Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville Debate Premier League Predictions

Jamie Carragher wasted no time going after Gary Neville. One weekend into the new Premier League season, and the long-running double act were already arguing over who finishes higher: Manchester United or Liverpool.

Neville, who spent the summer insisting United would edge it, suddenly isn’t so sure.

United’s opening day was a disaster. Beaten 2-0 by newly-promoted Hull City at the MKM Stadium, they looked flat, short of ideas and miles off the pace. While the inquest into that performance rumbled on, Liverpool were living through their own drama.

At Anfield, Andoni Iraola’s first Premier League game in charge of the Reds was seconds away from ending in defeat. His side trailed Newcastle United 2-1 deep into stoppage time, only for Dominik Szoboszlai to bury a 99th-minute penalty and snatch a 2-2 draw. Relief, not celebration.

That chaos fed straight into the Sky Sports studio.

On Monday Night Football, Neville was asked the simplest of questions: who will have the better season, United or Liverpool?

"Look, do you want me to be honest? I can't separate United and Liverpool in fourth place," he said.

Carragher pounced.

"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 didn’t deny he’d been wrestling with his predictions.

"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," he explained. "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."

Carragher, for his part, has already nailed his colours to the mast. He believes Arsenal will win the title, with Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool making up the rest of the top four.

Pressed to lock in his own table, Neville finally laid it out. Arsenal to be crowned Premier League champions. Chelsea as runners-up. City third. United fourth. Liverpool, by implication, just outside that top bracket.

Early results have at least given some weight to those calls at the top.

Arsenal opened their title defence with a controlled 2-0 win over Coventry City, Mikel Arteta’s side looking sharp and assured. Chelsea, under their latest reboot, edged a wild 3-2 victory over Fulham at Stamford Bridge on Monday night, hinting at both promise and vulnerability.

Enzo Maresca’s first league game in charge of Manchester City turned into late drama. Trailing Bournemouth, City needed goals from Marc Guehi and Josko Gvardiol to turn it around and seal a 2-1 win. Not vintage, but enough.

Those three – Arsenal, Chelsea and City – are among nine clubs to start the campaign with a win, a reminder that the early table is always crowded and deceptive.

The schedule now starts to bite. Chelsea welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to Stamford Bridge next, a fixture that will test just how quickly they can build rhythm without the distraction of European football. City head to Selhurst Park for a Friday night meeting with Crystal Palace, a ground that has never made life easy for title contenders. Arsenal must wait until Monday for their trip to Villa Park, where Aston Villa will be eager to measure themselves against the supposed favourites.

One round in, and the arguments over predictions are already spilling across the studio. If Neville is this torn in August, what will his table look like when the season really starts to twist?