Revisiting BBC pundits' pre-season predictions: Arsenal no higher than 4th, Man Utd out of top four...

Every one of the BBC pundits predicted Man City and Liverpool would finish in the top two this season, very few predicted Manchester United would finish in the top four, and none expected Arsenal to finish higher than fourth.

Reigning champions Manchester City have lived up to expectations as title contenders, but Liverpool have been the most disappointing when comparing their actual performance in 2022-23 so far to what was predicted d them in pre-season.

Jurgen Klopp's Reds narrowly missed out on a historic quadruple last season. They started the new season in promising fashion, beating City in the Community Shield, but endured a hugely disappointing campaign.

Liverpool have been absent from all three cup competitions and have not been in the title picture since the first weeks of the season. They had their moments - beating Manchester United 7-0 for one - but struggled to build consistent form. With the break-in approaching, a top-four finish and with it qualification for next season's Champions League seems difficult.

Dion Dublin, Glenn Murray, Jermaine Beckford, Matthew Upson, Jermaine Jenas, Fara Williams and former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock backed Klopp's men to win the title.

Chelsea have had an equally unsatisfying campaign. They weren't expected to challenge for the title, but just over half (11 out of 20) of BBC pundits expected them to retain their Champions League spot with a third of fourth place.

Graham Potter has struggled to turn the Blues' season around after his predecessor Thomas Tuchel's poor start. They've picked up a bit of form in recent weeks, but closing the gap to the top four looks like an increasingly difficult task - they still have 11 games to play and need to close an 11-point gap on Tottenham. p >

Rob Green, Micah Richards, Rachel Brown-Finnis, Martin Keown, Sue Smith, Glenn Murray, Jermaine Beckford, Matthew Upson and Stephen Warnock have all rightly predicted that Chelsea will struggle this season, leaving them out of their four best predictions.< /p>

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season has been Arsenal's remarkable form. Micah Richards, Rachel Brown-Finnis, Sue Smith, Glenn Murray, Jermaine Beckford, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock and former Gunners mainstay Martin Keown have backed Mikel Arteta to lead them to Champions League qualification, but none have didn't predict they would finish higher than fourth.

It seems – surely – that Arsenal will not finish below second place. A top-four finish looks sealed at the very least and they are the current bookmakers' favorites for the title, having opened up an eight-point lead over Man City (albeit with one game more played). They are just 10 games away from making history.

Meanwhile, only Dion Dublin has omitted Tottenham from his first four predictions. It remains to be seen whether Antonio Conte will lead the north London club into the Champions League again – they are currently fourth, but their form has been uneven and Conte looks all but certain to quit his job at some point in the coming weeks.

Dublin expected Manchester United to succeed at the expense of Spurs, while ex-City defender Nedum Onuoha and Rob Green were the only other pundits to say Erik ten Hag's Red Devils would finish in the top four - Green was the only one to put them in third, which might just be in the money as far as the final standings go.

Manchester United have suffered a wobble lately and still have some work to do to seal their place in the top four, but Ten Hag have changed their fortunes. Barring a late-season slump, they look very likely to defy pundits' pre-season expectations and finish third or fourth.

Meanwhile, surprise packages Brighton and Newcastle remain in contention for a top four spot, but none of the BBC's pundits have craned their necks to predict they'll make it. We can't fault them for fairness - few could have predicted that the Seagulls and Magpies would challenge Liverpool and Spurs for Champions League qualification in August.

Here are the top four pre-season predictions from BBC pundits revisited:

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