Jamie Carragher Accuses Gary Neville of Early U-Turn on Premier League Predictions
Jamie Carragher has accused Gary Neville of performing an early-season U-turn over who will have the better campaign out of Manchester United and Liverpool – after just one Premier League match.
The opening weekend has already scrambled a few predictions. United walked straight into trouble, beaten 2-0 by newly-promoted Hull City at the MKM Stadium in a result that sent alarms ringing around Erik ten Hag’s side.
Liverpool, under new boss Andoni Iraola, came within seconds of an even more damaging defeat. Trailing 2-1 at Newcastle United, they needed a 99th-minute penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai to snatch a 2-2 draw in the Basque coach’s first Premier League game in charge.
That chaos framed a spiky exchange on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, where Neville admitted he is struggling to split the two rivals – and Carragher pounced.
Asked to pick between United and Liverpool in his predicted table, Neville said: “Look, do you want me to be honest? Yes. I can't separate United and Liverpool in fourth place.”
Carragher cut in immediately. “I've heard you've changed it four times over the weekend,” he snapped. “So after United played, he changed it to Liverpool. Liverpool played and he changed it to United.”
Neville, smiling but standing his ground, explained how his thinking had shifted as the season approached.
“A couple of weeks ago, I had United in third. I didn't have Chelsea where they were,” he said. “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.”
Pressed to commit to a full top-four, Neville finally laid his cards on the table. He backed Arsenal to win the Premier League title, with Chelsea as surprise runners-up, ahead of Manchester City in third and United in fourth. Liverpool, by that logic, would be pushed down to fifth.
Carragher, for his part, also backed Arsenal to finish top, with City, Chelsea and Liverpool behind them in that order.
Early results have at least given Neville’s title pick a solid platform. Mikel Arteta’s side opened their defence with a controlled 2-0 win over Coventry City, a straightforward statement that they intend to stay in the fight. Chelsea, under Enzo Maresca’s former Leicester rival Mauricio Pochettino’s successor in the dugout, edged a wild 3-2 victory over Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Monday night.
Enzo Maresca’s first Premier League game as Manchester City manager brought late drama of its own. City trailed Bournemouth before turning it around with goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol to seal a 2-1 win and keep pace with the early frontrunners.
Arsenal, Chelsea and City sit among nine clubs who opened the new campaign with a victory, forming an early pack at the top that already has a familiar feel.
The schedule now starts to bite. Chelsea stay at Stamford Bridge next, where Brighton and Hove Albion will test the Blues’ supposed advantage of having no European distractions. City head to Selhurst Park for a Friday night meeting with Crystal Palace, a fixture that has tripped them up before. Arsenal must wait until Monday for their second outing, away to Aston Villa at Villa Park.
By then, we will be only two games in. Yet for Neville, Carragher and every other pundit locked into these predictions, the temptation to rewrite the script again might already be irresistible.
