Former Liverpool man makes bold prediction Newcastle United & Manchester United will hate

Newcastle currently sit third in the table on 65 points with Manchester United in fourth on 63 points and Liverpool fifth on 62. Both The Magpies and Man United have four games left to play while Liverpool have three.

But Liverpool are the in form side heading into the final few weeks of the season as they’ve won each of their last six Premier League matches. Newcastle have won eight of their last 10 heading into Saturday’s trip to Leeds United (12:30pm kick-off) but last Sunday’s defeat against Arsenal allowed Liverpool to close the gap to just three points.

Man United have won only four of their last 10 league matches since beating Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final back in February. That run has included a 7-0 defeat against Liverpool and 2-0 loss against The Magpies.

After the trip to Leeds, Newcastle host Brighton and Leicester City before a final day visit to Chelsea. Man United host Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend before travelling to AFC Bournemouth.

Erik ten Hag’s side end the season with back to back home matches against Chelsea and Fulham at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, Liverpool travel to Leicester on Monday before hosting Aston Villa at Anfield and then facing a likely already relegated Southampton on the final day.

And former Reds defender Glen Johnson believes Klopp’s side are favourites to finish in the top four out of the three sides despite their disadvantage in terms of points and games played.

When asked if he thinks Liverpool will finish in the top four this season, Johnson said via Betfred: “I do now. I’ve previously said that Liverpool would have to go on a six to eight game unbeaten run to have any chance and they’ve done that.

“Liverpool have certainly got the momentum and Manchester United are inconsistent at present, so I believe Liverpool are the favourites out of them, Manchester United and Newcastle United to finish in the top four.”

Johnson has even backed his former side to finish as high as third with Newcastle dropping to fifth as a result.

“Out of Manchester United and Newcastle United, I think that Liverpool are going to most likely finish in the top four at the expense of Newcastle,” Johnson added.

“I believe that Liverpool will finish third this season as they’re the most consistent team out of the three competing at present and it will not be a fluke if they finish there.”

In order to finish fifth, Newcastle would have to pick up fewer than seven points from their remaining four matches, providing Liverpool win all three of their remaining games and Manchester United pick up three more points than The Magpies in their final four.

The Magpies are guaranteed to finish inside the European places, whether it be Europa Conference League, Europa League or Champions League, but have not qualified for the latter in 20 years.