The Alternative Premier League Table: No 38 – Revisiting the pre-season predictions

Welcome to the final edition of The Alternative Premier League Table in 2025-26, where each week, The Athletic has analysed the entire division through a specific lens.This edition will compare Opta’s projected points table from before the season and our pre-season predictions to the actual table.Key takeaways include: After their summer spending spree, Liverpool were viewed as favourites to repeat, but they are well off the pace. Instead Arsenal finally finished first, something predicted by nine of our writers. Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur were both expected to finish in the bottom half by Opta’s model, while our writers thought they would end up eighth and sixth respectively. They have bucked that in different ways, with United securing third place and Spurs down in 17th, with relegation still possible. Opta’s model put Brentford in 10th, while our writers expected them to finish 16th, with 13 picking them to be relegated. They are in the fight for European qualification on the final day. Opta predicted Sunderland to finish last, and our writers had them 18th, with 19 writers picking them to be relegated. They currently look set for a top-half finish. .dw-dark { display: none; } .native-mobile { .dw-dark { display: none; @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) { display: block; } } .dw-light { @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) { display: none; } } }