Supercomputer predicts final Premier League table with Man Utd and Chelsea given surprise positions

The start of the new Premier League season is just days away and excitement is building ahead of the opening game.

Manchester United will look to bounce back from their Community Shield defeat to rivals Manchester City when they host Fulham on Friday night in the first game of the 2024/25 season.

Defending champions City have been handed a tough task in their opening match, travelling to face a revamped Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Last season’s runners-up Arsenal face Wolves at the Emirates on Saturday, while Liverpool face newly-promoted Ipswich Town at Anfield earlier in the day.

City are unsurprisingly the bookmakers’ favourites to win the league for a fifth consecutive season.

And data experts Opta have also provided tips for Pep Guardiola’s side to defend their title.

They predicted the top three would be the same as last season, with Arsenal again finishing second and Liverpool third.

City have an 82.2% chance of winning the league, with Arsenal (12.2) and Liverpool (5.1) considered the only other realistic contenders.

But there is a surprise for the fourth Champions League spot, with Chelsea tipped as favourites under new manager Enzo Maresca.

That’s despite mixed results in pre-season, which included a draw with Wrexham and heavy defeats to Celtic and City.

Meanwhile, Newcastle are tipped to finish fifth, ahead of big-spending Manchester United.

The Red Devils have already signed Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee this summer and are on the verge of adding Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui to Erik ten Hag’s squad.

But Opta gave them no chance of winning the league and just a 1.2% chance of finishing in the top two.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, promoted Leicester, Ipswich and Southampton are all tipped to drop straight back into the Championship – with Nottingham Forest considered the next most likely to be relegated.

Full Premier League table predicted by Opta

1. City of Man

2. Arsenal

3. Liverpool

4. Chelsea

5. Newcastle

6. Manchester United

7. Tottenham

8. Aston Villa

9. Crystal Palace

10. West Ham

11. Brighton

12. Fulham

13. Everton

14. Brentford

15. Bournemouth

16. Wolves

17. Nottingham Forest

18. Leicester

19. Ipswich

20. Southampton