Charlie Nicholas has predicted where Manchester United and Chelsea will finish in the Premier League ahead of the final day of the season.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United and Frank Lampard’s Chelsea are currently third and fourth in the table respectively, with Leicester City in fourth but still able to leapfrog both of their top-four rivals.
Manchester United travel to the King Power Stadium on Sunday to face Leicester, with the winner guaranteed to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Chelsea, meanwhile, could still finish anywhere from third to fifth and welcome Wolves to Stamford Bridge for their season finale.
Arsenal legend Nicholas reckons Manchester United and Chelsea will both draw on the final day of the season, which would see Solskjaer and Lampard pip Leicester to top-four finishes.
On United’s crunch match against Leicester, Nicholas told Sky Sports: ‘If I’m being honest in the way the league’s worked out, they’re not my teams but I’ve got great respect for the way this head-to-head has worked out.
‘I did Manchester United on Wednesday and thought they were awful. Even with the speed and movement up front, I thought Paul Pogba was poor, Bruno Fernandes had his worst game and looked like he was running on empty.
‘Then I look at Leicester – and to be fair to them, they probably deserve the top four for what they’ve done this season – but of course, you don’t do it in the early part of the season, you do it now.
‘They do look stretched, really stretched. Everything is geared towards looking at Jamie Vardy, they’re missing James Maddison.
‘United have that cushion, so Leicester have to go for the win, which doesn’t change a lot for Brendan Rodgers, but they’ll want to keep it tight for the first half hour and then see how the land lies.
‘Manchester United know how to get a result from a game like this, though. I think it’ll be tense and dramatic, but I think they’ll get there, they’ll get a draw, 1-1.’
On Chelsea’s final game, Nicholas added: ‘I have my doubts Chelsea will get the job done.
‘The simple fact is, Chelsea are very good going forward, but oh my goodness – a back three doesn’t help them, and a back four doesn’t help them!
‘It’s quite staggering how poor they are defensively, especially from set-pieces.
‘Wolves are dangerous, they were my dark horse to get into the Champions League and they kind of blew it.
‘It’s down to themselves, but there’s no doubt there’s some good players there. I think Chelsea will get a draw, but they’ll have to sweat.
‘Wolves are well-drilled at the back, but Chelsea going forward, I think they’ll be able to score, 2-2.’
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