Predicting the pre-season Premier League table is always an endeavour laced with peril.
Michael Owen‘s predictions for the final table this season have resurfaced and while he got some teams spot on, he was wildly off the mark on other clubs.
He had Manchester United down to claim a Champions League spot, but they actually recorded their worst-ever Premier League finish in eighth.
Meanwhile, he had Ange Postecoglou to flop to ninth at Spurs rather than fifth, and Vincent Kompany to keep Burnley up.
Before we go deeper, it’s worth saying: fair play to Owen. We’re all going to get things wrong with stuff like, and he got a decent amount right. Most of us don’t have our predictions forensically analysed.
Michael Owen’s pre-season Premier League predictions have resurfaced? So, how did he do?
This is a comparison between Owen’s pre-season predictions (left) and the final table (right)
The former Ballon d’Or winner got Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool bang in order at the top of the tree.
Prophesying United to finish fourth, a place lower than they did in 2022-23, felt reasonable at the time but was misguided thanks to their miserable season.
Owen tipped Aston Villa to have a good year under Unai Emery but only had them down for sixth rather than fourth, while he had Chelsea a place higher than reality in fifth.
He correctly called Newcastle slipping down to seventh.
Brighton, Spurs, and Brentford rounded off his top 10, but the Seagulls actually finished 11th and the Bees were not much better than the relegation scrap, ending 16th.
Good on Owen for correctly predicting eight teams to finish in the bottom half, and he wasn’t far wrong with most.
The former striker felt West Ham would finish 11th, and while David Moyes steered them to ninth, they probably would have slipped if there were a few more games due to their disastrous end-of-season form.
He had Everton down to finish 12th, which would have been spot on if they hadn’t had eight points deducted. They finished 15th.
He tipped Manchester United to finish fourth, but they actually had their worst-ever Premier Legaue season and finished eighth
Owen believed Tottenham would finish ninth under Ange Postecoglou but they came fifth
Like many, Owen thought Burnley would stay up but from the first day they never looked like it and went down
Owen was far off on Nottingham Forest as he felt they would finish 13th, but in the end they only survived by six points and juddered to 17th.
His prediction of 14th for Fulham was a place lower than actuality but he clearly didn’t see Oliver Glasner coming at Crystal palace, who led them to 10th, not 15th as Owen felt they would finish.
Quite a lot of people felt that Burnley could transfer their dominant football from the Championship to the Premier League, and 16th in Owen’s book felt cautious for the Clarets, but they actually came 19th.
He didn’t fancy Andoni Iraola at Bournemouth, chalking them in for 17th before they notched a record points tally to come 12th.
Owen called Wolves to go down in 18th, which was a popular opinion due to their summer upheaval, but Gary O’Neil did well to guide them to 14th.
Finally, he believed Sheffield United would come 19th,but they actually finished 20th after a disastrous campaign, while he had Luton rock-bottom, but they finished 18th.
Overall, he only got four clubs exactly right, but he was only one or two places out with a further seven sides – not bad going.
