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Former Arsenal and Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has given his predictions for the upcoming Premier League season.
The 2022-23 season kicks off on Friday, August 5, with Mikel Arteta's side traveling to Selhurst Park to take on Patrick Vieira's Crystal Palace.
Silvestre, a four-time Premier League winner with Manchester United, has made quite an interesting claim regarding the potential Premier League top six.
The former France international has tipped Liverpool and Manchester City to retain the top two spots, with the former winning the title.
As per the 44-year-old, Antonio Conte's Tottenham Hotspur are the favorites for the third spot.
Silvestre has insisted that Manchester United and Arsenal will fight for fourth spot but he expects the Gunners to secure the final Champions League spot.
The Frenchman has made a bold claim that Chelsea will finish sixth, followed by Manchester United. He told Betting Expert:
"I think Liverpool, City, Tottenham, and I’m debating between United and Arsenal. Arsenal will finish fourth followed by United and Chelsea."
Can Arsenal and Manchester United live up to expectations this season?
Both Arsenal and Manchester United have had to deal with plenty of ups and downs over the last few years.
Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, the Red Devils have made several managerial changes but their fortunes have hardly changed. They haven't won a league title since then and finished sixth last season with their worst points tally (58) in 30 years.
Erik ten Hag has now been brought in to steady the ship but the Dutchman has a monumental task on his hands.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have also struggled since parting ways with Arsene Wenger in 2018. Mikel Arteta has done a decent job since taking over in 2019 but has failed to take them to the top four.
The Gunners have done well during the summer transfer window to bolster their squad after narrowly missing out on the top four last season.
Hence, the north Londoners are clearly in a better place compared to the Red Devils and should be challenging for the fourth spot.
Mikael Silvestre has made quite a bold prediction by picking Chelsea for the sixth spot, probably due to their lack of signings this summer.
The Blues struggled to score goals at times last season even after creating plenty of chances. They could face the same problem and have not signed a striker this summer while also having loaned Romelu Lukaku out to Inter Milan.
Spurs are strong contenders for third spot due to Antonio Conte's presence and their excellent business this summer, where they've made six signings so far.
Meanwhile, it is quite likely that Manchester City and Liverpool will continue their duopoly at the top of the table.
