Manchester United could finish third in Premier League table as Jamie Carragher says club ‘guaranteed Champions League football’ | Soccer News

Jamie Carragher believes Champions League qualification is “guaranteed” for Manchester United this season after their 1-0 win against Everton on Monday.

Benjamin Sesko’s third goal from the bench in four games secured a 1-0 win over the Toffees to extend Michael Carrick’s unbeaten run to six games.

The goal saw United climb back up to fourth in the Premier League table, this time three points clear of Chelsea, who dropped points at home to Burnley on Saturday.

And with third-placed Aston Villa now just three points ahead of them – with Unai Emery’s side, Chelsea and Liverpool all facing European knockout football in March – Carragher has backed United to return to the Champions League.

He also believes their lesser schedule helps set them up for a return to Europe’s elite competition.

“Manchester United is practically a guarantee,” Carragher said Monday night football.

“Aston Villa seem to be dropping points at the moment. They have European football on a Thursday night.

“Liverpool and Chelsea are both still in the Champions League and the FA Cup, and will want to do well in at least one of those competitions – a semi-final or a final.

“I can’t see Manchester United not doing it.”

Neville: Man Utd could finish third after Carrick impact

Neville said on the Gary Neville Podcast: “There was a period for about five or six weeks where they played games where you kept thinking they could go in the top four and they didn’t. And now they are, they have an incredible opportunity to finish in the top four.

“I think they will. The other teams start playing in Europe, they have distractions. United have no distractions.

“It doesn’t mean anything; they haven’t had a game for two weeks and haven’t played particularly well here (at Everton), but I just think they’re getting over the line now in games where they wouldn’t have done before.

“I think they can finish third, I really think they can finish third. I said a few weeks ago I thought Villa might just be pulled back a bit.

“These teams have European football in front of them and that’s a big distraction. Manchester United don’t and I think they’re in a decent place.

“You look at the players out there, they go over to celebrate, they seem to be in a decent sort of mood. They win when they play well, they win when they don’t play well, they pick up a point when they don’t play well at West Ham, so all the right things start to happen.

“They hit a really good run, I think they will finish third or fourth.

“I’ve probably said at times in the last three months: Manchester United have no chance of finishing the Champions League, but this is just a bizarre season.

“Teams drop points: Chelsea dropped points against Burnley on Saturday, Villa dropped points, Liverpool obviously won in the end but yeah I think United are getting there now and it will be a big step up from where they were last season.

“I think it will be a big move to get into the Champions League, considering where they were a few weeks ago, obviously when they sack a manager and you don’t think for the life of you that they’re going to beat Arsenal and Manchester City and everyone else they’ve beaten in the last few weeks. It’s been an incredible points total that’s been put together.

“And I think they are now, I wouldn’t say clear favorites to finish in the top four, but they are in pole position.”

What does the supercomputer say?

Despite Neville and Carragher’s claims, United are currently predicted to finish fifth in the Premier League table.

The Opta supercomputer says they are less likely than Aston Villa and Liverpool to finish in the top four this season.

Despite their recent slump, Villa have a 95.9 percent chance of securing Champions League football next season, with Liverpool the next best placed team on 75.4 percent. United are just behind Arne Slot’s side with 72 percent.

However, fifth place is highly likely to be a Champions League place next season due to the performance of English teams in European competitions this season.

UEFA’s coefficient table measures how each country’s clubs perform across the three European competitions. The top two at the end of the campaign get extra Champions League spots, known as European Performance Spots.

England is the only nation with all its teams still active in European competition, with Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace facing knockout stage play-offs in the Europa League and Conference League respectively, along with Newcastle in the Champions League.

With so much European football still to come this season, England are not yet mathematically assured of a top-two finish in the odds table. Their place in last season’s top two was only confirmed in April.

However, Opta believes that this is already a foregone conclusion. Their expected points model gives England a 100 per cent chance of a top-two finish.