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Former Premier League star Shaun Wright-Phillips has come up with a surprising prediction for the Premier League top four this season. The Englishman has backed Aston Villa and Newcastle United to join Manchester City and Liverpool to complete the top four come the end of the campaign.
The Premier League promises to give us an interesting race for the top four spots this season, with multiple clubs putting up a great fight so far. As it stands, Manchester City sit at the top of the table with 28 points from 12 games, one point ahead of Liverpool, who come in second with 27 points.
Last season's runners-up, Arsenal, occupy the third position with 27 points, while Tottenham are fourth with 26. Aston Villa have surprisingly climbed to the fifth spot with 25 points, followed by Manchester United with 21 points and Newcastle with 20.
Speaking to The Sport Review on behalf of NewBettingOffers.co.uk, Shaun Wright-Phillips noted that the top four race will be very open this season.
He went on to back Aston Villa and Newcastle United to finish alongside Manchester City and Liverpool in the elite zone of the table, snubbing the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, and Manchester United.
He said:
"I’m loving it at the minute, it’s very open. I think City will still win the league. Not by a massive margin, it will be another tough one."
He contined:
"I think Newcastle will be in the top four, you’ve got to put Arsenal in there. Spurs I think, have just shown that without certain players they may not pick up the results they actually need. They’ve lost James Maddison who is basically the most creative player in the Premier League."
The Englishman added:
"Spurs I think may just miss out on the top four, Man United too. I may put Aston Villa in there as a bit of a dark horse actually. So I’m going to go Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle and Aston Villa."
Premier League fixtures to keep an eye on this season
Following the international break, the Premier League will return to action this weekend, and it's packed with some exciting fixtures. Most notable is Manchester City and Liverpool's top-of-the-table clash coming up at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Newcastle United and Chelsea will also square it off at Saint James Park, while Arsenal and Brentford will go head-to-head at the Emirates Stadium.
Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa lock horns with each other at White Hart Lane, while Manchester United will face Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.
As it usually happens following the international break, we're likely to witness a couple of surprises in the Premier League this weekend. It'd be interesting to see what bewilderment the English top flight has in store for us.
