Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock has encouraged Aston Villa to finish above Manchester United in the Premier League this season.
Erik ten Hag will be hoping to capitalize on his highs last season after leading the Red Devils to titles in the Carabao Cup and finishing third in the league.
To help boost their chances, United have added Mason Mount, Andre Onana and Rasmus Hoglund to their ranks in a bid to challenge arch-rivals Manchester City for the title.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa have been busy in the summer transfer market following a successful 2022/23 campaign which saw them qualify for the European Conference League.
Unai Emery signed Youri Tielemans from Leicester for free, along with Pau Torres and Moussa Diaby for a combined fee of €88 (£76m).
And Warnock believes the West Midlands club’s summer business could give them an edge over United, believing they would finish above them in the league table and qualify for the Champions League.
The 41-year-old also believed Manchester City would secure the Premier League title four times in a row, and predicted Arsenal and Liverpool would finish second and third.
Explaining his expectations, Warnock said BBC Sport“United were saved in a big way last season by Marcus Rashford incredibly well after the World Cup, but he couldn’t take it and I’m not sure there’s anyone else who can take over when he’s not at his best.”
In fact, 26 of the 27 pundits beat City to winning the league, with the exception of former England international Ellen White who powered Arsenal to their first title in over 20 years.
The majority of pundits picked Arsenal as runners-up, with the exception of Leon Osman and Steve Sidwill who picked Manchester United, while Shay Given awarded Liverpool the runner-up. On the other hand, former Arsenal midfielder Fara Williams believes Chelsea will finish second.
Chris Waddle, Rachael Brown Fiennes and Pat Nevin backed Newcastle into third.
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