Premier League predictions 2023-24
MANCHESTER City made it a hattrick of Premier League titles when they won the Treble last season — now they have a new target.
Pep Guardiola’s side are aiming to become the first team in the 135-year history of English league football to be crowned champions four times in a row — and the challenge for everyone else is to stop them.
Arsenal faltered in the final weeks of last season after spending 248 days at the top of the table — will they last the distance this time, and who else will figure at the top?
Can Manchester United build on their third-place finish by mounting a serious title bid for the first time since they were champions in 2013?
Newcastle are back in the Champions League this season after a 20-year absence, but will they stay in the top four? Could Liverpool be contenders again? Can Tottenham or Chelsea rise from mid-table under new managers? Or will anyone else be in the mix?
We asked 26 BBC TV and radio pundits to pick their top four, with explanations for their selections.
These predictions were made on the basis of how each squad shaped up on Thursday, 10 August, with more than three weeks to go until the transfer window shuts at 23:00 BST on 1 September.
Man City - ‘The best squad, manager
and striker’
City have now been the BBC pundits’ pre-season favourites in seven of the eight seasons since Pep Guardiola took charge in 2016, but they have never been backed to this extent before — 96 percent (25/26) think they will be champions again this time; the previous highest was 88 percent (21/24) in 2018-19.
Micah Richards: Their squad is still
better than everyone else’s. They won’t win the Treble again, but they will win the Premier League.
Danny Gabbidon: They’ve not just got the best squad, they’ve got the best manager in Pep Guardiola and have the best striker on the planet in Erling Haaland.
Jermaine Beckford: The way they play makes it so hard to stop them, and how do you stop Haaland? He scored 52 goals in 54 games for City last season, and you can be sure his numbers will be incredible this season too.
Fara Williams: City are at the top for as long as Guardiola stays there.
Chris Sutton: The other top clubs have done some very good work in this transfer window but you can’t look past City for the title. Guardiola evolves something every year — some tweak to his tactics will emerge and another player always seems to step in and become key.
Chris Sutton joins Ashley Williams and Jason Mohammad on Final Score on Saturday, from 14:30 BST on the red button and the BBC Sport website, and from 16:30 on BBC Two.
Nedum Onuoha: They start the season perhaps looking a little short from two key players from the past couple of seasons but they still have a wealth of experience from winning the title.
Sue Smith: They’ve won five of the past six titles and have just made two great signings in Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic. I don’t think it matters that they have lost Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, because they still have so much quality. They’re the team everyone else has to beat.
Karen Bardsley: Kovacic gives them ball protection, retention and creation, which equals the control they want in games.
Matt Upson: City’s defence was awesome anyway, but they needed Gvardiol. The beauty is that all their centre-backs know they will play enough because they have so many matches, and Pep always picks them on form. He loves giving all his players that message and he is trying to do it in attack, too, in terms of playing two up front and using Julian Alvarez. It’s like he is telling him: ‘I can’t drop Haaland, but you have really impressed me and I will find a way of getting you in the team.’ It’s brilliant to see.
Michael Brown: Their defence looks very strong and if they can bring in another attacking option, they could be frightening.
Chris Waddle: The only thing that could stop City or let them down is complacency or fatigue, and I just don’t see either happening under Guardiola because they have got the experience and they have got the squad. It’s theirs to lose.
Arsenal - ‘I don’t expect last season’s form to disappear’
Last year, eight/23 pundits thought Arsenal would make the top four, although no-one tipped them to finish higher than fourth - they finished runners-up. This year, only four/26 think they will finish lower than second, and they are the only other team apart from City to be picked as champions.
Martin Keown: Of course I really want Arsenal to win the Premier League — as a pundit I am impartial, but as a former Arsenal player I am excited because last season was the first time in many years that we felt we were back in the fight and the team was competitive. It was a hell of a ride for the 248 days we were top of the table, and I don’t expect that form to disappear.
Arsenal have had a fantastic transfer window, too. I am not sure how Kai Havertz fits in, but I really like the look of Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice is one of England’s best players. I still think City will be too strong for Arsenal to overcome but I see the Gunners finishing a close second. Jermaine Beckford: What an amazing signing Rice is. He has leadership qualities as well as skill and technique, and brings everything they need.
Micah Richards: 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.
Ellen White: Arsenal were so close last year and they have added to their squad really well. They need Jesus back because I don’t think Havertz is a number nine, but they won’t be short of goals - I am a big fan of Leandro Trossard.
Chris Sutton: I’m not reading much into the Community Shield, which sparked Arsenal’s wild celebrations - I got a lot of abuse on Twitter for asking if they had won the World Cup. I have them down to finish second but I’m not as convinced by them as some people are. They fell away badly at the end of last season and they still don’t have enough quality to topple City. —