Gary Neville insists he's hopeful that Manchester United can finish above Liverpool this season but is "not very confident" in either side as things stand.

The two arch rivals are the most successful sides in England, but both are having indifferent campaigns. Neither look set to challenge Arsenal for the title given they both sit in mid-table and United are looking to enjoy a rare year ahead of the Reds.

Neville has long backed his former team, often tipping them for the top four despite them regularly underperforming. Ruben Amorim did just enjoy the longest unbeaten run of his tenure - five matches - but they were dealt a reality check on Monday when they were beaten by Everton.

Things are even worse for Liverpool, who had won their opening five games to go top. Now though they are in the midst of a run that has seen them lose nine of their last 12 to spiral down the table and they now sit below United.

Neville though isn't sure about either side right now. He was quizzed on who will finish higher and said: "Let's hope its Manchester United, but I'm not very confident on either of them at the moment!"

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The Sky Sports pundit was asked whilst a guest of Mercedes F1 with Neville on the grid for the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race, which took place on Saturday afternoon.

Neville was scathing about United after they were beaten by 10-man Everton earlier this week. The Toffees managed to leave Old Trafford with all three points despite being a man down and the former player didn't hold back. He said: "We're trying to build a trust in a manager, we're trying to build a trust in a team. The fans booed collectively at the end. It was loud, and rightly so.

"That was a really poor performance. It's almost as if you've gone two or three steps forward, everyone's feeling a little bit better, and you've just gone back to the start again. You can lose football matches, but you can't lose them like that. That's nowhere near good enough, it's not acceptable."

United had beaten Liverpool recently, ending a 10-year wait for a win at Anfield in the process. But their defeat earlier in the week was the first time they'd ever been beaten by 10-men at Old Trafford in the Premier League era. That was a period spanning 46 games, including 36 wins.

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