point clear at the top of the table, having won all but one of their nine games.
Defending champions Manchester City are close behind the Gunners, however, and Pep Guardiola’s men have a vastly superior goal difference.
After their shaky start, former Manchester United defender Neville has predicted that Liverpool FC will miss out on a place in this season’s top four. He is tipping Arsenal to seal a Champions League spot – but warned that the Gunners still have lots of work to do to secure a return to Europe’s elite club competition.
“I don’t think Liverpool will finish in the top four, and Arsenal could still finish outside the top four as well – but I’ll put [them] in for now just to keep all the Arsenal fans happy!” Neville said on The Overlap.
“I look at Tottenham, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool – it’s still a big job for Arsenal [to finish in the top four].”
Focusing on the Gunners, Neville continued: “I’ve always had a respect for Arsenal as a football club. They’re one of the great traditional clubs in this country. However, the last few years has been a struggle.”
He added: “I was at the Emirates Stadium for the first time [this season] on Sunday against Liverpool. I watched Arsenal away at Old Trafford and at Brentford, and they played well at Old Trafford – even though they lost – and they were brilliant at Brentford, but the atmosphere felt a little bit different on Sunday – it was unbelievable.
“I want Arsenal to do well. I want Mikel Arteta to do well because he’s a young manager. The managers he’s up against – Antonio Conte, Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, Thomas Tuchel, before he got sacked, they’re animals to be up against.”
Mikel Arteta (Photo: Marco Iacobucci / depositphotos.com)
Arsenal are currently preparing for a trip to Leeds United in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. The Gunners head into the game after having claimed a 1-0 victory away to Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday night, with Bukayo Saka netting the eventual winner in the 24th minute.
It was Saka’s fourth goal of the season in all competitions for the Gunners and the 21-year-old admitted that he and his team-mates were challenged by the Norwegian side’s artificial pitch.
Asked if the pitch took a bit of getting used to, Saka replied: “Yeah, it did. You know, it was skidding across the floor really fast and stuff like this.
“But that’s not an excuse you know, a lot of us have grown up (on it). Myself at Hale End, I played on astroturf pitches a lot. So it’s no excuse you know, we just have to play our game and get on with it.
“It’s a very difficult place to come and we left here with three points, so we have to just take it and focus on Sunday now.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool FC are now gearing up for their Premier League showdown against Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday afternoon.
The Merseyside outfit warmed up for that game with a thumping 7-1 victory away to Rangers in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with Mohamed Salah netting a remarkable six-minute hat-trick.
And Reds boss Klopp is hopeful that the win in Scotland will help to galvanise his troops ahead of Sunday’s clash with Guardiola’s side.
Liverpool FC manager Jurgen Klopp (Photo: New Balance)
“It changed the mood, definitely,” Klopp said at his post-match news conference. “It is completely different. We usually drink a beer after away games, but it is that long ago that I drank beer and I probably will be drunk after one!
“Yes, it changes the mood completely and that’s good, but we all know who we are welcoming [to Anfield] on Sunday and this will be a different game, we know that. It is better to go into a game with the feeling we’ve got tonight than any other.”