Gary Neville makes Manchester United U-turn when asked who will finish in Champions League spots

Former right-back Gary Neville has backed Manchester United to seal Champions League qualification for next season.

United head into this afternoon's clash with Luton Town at Kenilworth Road knowing that a fourth successive league win will move them to within five points of the coveted top-four spots. Aston Villa leapfrogged Tottenham Hotspur in the standings yesterday, capitalising on the latter's 2-1 home defeat to Wolves with a 2-1 win of their own.

United, should they beat Luton, will move three points behind Spurs and to within five of Villa. The Reds have won each of their last three league outings and are unbeaten in 2024 in all competitions.

READ MORE: Luton vs United LIVE

READ MORE: Luke Shaw wins fitness battle to start vs Luton

Neville claimed back in October that he did not think United would make it into the Champions League spots having said at the start of the season that they would be in the competition next term. Ahead of kick-off at Kenilworth Road, Neville changed his mind once again, telling Sky Sports: "They can do it, definitely. They can go three points behind Spurs today.

"Spurs play Villa in a couple of weeks. I know United play City, but United need six points from these two matches - Luton and Fulham. They cannot make any mistakes in these two games.

"There is still a long way to go for United, they still have a lot of work to do. But travelling from Manchester this morning, looking at that league table and thinking about what United have got coming forward and the fact they have got a lot of their players fit, there is a lot more optimism about whether United can finish in the Champions League places.

"If I was looking at it today, I would probably say, 'Yes, they'll sneak into that