Gary Neville has continued his tradition of predicting Manchester United to finish in the Premier League's top four. Since the 2018/19 season, the former defender has backed his old club to secure Champions League football every year.
Initially, Neville had put United third this season but switched his decision to fourth after their 2-0 loss against Hull City. Speaking on Sky Sports, the 51-year-old said: "Look, do you want me to be honest? Yes. I can't separate United and Liverpool in fourth place."
Jamie Carragher was not pleased with this and replied: "I've heard you've changed it four times over the weekend. So after United played, he changed it to Liverpool. Liverpool played and he changed it to United."
Neville then said: "A couple of weeks ago, I had United in third. Look, at the moment, I'm not convinced by United or Liverpool, really, but I do think they'll finish fourth and fifth."
Nine seasons of predictions reviewed
Mirror Football has examined Neville's predictions over the last nine campaigns and how close he was to the actual outcomes.
2018/19 - Wrong
In the 18/19 season, Neville had United in third. That year, Jose Mourinho was sacked in December and replaced by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who guided them to sixth place.
2019/20 - Right
Solskjaer continued his run the following year with Neville believing United would go two places better and finish fourth. The ex-United star led the club to third and Champions League football.
2020/21 - Right
In the 2020/21 campaign, Solskjaer was sacked three months in and was replaced by Ralf Rangnick as interim boss. They finished second - the same prediction Neville made at the start of the year.
Mixed results under successive managers
2021/22 - Wrong
Erik ten Hag took over ahead of the 2021/22 campaign and Neville said he would keep them in the top three. He stated that United "have got to prove themselves." Ten Hag began his reign with a sixth-place finish in the Premier League. The following year, United won the Carabao Cup against Newcastle and finished runner-up in the FA Cup to Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.
2022/23 - Right
Neville put the Red Devils in the top four that year, stating: "I'm gonna put them as my fourth team," to which Carragher replied: "Every year this happens!" United went one better and finished third in the 2022/23 campaign, winning silverware for the first time since 2017.
2023/24 - Wrong
The former club captain predicted Ten Hag's side to repeat this feat once more for the 2023/24 campaign, saying: "I think Arsenal can beat them [City] this year. Arsenal, City, Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea, [Aston] Villa." Ten Hag won another trophy, this time the FA Cup, but dropped down to an eighth-place finish in the league.
Recent seasons and current outlook
2024/25 - Wrong
By October, the Dutchman was sacked and Ruben Amorim was appointed to lead the charge. Neville had the Red Devils finishing third in the league before Ten Hag's dismissal and Amorim's arrival. The Portuguese manager would lead United to their worst-ever Premier League placement, finishing 15th and losing the Europa League final to Tottenham.
2025/26 - Right
Despite this nightmare start for Amorim, Neville was optimistic that United would improve significantly in the 2025/26 season. He had them fourth for last year and confirmed this when Sky Sports presenter David Jones asked: "Thirteen per cent of Manchester United fans think they will finish in the top four. 13 per cent... Have we got one per cent here?" Neville replied: "Course we have. I can't disappoint you. I've got to come back here in 10 months and try to defend this. So, David, we've worked out before that I've done this now for eight years and I've always had Manchester United in the top four, every year."
Amorim departed in January after another poor start and Carrick returned to lead United to a third-placed finish.
