Look away Manchester United fans, your worst-ever season in Premier League history is not going to get much better.
The Red Devils’ disastrous campaign took another downward spiral on Sunday with a 1-0 defeat at beleaguered Tottenham.
James Maddison’s early first-half tap-in proved the difference between two poor sides to alleviate the pressure slightly on Spurs and increase it on their beaten opponents.
The result sees United languish in 15th in the table on 29 points after 25 games – a whopping 31 points behind bitter rivals and league leaders Liverpool.
It’s fair to say Ruben Amorim’s side may have to look over their shoulders too, with the 13-time Premier League winners only 12 points above the relegation zone.
Opta’s AI supercomputer has predicted how the rest of the 2024-25 term will play out and it is not for pleasant reading for the Old Trafford outfit.
Manchester United’s season took another turn for the worse with a 1-0 defeat at Tottenham
James Maddison had plenty of time to put away a rebound for Tottenham’s winner on Sunday
Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim was left scratching his head at another disappointing display
By their calculations, United’s best finish this season will be 14th – with the supercomputer giving them a 19 per cent likelihood of that happening.
As aforementioned they currently sit 15th and they have a 17.9 per cent chance to remain there come the conclusion of this campaign on May 25.
Their third-likeliest position is a 13th-placed finish which garners a 17.3 percentage. Finishing 12th (13.2 per cent) and 16th (12.1 per cent) round out their top-five predicted positions.
It should come as no surprise that they have a zero per cent chance of winning the title or finishing in the top five, which is likely to secure Champions League qualification for next term.
They have 0.1 per cent chance to qualify for the Europa League with a sixth-placed finish and 0.2 per cent in seventh, which typically seals a Europa Conference League berth.
A top-10 finish has a low percentile too at just 5.5 per cent.
If there is ‘some’ small crumb of comfort for supporters though, they have just a 0.1 per cent chance of being relegated and that’s with an 18th-place finish.
Of the teams below them, Southampton have a 93 per centile to finish bottom, Leicester City are at 48.7 per cent to finish 19th and Ipswich Town are 44.9 per cent to be 18th.
Alejandro Garnacho and his United team-mates are best-predicted to finish 14th this season
United currently sit 15th and they have a 17.9 per cent chance to remain there this campaign
How the Opta AI supercomputer predicted every team’s most probable finish this season
Liverpool are expected to win the Premier League title with an 85.8 per cent chance of doing so
The one prediction that will hurt the Old Trafford supporters though is that the supercomputer predicts Liverpool have a 85.8 per cent likelihood to win the Premier League – and equal their record of 20 English top-flight titles.
Arsenal are expected to finish as runners-up for a third-straight season with the supercomputer giving them a 80.8 per cent chance of coming second. They have a 14.1 per cent chance of taking the title from Liverpool.
Only one other team have any chance of winning the title and that’s Manchester City. The holders have just a 0.1 per cent chance to make it five times in a row though. Pep Guardiola’s side are predicted to finish third though – where they have a 53.2 percentile to do so.
Nottingham Forest who have been excellent this season can expect Champions League football in 2025-26 with the club backed to finish fourth at 22.9 per cent.
Rounding out the top five is Chelsea with a 21.6 percentile – just 0.2 per cent higher than Bournemouth.
The Cherries are the favourites to finish sixth at 20.6 per cent, with Newcastle set for a seventh-place position at 22.5 per cent.
