Gary Neville discusses United’s chances of Champions League qualification

Manchester United’s surge into fourth place after Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur has reignited belief that Old Trafford will host Champions League football next season, and club icon Gary Neville believes the momentum is now firmly with the Red Devils.

Michael Carrick’s fourth straight win since taking caretaker charge on 7 November lifted United to 25-game mark of the campaign in fourth, three points behind Aston Villa and ahead of Chelsea, Liverpool and an under-performing Manchester City. Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the former captain argued that United’s current form and fixture clarity give them the edge in the scramble for Europe’s elite competition.

“The team that is most confident about finishing in the top-four out of Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool right now is probably United,” Neville said. “Everything at Man United is looking really, really good and they do look like they’ve got an incredible chance of qualifying for the Champions League. They don’t have the confusion and the chaos of the fixture list that the others do so they have a massive chance now to get back into the Champions League.”

Neville, who described last season’s 15th-placed finish under Ruben Amorim as “shocking,” admitted the turnaround has been startling. “That would have been unthinkable only four or five weeks ago,” he added. “But now the results are excellent and the performances are fantastic.”

United’s upturn arrives at a critical financial juncture. A top-four berth would swell coffers ahead of a summer rebuild focused on midfield reinforcements. Targets reportedly include Carlos Baleba, Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton, with the lure of Champions League nights in Manchester expected to prove decisive in any negotiations.

The next hurdle comes on Tuesday 10 February when Carrick takes his side to the London Stadium to face a West Ham outfit entrenched in the relegation zone. Despite the Hammers’ struggles, Neville warned that the fixture could be United’s sternest test yet, emphasising that no side in the top six can afford complacency in a season where “strange things are happening.”

With 13 matches remaining, United’s destiny is in their own hands. Should Carrick guide the club back into the Champions League after the chaos of the Amorim era, it would mark one of the most remarkable mid-season revivals in recent Premier League history.