Monday 3 April 2017 22:54, UK
Who will make the Premier League top four between Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United? Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville, Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Graeme Souness have their say...
Liverpool maintained their grip on third place after a Merseyside derby win, while City and Arsenal had to settle for a 2-2 draw on Super Sunday.
Jose Mourinho's men trail their Manchester rivals by four points, while the Gunners are two points further back, but with at least eight games left to play, what do our experts make to the scrap for a Champions League place? Here's what they had to say on Premier League Daily...
That's the only thing Arsenal can grab at the minute, the top four. Sunday was very important for Arsenal. It was a game they needed to win. It is the story of the season so far; instead of acting, they have been reacting and that for me is a concern. It's a massive gap now to make the top four.
Liverpool are in third but I'm not sure what is going on with Sadio Mane; that would be a massive loss if they don't get him back. He is one hell of a player, he brings something different to Liverpool and the Premier League.
He has been a star this year. They missed him when he went to the Africa Cup of Nations and for me, if they do lose him, it will be massive for Liverpool.
Winning the derby and getting three points at the weekend, along with the result between Arsenal and Man City, Liverpool were the winners.
They didn't have to be at their best either; I thought Everton were very disappointing. They need Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson back but Philippe Coutinho looked like he was back on it for the hour or so he was on the field.
I think it is very much for Liverpool to lose now in terms of being in the top four. They are in a great situation.
In the last decade there were seasons when you looked at Arsenal and thought, 'They are only two or three players away.' But they never did that and they have drifted and that's why I think they will miss out on the Champions League this year.
You look at the fixtures and there's nothing guaranteed in the Premier League, which is why it is so interesting. Anything can happen at any given time.
The difference when you're abroad is that the big teams get easier games, you can roll people over. They might start well for the first five or 10 minutes but you score a goal and they ease off. I know that doesn't apply in the Premier League and that's what makes it such a good watch a lot of the time.
I always feel that Liverpool and Tottenham in third and second... If those two get into the top four, it's been a great season because they don't have the budgets of the other sides who are maybe going more for the title, and even though Tottenham have looked like the main title challengers over the last two years, I think for them making the top four is a still really good season.
I think we always felt that Liverpool didn't have the squad to go through a full Premier League season, and that's without European football, so there has to be some major reinforcements in the summer because they will have European football in whichever competition they are in. I think the position they are in now, they will be very disappointed if they don't make the Champions League.
If Liverpool can fix things defensively, it gives them a great chance going forward over the next few years. I think that is the difference between Liverpool and Tottenham - not because they have Dele Alli or Harry Kane, because Liverpool get goals - but rather having the likes of Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld.
Manchester United are making it so difficult for themselves to make it into that top four. The Europa League is definitely the best route for them now. If you look at United's fixtures, they still have to play Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and that is so tough. You will drop points in those games in any season at any time. Those four matches alone are really difficult.
Liverpool are not good enough defensively. They haven't been good enough defensively for years and that's been one of the reasons why they haven't potentially got closer to winning the league.
How does he [Klopp] clear it up? They haven't got great leaders on the pitch. They're not dominant characters. They are very good footballers and very good going forward, that front six are sometimes breathtaking, particularly when they are given space like in the derby on Saturday.
They are generally not tough enough, not strong enough, not good enough defensively as a team and he has to fix it with personnel. They've got to sign better players.
I was disappointed with Man City on Sunday because I thought they really could have been the ones to damage Chelsea given they play them on Wednesday. Beat Arsenal away, really go for it - which I didn't think they did because they were very passive in that last half an hour - then go and beat Chelsea on Wednesday and really put some pressure on - but that didn't happen."
Sky customers can now upgrade to Sky Sports and get 12 months for just £18 per month. Upgrade now!
