Reigning champions Arsenal picked up where they left off last season, winning all four of their opening fixtures against Coventry City, Aston Villa, Chelsea and Sunderland, before suffering a shock 3-0 defeat to Brighton.

Many are tipping Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea to challenge at the top of the table this season with no European football to contend with, but defeat away at Arsenal and Brentford, plus a home draw with Hull, suggests the Blues may not be quite ready just yet.

Man City are the only team to get five wins from five, but they may have to deal with relegation or points deductions after the club were found guilty of breaking 114 Premier League rules. For now, though, they remain in the title race.

Amid it all, Opta’s Supercomputer has updated its predicted final 2026-27 table – and it makes for fascinating reading. Let’s take a closer look…

Relegation Zone

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Coventry City, who won the Championship title last season, had the toughest possible start to the season: Arsenal away. All things considered, a 3-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium wasn’t a disaster. The Sky Blues then lost to Hull City, Manchester City and Brighton, but a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest is a big boost for Frank Lampard’s side.

Despite that victory, they are still tipped to come last, level on points with Fulham, who currenlty sit bottom of both the real Premier League table.

And it’s equally bad news for Tottenham (19th in the real table) after their 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa. The Supercomputer believes this is the season Spurs are relegated to the Championship.

Just outside the bottom three are Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town on 44 points, while Sunderland are tipped to finish 15th.

It’s interesting that every team in the bottom section of the predicted table have an expected points return of 40 points or higher – which is often seen as the benchmark for securing Premier League survival. If correct, the 2026-27 Premier League campaign will be the most competitive we’ve ever seen.

Bottom Half

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Promoted Hull City are currently seventh in the real Premier League table after taking eight points from their first five fixtures. The Tigers have now suffered their first defeat, away at Newcastle, and are expected to eventually drop to 13th – which would still be a hugely impressive achievement for the promoted club.

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are predicted to finish in the bottom half of the table after inconsistent starts to the campaign. Forest fans will be particularly concerned after losing at home to Coventry. Bournemouth are also projected to finish in that group following a shaky start to life under Marco Rose.

Top Half

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Leeds United battled to draws against Brentford and Brighton before then thumping Newcastle 4-1. Daniel Farke will be satisfied with his team’s start as they are tipped to finish 10th.

Newcastle have looked okay under Matthias Jaissle, whose side are expected to finish the season in 9th place, which would be a solid achievement following such a turbulent summer at St James’ Park.

Unbeaten Everton have enjoyed a decent enough start to the new season, and are expected to finish mid-table following a narrow 1-0 win over Ipswich.

Many pundits and fans alike have tipped Manchester United to finish inside the top four again this season, but the Supercomputer has the Red Devils down in seventh place following their home loss vs Man City. However, PFA Player of the Year Bruno Fernandes – who scored a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Ipswich – will do his best to drag the English giants to another top-four finish.

Brentford have already beaten Spurs and Chelsea at home this term and can expect to take more big scalps as the season goes on. They are on course to finish sixth.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are expected to finish fifth despite three games without a win. The Blues’ front three of Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers have the potential to become the most formidable forward line in the league, but they missed the Brazilian against Brentford, suffering a 3-0 loss.

Top Four

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Brighton are currently tipped to finish fourth after their sensational 3-0 win over champions Arsenal, which came days after they knocked Manchester United out of the Carabao Cup. The Seagulls are well and truly flying.

Liverpool place third in the predicted table even after a disappointing home draw with Fulham was followed by an impressive win away at Bournemouth. There’s plenty of work for Andoni Iraola to do at Anfield this season, but having Alexander Isak, who has four goals in five games, in form will certainly help.

Manchester City still boast a 100% winning record without Pep Guardiola in the Premier League. The Citizens look bright under Enzo Maresca, with Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki flying, although whether they can seriously challenge favourites Arsenal this term is the big question.

Adding to that, it will be fascinating to see if the players are thrown out of their rhythm after the shock news that the club was found guilty of ‘virtually all’ of the 115 charges relating to breaching the Premier League’s financial fair play rules. For now, though, they are tipped to come second just one point behind the winners.

Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal remain the Supercomputer’s favourites to lift the Premier League trophy, although their predicted points tally has been slashed following their defeat to Brighton. They are now tipped to finish the campaign just one point above Erling Haaland and co.