Steven Gerrard, Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand all agree on who will finish in the top four at the end of the upcoming Premier League season, which kicks off on Friday night when Liverpool take on Bournemouth at Anfield.
With the excitement of a new season brimming, several fans and pundits have had a go at predicting the final Premier League table.
Forecasting the top of the division is more challenging than ever these days, given the huge amount elite clubs are investing in the transfer market, but it turns out Premier League legends Gerrard, Shearer and Ferdinand are in agreement over their top four.
Reigning champions Liverpool have been extremely busy in the transfer window, signing the likes of £116m Florian Wirtz and £79m Hugo Ekitike among several new additions.
Arsenal, who have finished second three times in a row, finally have a new star striker in £70m Viktor Gyokeres, while Manchester City can never be counted out of a title push while Pep Guardiola remains at the helm.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are heading into the season off the back of a superb Club World Cup triumph, having strengthened in attack with the signings of Joao Pedro and Liam Delap.
Steven Gerrard (right), Alan Shearer (not pictured) and Rio Ferdinand (left) all agree on who will finish in the top four at the end of the upcoming Premier League season, which starts on Friday
Every Premier League legend asked predicted Liverpool to defend last season’s title success
Shearer, Gerrard, Ferdinand – and Opta’s supercomputer – have Man City to finish in third place
Gerrard, Shearer and Ferdinand, who joined fellow ex-Premier League stars Theo Walcott and Jermain Defoe in giving their predictions to GOAL, all tipped Liverpool to win the division again.
They also predicted Arsenal to finish in second for a fourth successive season, with Man City third and Chelsea fourth.
Walcott and Defoe also agreed that Arne Slot’s side will win the title again, but opted for a different arrangement between second and fourth.
The former Arsenal winger believes Man City will mount a closer title challenge than the Gunners, tipping Guardiola’s side to finish second ahead of his old team.
Meanwhile, ex-Spurs man Defoe is even less confident on Arsenal’s chances next season, predicting them to finish in fourth place behind third-place Chelsea and runners-up Man City.
Opta’s supercomputer last week determined Liverpool as the favourites to win the title, giving them a 28.5 per cent chance of defending their crown.
Disagreeing with Walcott and Defoe, the supercomputer then rated Arsenal as Liverpool’s closest competitors, handing the Gunners a 24.2 per cent chance of finally winning their first title since 2004.
It would be a repeat of last season’s table if the supercomputer predictions come to fruition, with Manchester City given an 18.8 per cent chance of returning to the top of the tree – the third most-likely side.
