Liverpool fail to retain the Premier League title as Manchester United surge up the table, predicts supercomputer

After Liverpool lost Jurgen Klopp, appointed a relatively unknown Dutchman after being rejected by Xabi Alonso, and made £12.5m winger Federico Chiesa their headline signing, few had the Reds down for Premier League glory.

By late April, there was a rush on red flares on one half of Merseyside, and a shortage of humble pie across the rest country.

This time around, the picture couldn’t be much different.

Liverpool to miss Premier League title, Arsenal pain extended

They’ve broken the bank this summer to sign Florian Wirtz, Hugo Ekitike, Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, and are still eyeing another record-breaking move for Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak.

In short, the pressure’s on to perform, not least from the club’s accountants, but an AI supercomputer has the Reds buckling in their retention bid.

The prediction, via Sportscasting, has them finishing third, behind champions Manchester City and, you guessed it, perennial runners-up Arsenal in second place.

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea round off the top four, but are some 13 points off the league leaders.

There are few shocks foretold at the other end of the table with the three promoted sides – Burnley, Sunderland and Leeds United this time – all dropping back down for the third consecutive season, the latter managing just 28 points.

Manchester United likely have the biggest grin of all, apart from their city neighbours, having gained 10 places on last season’s 15th-placed finish to bag a Europa League spot.