Gary Neville predicts where Man United will finish this season
Gary Neville explains why he reckons Man United can finish second in the Premier League this season
Gary Neville is backing Manchester United to finish in second place in the Premier League table this season.
The Red Devils are currently second, behind leaders Manchester City with nine games left to play this season as they bid to beat their third-placed finish from last term.
Manchester United are 14 points behind Pep Guardiola’s men in the table, although the Red Devils have played a game less than their bitter local rivals.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men were dumped out of the FA Cup at the quarter-final stage by Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Sunday when they suffered a 3-1 defeat.
That result means that the Red Devils are now left competing for a top-four finish and the Europa League this season.
Former Manchester United star Neville has now talked up the importance of the Red Devils finishing the campaign strongly and claiming second place.
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, Neville said: “I still think Man United are the second-best team in the country, it could be under threat (their current league position), but I just feel United will have enough to get there in the end and I think at the end of this season, the purpose of Man United, I said it a few weeks ago, is to finish a good second, not a bad second.
“To finish below second would be a real disappointment, but the position they are in now is to finish as close to Manchester City as possible, it does matter how close you finish to them because it is played back at the end of the season – ‘oh you finished 16 points off them, 26 points off them…’
“You have to try and get to within single figures so that you then think, ‘where could we make up those four points, those eight points?’
“And you can see that, you can visualise it. When we used to lose leagues, we thought, ‘OK, so where could we put this right? Was it our away form? Did we get two or three players sent off in certain games and drop points?’
“And you can point towards it, but when you are 16, 17 points behind, there is no point looking, whereas actually when you are a few points away, within say seven, or eight, or nine, you can think, ‘Yes, Crystal Palace at home, Sheffield United, I think we can turn them ones around.’
“So that is why it is really important they finish in a strong second place, but let’s see what happens…”
Manchester United will return to Premier League action after the international break when they take on Brighton and Hove Albion at home.
After that, the Red Devils will play Granada in the Europa League quarter-finals.
