As far as Liverpool and Manchester United are concerned, Gary Neville is not famed for his accurate predicting skills. Nevertheless, he's decided to put his money where his mouth is, taking up a charity bet with Jamie Carragher - and Roy Keane has now waded in.

The familiar trio were back in action on Sky Sports last night, as the Premier League returned with not so much a bang as a muffled thud. Putting Manchester United on first was always likely to lead to a drab affair, but Erik ten Hag will be relieved to find out that his side has not lost its knack for late winners plucked from nowhere.

New signing Joshua Zirkzee played the "Scott McTominay role", conjuring up three points in the 87th minute. Manchester United should enjoy the feeling of being top of the table while it lasts.

Even Neville is not foolish enough to back his old side to challenge for the title this season. But he does think Ten Hag will be able to mastermind a finish above Arne Slot and Liverpool.

Tipping Manchester United for a top-four finish, he has previously claimed that the "surprise" of the season will be that Liverpool finishes outside of the top six. With that in mind, he has taken up a bet with Carragher about whose team will finish higher come the end of the campaign.

It's a familiar wager among friends. The stakes are a little less commonplace, with the duo putting $6,500 (PS5,000/EUR5,800) on the line in the name of charity.

"Me and Carra had a $6,500 bet for charity that Liverpool would finish above United, United would finish above Liverpool," he explained. "Who do you think is going to win the bet?"

Keane weighed in on Neville's side: "I think United (will finish above Liverpool)."

Mathematically, at least, Neville and Keane have got off to a good start, with Manchester United picking up all three points against Fulham. But the manner of the victory provided little hope of a vast improvement from last time out, when Ten Hag finished eighth - Carragher won't be writing out a check just yet, that's for sure.

Liverpool.com says: This is a great bet for Neville. It's going to underline his philanthropic credentials.

He might as well make the charitable donation now. Nothing last night suggested that Manchester United has made anything like the necessary improvements to bridge the gap.

Of course, we should probably wait and see Liverpool in competitive action before making such confident conclusions, with the departure of Jurgen Kloppan absolutely huge change. But pre-season signs have been encouraging, not least the 3-0 win over Manchester United.