BBC Sport have released their annual pre-season predictions for the Premier League campaign ahead.
Last week Harry Redknapp told The Sun he is tipping Manchester United to win the title this coming season and break City’s stranglehold on the trophy.
To date, he appears to be a lone contrarian voice, with nobody else brave enough to tip Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils to win the title.
Manchester United finished third last season, and generally, the expectation is that the side won’t quite have enough to reach first place in 2023/24.
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Manchester United finish predicted
BBC Sport asked their pool of pundits for their Premier League finishing predictions for 2023/24. A total of 26 analysts were quizzed.
Not a single one selected Manchester United to end the coming season in first place.
Only two, Leon Osman and Steve Sidwell, have tipped Manchester United to finish in second.
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A further 10 have predicted United to finish third, with another 10 predicting United will finish fourth.
Stephen Warnock, Pat Nevin, Shay Given, and Danny Gabbidon are the four who predict Manchester United will miss out on the top four.
The broadcaster’s cumulative predictions from all the pundits combined has United to finish in third place, behind City and Arsenal.
United are in the mix and it depends on Hojlund
Former Manchester United striker and MUTV pundit Dion Dublin was among those quizzed. He has tipped United to finish third.
He said: “They will be up there pushing for the top spot this season. I’ve got them down to finish third but they can do even better if Rasmus Hojlund becomes the top-class goalscorer they need.”
Chris Waddle has only tipped United to finish in fourth place. He explained: “Hojlund is young and unproven, and he has not scored that many goals, but he will set the tempo for the team and let United play on the front foot – if he leads the press, everyone will back him up.
“But they need to be challenging for the title, not just the top four – and I don’t see that happening this season.”