Gary Neville has admitted he hopes Manchester United can finish above Liverpool this season but conceded he is "not very confident" in either side at present. The former United captain was speaking at the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race as a guest of Mercedes F1.
Both clubs have endured indifferent campaigns, leaving them in mid-table and unlikely to challenge Arsenal for the title. United recently enjoyed the longest unbeaten run of Ruben Amorim's tenure, stretching to five matches, but that was halted by a home defeat to Everton on Monday.
The loss was particularly damaging as it marked the first time United had been beaten by a side reduced to 10 men at Old Trafford in the Premier League era, a record spanning 46 matches. Neville was scathing in his assessment, saying: "That was a really poor performance. It's almost as if you've gone two or three steps forward, everyone's feeling a little bit better, and you've just gone back to the start again. You can lose football matches, but you can't lose them like that."
Liverpool's situation is arguably worse, having lost nine of their last 12 matches after winning their opening five fixtures to top the table. They now sit below United in the standings, giving Neville a reason to hope for a rare year ahead for his former club. When asked who would finish higher, he said: "Let's hope it's Manchester United, but I'm not very confident on either of them at the moment!"
