Micah Richards and Joe Hart have revealed their clear-cut predictions for where they expect Manchester United to finish in the Premier League table in the 2024-25 season.
Manchester United will welcome Fulham to Old Trafford on Friday, with kick-off for the Premier League clash slated for 8pm UK time.
Erik ten Hag is set to take charge of United for his third season after the 54-year-old Dutchman inked a new deal with the Premier League club.
The United manager oversaw the Red Devils’ worst finish in the Premier League era last season, with Ten Hag’s men only managing eighth place in the table.
Ten Hag saw his first-team squad plagued with injuries last season, with the former Ajax boss now keen to see a turnaround in form in the Premier League.
United did secure Europa League football for the 2024-25 campaign after the Red Devils defeated Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup final in May.
Ten Hag’s side returned to Wembley last weekend for the Community Shield and suffered a penalty shootout defeat to Manchester City at Wembley.
Richards and Hart’s predictions
Speaking to BBC Sport, Micah Richards and Joe Hart both revealed their picks for the top four of the Premier League in the new season.
The former Manchester City duo have tipped Pep Guardiola’s men to lift an unprecedented fifth consecutive Premier League title ahead of Arsenal.
Both Richards and Hart believe that Arsenal will fall short of City in the Premier League title race, having narrowly missed out on the trophy last season.
Liverpool finished third in the predictions from the two former City stars, with Manchester United tipped to finish fourth in the Premier League season.
Ten Hag’s message about Man Utd season
Erik ten Hag will be hopeful of United bouncing back and mounting a challenge for top four after falling well short of expectations last season.
Speaking ahead of United’s Premier League opener against Fulham, Ten Hag has sent a clear-cut message over his demands for the new season.
“We are complete and we are now working together for, let’s say, 10 days and always that will take a while,” he said on Thursday, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“But more teams will have this problem. In the start of the season, don’t drop points, work hard, make sure you are well organised in and out of possession – that gives you the best chance.
“But we will not [be] 100 per cent, 100 per cent form. But we have to go from game to game to improve, to get higher performance levels in the team and individual players, and we will see how quick we can go into this process.”
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