Premier League pundits’ 23/24 pre-season predictions – together with correct shockers

The Premier League season has wrapped up – and it’s not just Arsenal supporters who’ll be keen to erase the pain of the final table.

Now it’s the time to revisit the predictions made before the first ball was kicked last August. As expected, Manchester City were many pundits’ favourite to claim the title. However, not all their forecasts met the mark, with some now appearing more misguided than others in hindsight.

It’s only right to highlight both the hits and misses. So, via the Mirror, we’re reviewing how some of the familiar faces fared with their pre-season predictions, including the Monday Night Football team and regulars from Match of the Day.

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Gary Neville

Manchester United legend Neville bucked the trend by backing Arsenal to topple City’s reign. “I’m banking on three things. Post-treble, [City] have a little bit of a [drop off],” he began.

“The challenges over a season when you’re competing in Super Cups, Club World Cups. They don’t have the largest squad. With Haaland, he only sat out three games last season. If he were to miss 10 or 15, I think that would give Arsenal a genuine shot.”

None of these factors really came into effect as City clinched a record-breaking fourth consecutive title. Another misstep was his prediction of his former team securing a top-four finish.

However, Neville did accurately predict Liverpool’s success and Aston Villa’s European football qualification, although he didn’t foresee their Champions League achievement. His top six prediction for Chelsea was spot on.

His relegation shout of Bournemouth, alongside Luton and Sheffield United, didn’t age well, and his tip for Andre Onana as the one to watch fell flat. However, he correctly predicted Erling Haaland as the top scorer and Declan Rice as the impact signing.

What’s your most impressive prediction? Let us know in the comments section.

Jamie Carragher

In contrast to his colleague, Carragher accurately predicted City finishing above Arsenal. He also believed United would secure third place ahead of Liverpool, and predicted Newcastle would finish sixth behind Chelsea.

Overall, it was a largely successful set of predictions for the Reds legend, whose extensive knowledge of the game often pays off in his punditry.

He correctly identified the three relegated teams, tipped Haaland to top the scoring charts, and singled out Andoni Iraola as his one to watch – a brilliant call as he led the Cherries to a record points total of 48 and a 12th-placed finish.

His choice of James Maddison as the impact signing didn’t fare as well as Neville’s, with both Maddison and Tottenham losing momentum towards the end of the season after a promising start.

Karen Carney

Joining the MNF duo to make her predictions, Carney nailed the top three perfectly. It was United again who spoiled her perfect Champions League spots prediction.

Like Carragher, she placed Newcastle fifth and Chelsea sixth, although the Magpies fell slightly short, finishing seventh as they grappled with multiple competitions in the first half of the season.

Her picks for relegation turned out to be correct, but the accuracy faded from there on. She “wanted a different name” and backed her “gut feeling” that Mo Salah would clinch the top scorer title – but he ended up nine goals behind in seventh position.

Similarly to Neville, she opted for Onana as the season’s breakthrough signing, and identified Kaoru Mitoma as a player to closely watch. However, injuries kept him away from most of Brighton’s tricky season.

Micah Richards

This football season has seen Richards taking some fails on chin already, hilariously falling flat with all four Champions League quarter-final results predictions he made for CBS Sports last month.

His Premier League forecasts for the BBC have fared better, however. He was confident his former club City would hold onto their title.

“Their squad is still better than everyone else’s. They won’t win the Treble again, but they will win the Premier League,” he predicted, remarks which seemed almost oracular. Richards also called it right with Arsenal.

He said: “I was close to picking Arsenal to win the title, because no team has ever won it four years in a row, but they are without Gabriel Jesus at the start of the season and I think that is just going to kill them.”

Like many, his top four forecast was undone by United’s underwhelming campaign in which they never looked likely to return to the Champions League.

Martin Keown

Arsenal legend Keown was virtually reading from the same hymn sheet as Richards. “I still think City will be too strong for Arsenal to overcome but I see the Gunners finishing a close second,” he predicted.

However, that was about as good as it got for him. He too was tripped up by putting United fourth, despite pointing out: “United lost eight away games in the league last season, compared to just one at Old Trafford. I am not sure you can change that overnight?”

He expressed concern that Liverpool had “lost their way a little bit in the transfer market”, but the signings of Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai have proved wise so far.

And Keown reckoned the “excitement” of European football might’ve meant Newcastle wouldn’t be impacted domestically, which turned out to be the complete opposite in reality.

Robbie Savage

Savage went all out with a 1-20 prediction, which in fairness is tougher than just calling just the top and bottom of the table – but it shows.

In descending order, it starts off well with City at the top. But Savage thought they’d be closely challenged by their improving Manchester neighbours, with Arsenal third and Chelsea fourth.

This led to Liverpool erroneously being placed fifth, with Newcastle trailing in sixth and Aston Villa slipping to seventh. Nottingham Forest at 11th place and Burnley at 12th are further notable errors.

Savage suggested that Wolves may follow Sheffield United and Luton’s path into relegation, but Gary O’Neill had them comfortably above the drop zone throughout the campaign.

Danny Murphy

Match of the Day pundit Murphy admired the strategic decisions Erik ten Hag made during last summer’s transfer window, leading to his concern for the rest of the league – a forewarning that nine months later looks unconvincing.

He was of the opinion that Onana’s introduction would boost their away form, but in actuality, they gained more points at Old Trafford this season.

Murphy welcomed the arrival of Mac Allister at his former club Liverpool, praising him as one of the most impactful signings. He also astutely identified Newcastle’s slim chances of a top four finish and their struggles with injuries.

“The intensity and huge physicality they play with means playing that way twice a week will be hard,” he stressed. “They have made some really good signings, don’t get me wrong, but I still think they are short of a centre-half or, ideally, two if they have any injuries there.”

Chris Sutton

Sutton predicted City’s triumph and even foresaw Josko Gvardiol’s rise as an offensive force, which indeed unfolded as the season progressed.

He claimed: “Guardiola evolves something every year – some tweak to his tactics will emerge and another player always seems to step in and become key.”

He also refrained from over-analysing Arsenal’s Community Shield victory and didn’t back United’s chances for title contention, although he still placed them third.

Asserting that “the top four is too big a step” for Aston Villa wasn’t the best decision. Conversely, he showed excitement for Ange Postecoglou’s debut season at Tottenham, entertaining fourth place consideration if Harry Kane remained – in the end, they finished fifth.

Stephen Warnock

Sky Sports News regular Warnock merits significant accolade being one amongst only two BBC pundits who chose Villa for top four alongside England legend Ellen White. While she leaned towards United over Liverpool for third place, he got it all right.

Having watched Unai Emery’s team closely in the United States Summer Series, Warnock was convinced of their contender status. His thoughts on Ten Hag’s Red Devils were alarmingly accurate as well.

“United were bailed out massively last season by Marcus Rashford’s incredible form after the World Cup, but he couldn’t sustain that and I am not sure they have got anyone else who can take over when he’s not in top form,” he asserted.

He also backed Chelsea to enhance their performance but remain short of the top four, and considered Liverpool in “desperate need of bringing in players” – which they addressed later in the summer transfer window.