From the title winner to rock bottom we asked our football writers to file a final table for the 2021-22 Premier League, this is how their picks average out…
“You can back the top four to be made up of City, Chelsea, Liverpool and United – in any order – at 3.02/1.”
Ahead of the 2021-22 Premier League season we asked our football writers to file their predictions for the final table, and averaged out their selections to create our picture of how the division will look after 38 games.
There are no surprises for guessing which team sit at the top of the pile, champions Manchester City being the pick for more than 50% of our writers.
And when they didn’t make Pep’s boys first they made them runners-up. No writer predicted City to finish lower than second.
Chelsea were the only other team to be predicted as champions for more than one of BB’s expert, being the selection for two, while Liverpool were placed first by one.
Manchester United round out our top four. Our writers placed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men in a fairly equal spread from second to fourth and no one said United would finish outside the top four.
You can back the top four to be made up of City, Chelsea, Liverpool and United – in any order – at 3.02/1.
Top five again for Foxes
Leicester City have been consistent fifth place finishers and there was similar consistency to our writers’ placings for the Foxes, two thirds saying they will finish fifth again.
Now the predictions get a little messy and a little more interesting.
Arsenal are the sixth team in our final table followed by fierce rivals Spurs in seventh, Leeds are eighth, Aston Villa ninth and West Ham 10th.
But there was significant variation across the predictions with Arsenal as high as fifth and as low as eighth, Spurs sixth but also ninth, Leeds anywhere between seventh and 10th, Everton potentially sixth but also 12th and Villa positioned between 7th and 11th.
9 writers
20 teams
1 predicted PL tableOur best football minds penned their 1-20s. We’ve totted them all up.
Do you agree with your team’s position? pic.twitter.com/HjikxG7FkQ
? Betfair (@Betfair) August 11, 2021
West Ham top of the bottom half
Into the bottom half of the table we find last season’s surprise top six finishers, West Ham, in 11th. Clearly the Europa League is expected to take its toll on David Moyes’ squad.
Brighton are 12th but there was a wide variety of final place predictions for the Seagulls, positioned anywhere between 10th and 19th by our panel. Wolves and Newcastle will not trouble the European places nor the relegation spots, ending the season in 13th and 14th.
Crystal Palace, under Patrick Vieira, have been an outsider pick for the drop elsewhere on this website, and two of our writers position them in the relegation places but everyone else believes it’ll be another midtable finish for the south London side.
Good news for Brentford fans – our experts place you in 16th! Southampton are the last team outside of the bottom three.
Goodbye Burnley, Norwich and Watford
And that trio will be made up of Burnley, Norwich and Watford. Backing those three to go down will return at 23.022/1 with the Betfair Sportsbook.
Sean Dyche’s side are a perennial pick for the drop so could this be the year they go down? They have not stregthened significantly this summer so this could be the time.
Norwich struggled last time in the top-flight and while more than half of our panel placed the Canaries outside the bottom three, enough were convinced of a final place finish that they drop in the relegation spots.
And, finally, to Watford. Only two of our writers had the Hornets outside of 20th place. Could the 6.05/1 on a rock bottom finish be a value bet?
Source: Betfair Premier League
