Gary Neville insists Aston Villa need an 'absolute miracle' to qualify for the Champions League after dismal draw with Sheffield United

Villa have been the surprise package in the Premier League this season, but Unai Emery's side missed the chance to go top of the table when they drew 1-1 with struggling Sheffield United on Friday. Speaking after the match, Neville predicted that Villa will find things tougher in the second half of the season and will do well to finish inside the top four.

Neville said: "They need to be more inventive and more clever. Do different things. Now teams have seen that tonight – I’m not saying it’s the first time that anyone’s played like that against Villa but there was a lot of respect shown to them tonight – they weren’t good enough to break it down.

"Douglas Luiz put that ball in at the end and I’d been crying out for more. I thought the passing was a bit basic. Sometimes you just need something that’s a bit electric, that the great players produce. Villa don’t have those great players that I’m referring to but can they be a bit more off-the-cuff and instinctive. It was too formulaic for my liking against a team that was really rigid and well organised.

"I think they’re a really good team, I think they’re very finely tuned so if a few players got injured they would struggle. If they were to finish fifth it would be an incredible result. If they finished above that it would be an absolute miracle. I think they will fade away and we’ll see them fight for that lastChampions League space."

Villa have enjoyed a superb start to the season, and currently sit second in the table, level on 39 points with league leaders Arsenal. However, on Friday the Villains needed a 97th minute Nicolo Zaniolo goal to snatch a 1-1 draw at home to the Blades.

With Arsenal and Liverpool playing each other on Saturday, Villa will have the chance to stay near the top of the pile when they travel to Manchester United on Boxing Day.