Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has dropped his current prediction for where Erik ten Hag’s men will finish in the Premier League table this season.
Erik ten Hag’s side secured their fourth consecutive Premier League win on Sunday after Rasmus Hojlund scored a brace in the 2-1 victory over Luton Town.
Manchester United are undefeated since the start of 2024, with the Red Devils’ last defeat coming in a 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest at City Ground last December.
The Red Devils have won six of their last seven matches across all competitions, with Erik ten Hag’s men pushing for a Premier League top-four finish.
United sealed a dramatic 4-3 Premier League win over Wolves at the Molineux before following it up with a 3-0 victory over West Ham at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils defeated top-four challengers Aston Villa in a 2-1 win at Villa Park before their latest triumph against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.
United are currently sixth in the Premier League table and are three points behind fifth-place Tottenham and five points adrift from fourth-place Aston Villa.
Ferdinand’s Premier League prediction for Man Utd
Speaking on his VIBE with FIVE show, Rio Ferdinand has admitted that he is “quite confident” about Manchester United’s top-four ambitions after the turn around in results.
The 45-year-old former United defender has tipped Erik ten Hag’s men to finish in the top four and secure Champions League football for next season.
Ferdinand believes that Aston Villa won’t perform as well as they did in the first half of the season and Unai Emery’s men will face “pressure” and different “expectations” now.
“Well, we’re three points off Spurs. Five points off Villa. We’re fourth,” he said on his YouTube channel.
“We’ve got a lot of games left, so there’s a lot of games, man. I think Man United will finish fourth.
“I’m quite confident if I’m honest. I just think that… we just can’t get any more injuries, but that’s the thing.
“But I don’t think Villa can perform better than they did for the first half of the season.
“They’ll just stay where they are. I just think the squad depth… it’s a bit of [a] mixture of everything: squad depth, pressure, expectations are different now.”
Ferdinand’s Man Utd ‘concern’
Despite his expectations that United should finish fourth in the Premier League table, Ferdinand has admitted that he has concerns about the Red Devils.
The TNT Sports pundit revealed that one of his “biggest” concerns is how Ten Hag’s men performed in the first half against Luton Town.
Ferdinand continued: “My biggest concern with Man [United]… and I thought it was a really good result considering the teams that have gone there and struggled to get points there at Luton, but my only concern really – or one of my concerns really – from watching the game yesterday was how much, especially in the first half, they made it like a basketball match up and down.
“They need to start controlling games. I was sitting there with one of my sons yesterday and he was going, ‘Dad, how come Man United never control games? Or never have a spell in the game where it’s just like we’ve got the ball and you’ve got to chase about the pitch.’
“All the top teams have moments in games where they go, ‘Come on, you come and get the ball. Can’t get it? Bop, bop, bop.’ Man United don’t.
“It’s like every time we go forward we have to create a worldie chance or have a shot or something outlandish or risk [it all]. Sometimes it’s just like let’s get up the pitch and play in there half a little bit.”
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/1y9MiQU