Jamie Carragher Calls Out Gary Neville's Premier League Predictions
Jamie Carragher has accused Gary Neville of ripping up his Premier League predictions after just one weekend of the new season.
The former Manchester United captain admitted on live TV that he “can’t separate” Liverpool and United in the race for fourth, only for Carragher to reveal he’d watched his colleague swing wildly between the two clubs across a chaotic opening round of fixtures.
Neville under fire for early-season U-turns
United handed Neville little early-season comfort. Erik ten Hag’s side were beaten 2-0 by newly-promoted Hull City at the MKM Stadium, a result that instantly darkened the mood around Old Trafford and triggered familiar questions about United’s direction.
While United were stumbling, Liverpool were living on the edge. Andoni Iraola’s first Premier League match in charge at Anfield was seconds away from ending in defeat, his side trailing Newcastle United 2-1 deep into stoppage time. Then came the lifeline: Dominik Szoboszlai burying a 99th-minute penalty to snatch a 2-2 draw and salvage a point.
The contrasting dramas fed straight into the studio debate on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, where Neville and Carragher were pressed to nail down their top-four calls.
Asked outright to choose between the two heavyweights, Neville said: “Look, do you want me to be honest? Yes. I can't separate United and Liverpool in fourth place.”
Carragher pounced.
“I've heard you've changed it four times over the weekend,” he shot back. “So after United played, he changed it to Liverpool. Liverpool played and he changed it to United.”
Neville didn’t deny the shifts. Instead, he tried to explain the thinking behind them.
“A couple of weeks ago, I had United in third. I didn't have Chelsea where they were, but as you sort of get nearer to the season, you start to look at the squads and you start to think about it.
You think about Chelsea and the fact they've got no European football. That'll give them a big edge. I think City are in a better position than United. Look, at the moment, I'm not convinced by United or Liverpool, really, but I do think they'll finish fourth and fifth.”
Arsenal tipped for the title as Chelsea surge up Neville’s list
Pressed to commit to a full title prediction, Neville went all in on Arsenal. He named Mikel Arteta’s side as his champions, with Chelsea as surprise runners-up, ahead of Manchester City and United.
Carragher, for his part, also backed Arsenal to win the title, but with City, Chelsea and Liverpool following behind them in that order.
The early evidence did little to weaken the Arsenal argument. Arteta’s team opened their Premier League title defence with a controlled 2-0 win over Coventry City, a performance that looked routine on the scoreboard but ruthless in its efficiency.
Chelsea, heavily factored into Neville’s late reshuffle, added fuel to the debate with a 3-2 victory over Fulham on Monday night, a result that underlined the potential impact of a season free from European distractions.
At the Etihad, Enzo Maresca’s first league game as Manchester City manager refused to follow a simple script. City needed late goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol to turn a nervous evening against Bournemouth into a 2-1 win, but they got there, joining Arsenal and Chelsea among nine clubs who started the campaign with three points.
The table, of course, means little after one round. The noise around it does not.
Big hitters set for early tests
The next fixtures will start to test those studio predictions.
Chelsea welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to Stamford Bridge, a meeting that should offer an early clue as to whether Neville’s faith in their no-Europe advantage is well placed.
City travel to Selhurst Park for a Friday night clash with Crystal Palace, a ground that has tripped up title hopefuls before and will give Maresca another sharp taste of life in the dugout.
Arsenal must wait until Monday for their next assignment, a trip to Villa Park to face Aston Villa. Another win there, and the chorus backing them as champions will only grow louder.
And somewhere in the middle of it all, United and Liverpool will try to steady their own starts, while Neville decides whether he can finally stop changing his mind.
