The Premier League is underway, and we are now heading into the second week of the season with a good idea of who could be contenders for the league title…and for relegation.
The likes of Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool all won their opening games, and they are all expected to battle it out for the Premier League title.
After one week, teams such as Burnley, Brentford, Wolves and West Ham may be worried, especially considering that newly-promoted sides Sunderland and Leeds United both won on the opening day.
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Heading into week two, Opta Analyst have provided a fresh supercomputer simulation of how they think the Premier League table will look come the end of the season, this is what it said…
Liverpool to pip Arsenal and Man City to the Premier League
1. Liverpool – 75 points
2. Arsenal – 74 points
3. Manchester City – 72 points
4. Chelsea – 63 points
5. Newcastle United – 61 points
In terms of the Champions League spots, Liverpool claim their second league title in a row, pipping Arsenal, who finish second again (by just one point).
Man City finish third again, which will be a disappointment for Pep Guardiola’s side. Chelsea make up the top four, showing more progress under Enzo Maresca, with Newcastle closing out the top five, despite their disastrous transfer window.
The rest of the top half
6. Aston Villa – 60 points
7. Crystal Palace – 58 points
8. Brighton – 54 points
9. Nottingham Forest – 53 points
10. Bournemouth – 50 points
Closing out the top half of the Premier League table, Villa, and Crystal Palace likely claim European football by finishing sixth and seventh.
Brighton continue their strong spell under Fabian Hurzeler, finishing ahead of Nottingham Forest who won on the opening day, and Bournemouth, who showed promise against Liverpool.
Who could be relegated from the Premier League?
11. Tottenham – 50 points
12. Brentford – 48 points
13. Manchester United – 48 points
14. Fulham – 47 points
15. Everton – 46 points
16. Wolves – 41 points
17. West Ham – 40 points
18. Leeds United – 39 points
19. Sunderland – 35 points
20. Burnley – 35 points
Tottenham and Man United both finish in the bottom half of the league table, despite the fact that both looked improved during their first games of the season.
Fulham and Everton seemingly will play themselves out of the relegation battle, but Wolves and West Ham could be in for a stressful season. Despite that, Opta believes that the newly-promoted sides will suffered relegation.
Click here to see West Ham’s first team squad ahead of the second game of the season.