Former Manchester United duo Gary Neville and Roy Keane have dismissed Liverpool’s chances in the Premier League this season
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville believes Liverpool won’t finish in the Premier League top six this season – with Roy Keane also predicting the Reds will miss out on Champions League qualification. Liverpool are about to enter a new era when they begin their campaign at promoted Ipswich Town on Saturday with Arne Slot having replaced Jurgen Klopp in the dugout.
The Reds, who ended last season in third place and won a record 10th League Cup, have finished outside the top six only once in the past decade.
But with Liverpool still the only club in Europe’s major leagues not to make a first-team signing after being turned down by Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi earlier this week, Neville believes there will be a massive drop-off in their performances.
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Asked about the chances of the Reds finishing in the top four, Neville said: “Not sure. My surprise is Liverpool won’t finish in the top six.
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“Is there a risk with what Klopp got out of that group last season, is there a risk that Liverpool just purely because of what happened with other clubs where managers of that ilk, is there a risk they could tank?”
Speaking on the Stick To Football podcast, Neville addressed the failure to sign Zubimendi and added: “It won’t have helped the changing room losing out on that player. I don’t think. The older players will be thinking ‘what’s going on here?’.
“It will unnerve you when you miss out on a player you think you’re going to get.”
Former United team-mate Keane was in agreement when quizzed on whether Liverpool would miss out on the top four, and said: “Yes I think so, unless they get a couple of signings in the next few weeks.”
Liverpool supporters will at least be encouraged by Neville’s history of predictions. At the start of the 2019/20 season, the Sky Sports pundit declared United would “probably” win the league again before their North West rivals. The Reds went on to claim the title with a club record 99 points and finished 33 points ahead of United.
Neville had 28 games in charge of Valencia during the 2015/16 season before being sacked, while Keane has been out of management since being dismissed by Ipswich in January 2011.
