Gabriel Agbonlahor gives his shock top four prediction after first weekend of Premier League season
GABRIEL AGBONLAHOR has given his shock top four prediction after watching the opening weekend of the Premier League.
He believes that the campaign will have a miserable ending for the two most-successful clubs in English football.
GettyBoth Jurgen Klopp’s LIverpool and Erik ten Hag’s Man Utd struggled on the opening weekend[/caption]
TalkSport/TwitterGabriel Agbonlahor thinks both will miss out on the top four this term[/caption]
Defending champions Manchester City kicked off their defence with a 3-0 win at Burnley on Friday.
That was followed by last season’s runners-up Arsenal beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 and Newcastle thumping Agbonlahor’s former club Aston Villa 5-1 on Saturday lunchtime.
Top four rivals Chelsea and Liverpool, who have both undergone serious transformations this summer, then fought out a 1-1 draw that the Blues will feel the most unfortunate not to have been victorious in.
And then United beat Wolves 1-0 after a VAR error failed to award the visitors a penalty in the closing stages to finish the opening round of matches.
Since then Chelsea have completed the £115m British record signing of Moises Caicedo after hijacking LIverpool’s move for the Ecuadorian midfielder from Brighton.
And they have followed that up by snatching Jurgen Klopp’s backup option, Romeo Lavia, from Southampton after agreeing a £58m deal.
After watching both Liverpool and United struggle, 36-year-old Agbonlahor now believes that NEITHER club will qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Speaking on talkSPORT Breakfast, he believes that it will be the much-changed Chelsea and Newcastle that join City and Arsenal in the top four.
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Discussing LIverpool, he said: “The problem is they had [Cody] Gakpo playing as a centre midfielder. They needed one more in there, they needed a Caicedo or Lavia as a sitter then [Dominik] Szoboszlai or [Alexis] Mac Allister in front.
“They really need a sitter and they bid for Caicedo and Lavia but Chelsea have just signed them both – they must be so frustrated at Chelsea.”
The ex-England international then added: “Looking at Chelsea, I’m starting to think City, Arsenal, Newcastle and Chelsea are my top four from that first game.
“If I’m choosing from those first game performances, I don’t see Liverpool or Man United in that top four.”
Fans reacted to his comments with a range of replies, with one saying: “One game does not make a season.”
Another echoed that by tweeting “it’s just one game” as another added: “If he’s choosing based on the first wkend then he must have Villa going down.”
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