Michael Owen has shared his forecast for the Premier League’s top four this season and believes Liverpool will successfully defend their crown.
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Last season, Liverpool matched the all-time record by winning their 20th league title, finishing a comfortable 10 points ahead of Arsenal in Arne Slot’s debut campaign at the helm. ..Continue Reading
It marked the third consecutive year that Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal ended the season in second place, while Manchester City — the dominant team of the past decade — settled for third.
Chelsea sealed fourth place with a final-day victory over Nottingham Forest, earning a spot in next season’s Champions League, while Newcastle United also booked their place in Europe’s elite tournament, edging out Aston Villa and Forest.
Though Owen typically avoids making title picks before the transfer window closes, he’s seen enough from Liverpool over the past year to confidently back his former side to win it again.
‘Sometimes at this stage of the year you think you’d like to see the transfer window play out before making a title prediction,’ he told Metro via AskGamblers. ‘There’s still a lot of business to be done but I don’t really feel like that at the moment.
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‘I think Liverpool are far and away the team with the best chance of winning it. I think they’ve got like a 70% chance of winning it, I really fancy them.
‘They were ten points clear last season and they took their foot off the gas. It could’ve been 20. Even if it ended up being 15, that’s a massive gap.
‘And they’ve signed some incredible players over the last month or so. I just think they were the best, and they’ve strengthened from a position of strength. I think they’re going to win it again.’
Owen expects ‘serious team’ Arsenal to finish second for the fourth consecutive year and says it would be ‘foolish’ to think Arteta is under pressure.
The Gunners struggled with injuries in the second-half of last campaign and have spent over £200m so far this summer on the likes of Viktor Gyokeres, Zubimendi and Noni Madueke.
Michael Owen’s Premier League top-four prediction
Liverpool
Arsenal
Chelsea
Manchester City
‘Looking down the pecking order, I like Arsenal,’ Owen said. ‘I think it’s foolish for fans to think the manager is under pressure just because they’ve come second three years in a row.
‘Arsenal have shown consistency. They’ve consistently been good and had reasons to believe they were unlucky not to get more points.
‘I mean, Bukayo Saka was injured for a large part of last season, Kai Havertz was too. They’re probably their two main attacking players. Other key players were out as well.
‘So, I think they had a lot of injuries to attacking players that you would say were harsh, and now they’ve gone and bought a proven goalscorer.
‘It’s not a guarantee he’ll succeed, but there are reasons to believe Arsenal can do better than last season. They’re already doing well; they got to the semi-finals of the Champions League. They’re a serious team.
‘People talk about Arteta, if he has a bad start to the season, because they’ve got a tough start to the season looking at their fixtures, but even if they had a tricky start to the season, you would be absolutely mad to think he’s not the right man.
‘He’s knocking on the door, and the door’s going to bang open soon. Whether it’s this season or not remains to be seen.’
While Owen is excited about ‘very good’ Chelsea, he is less optimistic about Guardiola’s Manchester City, having recently downplayed their chances of winning the Premier League.
‘Then we go further down and you’re looking at Manchester City and Chelsea,’ the 45-year-old added. ‘Chelsea are getting better.
‘The thing I find ironic about Chelsea is if they had lost to Nottingham Forest [on the final day of the season] and missed out on Champions League, everyone would be saying it’s the worst season in the world, and the manager would’ve been under pressure.
‘All of a sudden they qualify and they then win the Conference League, which they could have done with their eyes closed, and then win the Club World Cup.
‘Now everyone’s falling in love with Chelsea and thinks they’re great. They are a very good team, and they are getting better. They’re a very young team.
‘But it just makes you laugh, doesn’t it? One game last season, if he had lost against Nottingham Forest, would Enzo Maresca still be in a job?
‘And now all of a sudden, in the blink of an eye, he’s qualified for the Champions League, and he’s won two trophies and now the whole picture is different.
‘But they are good, and they are improving, and they have got a chance. I definitely think they’ll get into the top four. My top four would be Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City, in that order.’
