Manchester City and Arsenal played out a 2-2 draw on Sunday afternoon in the first clash of two genuine title contenders so far this season.
Arsenal began the new season looking to go one better after finishing runners-up to Pep Guardiola’s side in each of the past two seasons and despite conceding a stoppage-time equaliser, they can be satisfied that they are the first team to take points off the champions this season.
But what will be the significance of this result come the end of the season? For that we’ll have to play the waiting game – or alternatively, we can consult the latest supercomputer prediction to have the next eight months spoiled for us…
Premier League supercomputer predicts final table
Following this latest round of fixtures, OLMB have fired up their supercomputer to find out what the algorithms make of the first five game weeks of the season.
The supercomputer works by incorporating the actual results we’ve already seen this season to predict the exact scores for the remaining matches this term. It then produces a final table, based on the full standings from the 38 matches that have either been played or predicted.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta (Image credit: Getty Images)
Given Manchester City top the real table, it’s perhaps not too much of a surprise that the supercomputer is backing Guardiola’s side to top the actual table in May.
They forecast that City will accumulate 92 points over the season, which will see them again pip Arsenal to the title, with the Gunners trailing on 86 points, six behind the four-time defending champions.
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Chelsea’s impressive start is reflected in the predicted table, with Enzo Maresca’s men back in the Champions League places with a third-placed finish on 78 points, one place and one point ahead of Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
Newcastle United (72 points) and Aston Villa (61 points) grab the Europa League spots, while Tottenham are seventh on 58 points, which would see them qualify for the Europa Conference League. This means there is no improvement for Manchester United, who again finish in eighth.
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At the other end of the table, the supercomputer predicts a tough season ahead for the three teams that won promotion from the Championship last season.
Ipswich are forecast to finish bottom of the league on 15 points, with fellow new bots Southampton (21 points) and Leicester City (25 points) joining them back in the second tier next season. Nottingham Forest are predicted to finish in 17th place but with an eight-point bugger to safety.
