Reigning champions Arsenal picked up where they left off last season, winning five of their opening six fixtures.

Many were 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 six wins from six. However, the club’s future is firmly up in the air after being found guilty of breaking 115 Premier League rules. They remain in the title race for now… but it’s currently unclear where they’ll be come the end of the season.

Amid the enormous controversy that threatens to cast a shadow over this season’s Premier League campaign, 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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Fulham, who earned encouraging draws against Liverpool and Manchester United before the international break, are predicted to finish rock bottom after a disappointing collapse at Ipswich.

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 was a huge boost for Frank Lampard’s side.

Sunderland have had a difficult start to the season after surprising everyone in their first campaign back in the top-flight. The Black Cats are now in the relegation zone (18th) in this predicted table.

Tottenham are expected to only just survive again after they rescued a late draw vs Man Utd. The Supercomputer believes the North Londoners will finish 17th for the third successive campaign.

Above them, avoiding a relegation battle, are Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth. Both clubs have struggled to settle under Oliver Glasner and Marco Rose, respectively.

Bottom Half

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Promoted Hull City are currently eighth in the real Premier League table after taking nine points from their first six fixtures. The Tigers suffered their first defeat of the season away at Newcastle recently and are expected to eventually drop to 12th, which would still be a hugely impressive achievement for the promoted club.

Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace are also predicted to finish in the bottom half of the table after inconsistent starts to the campaign. Both clubs would’ve likely been happy with that before a ball was kicked. Leeds United narrowly miss out on the top 10 in the predicted table after losing to the champions.

Top Half

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Aston Villa had a disastrous start to the season after three defeats in their first four games. But Unai Emery’s team have got four points in the last two matches, and are set for a top-half finish.

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 ninth place following a disappointing 1-1 draw against Tottenham. 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.

Unbeaten Everton have enjoyed a decent enough start to the new season, and are expected to finish mid-table following an away draw against Hull City.

Newcastle have looked okay under Matthias Jaissle, whose side are expected to finish the season in 7th place, which would be a solid achievement following such a turbulent summer at St James’ Park.

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 after ending a three-game winless run against Bournemouth. 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.

Top Four

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Liverpool are fourth in the predicted table after a disappointing home defeat against Man City. 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, back will certainly help.

Brighton are currently tipped to finish third 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.

Under-fire Manchester City boast a 100% winning record without Pep Guardiola in the Premier League. The Citizens looked bright under Enzo Maresca, with Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki flying, although the guilty verdict threatens to derail their season.

Every away ground is expected to become incredibly hostile towards the eight-time Premier League champions, who will need to adopt a siege mentality in order to finish as high up the table as possible. Opta’s Supercomputer currently believes City will push Arsenal right to the wire, although that prediction could completely change depending on the result of the appeal.

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 above Erling Haaland and co.