Manchester United icon Wes Brown believes his former club can finish above Manchester City and win the Premier League title this season. 

The Red Devils are currently sixth in the Premier League table after a turbulent start to the season, which saw them win just two of their first six games and suffer a humiliating 6-1 loss at Old Trafford to the top flight's current leaders, Tottenham. 

United have bounced back since then with four straight victories, however their Jekyll-and-Hyde performance against West Ham drew criticism from Gary Neville and they were eliminated from the Champions League by RB Leipzig in midweek after going three goals down. 

The nature of their performances suggests Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side lack the consistency to claim the top prize in English football this term, but as things stand they are just five points off the top of the table with a game in hand. 

They're also above Manchester City by a point after the same number of games played, albeit with worse goal difference, heading into this weekend's Manchester derby. 

Perhaps Brown's claims of United besting their local rivals aren't as outlandish as they may initially seem, then.

He recently told Ladbrokes: "The way the season has gone so far, I think Man United could finish above Man City. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still going to be tough, and there are probably six – not Arsenal – teams in there that’ll be fighting for the title.

Bruno Fernandes scores for Manchester United against Southampton in the Premier League

"I don’t see why United can’t finish above City and win the league, just based on how the season has gone so far. United came top four last season when nobody thought they would, so sometimes you have to give them credit where it’s due."

A Premier League title this season would mark Manchester United's first since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement at the end of the 2012/13 season, when Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney fired them to glory over Manchester City. 

However, the bookmakers don't seem too convinced of such a scenario. SkyBet currently have United as the fifth-likeliest team to win the title, at odds of 18/1. Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea and Spurs are all deemed safer bets.