Gary Neville pinpoints exactly why United will secure Champions League qualification

Manchester United remain firmly in the race to finish among the top four of the Premier League this season following another impressive win over the weekend. The Red Devils defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at the Theatre of Dreams on Saturday, 7 November, to make it four consecutive wins since Michael Carrick’s arrival last month. The Englishman took charge as caretaker manager following Ruben Amorim’s abrupt exit at the turn of the year. Carrick has been tasked with bringing stability behind the scenes after a chaotic 14 months under the Portuguese head coach, who also oversaw a 15th-placed finish in the league last season. The Englishman is also expected to secure a top-four finish this season, before a permanent manager takes charge this summer. Carrick has done very well so far, with the Red Devils now sitting fourth in the league table after 25 games, three points adrift of Aston Villa in third. Securing qualification for the Champions League now looks like a real possibility, and club legend Gary Neville has recently shared his thoughts on the matter. Incredible chance to secure Champions League football Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, the former defender said: “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.” “But things can turn around quite quickly. No one in that top-five or six will be thinking they’re okay. Even City might have come back a bit if they had lost today. No one will feel safe because it’s a bizarre season, teams are beating each other and strange things are happening.” “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.” “That would have been unthinkable only four or five weeks ago, unthinkable. I can’t believe where Manchester United are. It was terrible under Ruben Amorim, it was shocking. But now the results are excellent and the performances are fantastic.” A bearing on the summer’s activity Finishing within the top four is likely to be a huge financial boost for United ahead of a critical summer. The Red Devils are reaping the benefits of a planned investment in attack last summer, and are expected to repeat the trick in midfield this year. The Battle for the Top Four of the Premier League: 2025/26 Season PosTeamGames PlayedGames WonGames DrawnGames LostGoal ForGoals AgainstGoal DifferencePointsNext 1Arsenal25175349173256Brentford 2Manchester City25155551242750Fulham 3Aston Villa2514563627947Brighton and Hove Albion 4Manchester United25128546361044West Ham United 5Chelsea25127645281743Leeds United 6Liverpool2511684035539Sunderland Source: Premier League website. The ability to offer Champions League football next season could help United attract the crème de la crème of midfield talents in the Premier League. Recent reports suggest that the Red Devils have their eyes on Carlos Baleba, Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton, among others, while there is also a chance that finishing fifth could secure Champions League football next season. Final Thoughts United are back in action on Tuesday, 10 February, when they travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham United in the Premier League. The Hammers are 18th in the league table and are fighting to stay in the top tier of English football. As such, the game could represent Carrick’s toughest test yet, so United will have to be at their best to ensure they add to their recent 100% record. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Deepungsu Pandit Deepungsu has been a Manchester United fan since 2000. In his playing days, he was an attacking midfielder with a proclivity for the back heel. Right now, however, he prefers to operate as a regista. Deepungsu has been writing about the Red Devils, Football, and other things since 2009. He has worked for over seven years with Sportskeeda, writing football reviews, opinions and news articles. Deepungsu also maintains a blog, The Thinking Me, where he writes about life and things that interest him. His favourite Manchester United player is Paul Scholes.