26 BBC Football Pundits Predict their Top 4 for the 2023/24 Season

The new Premier League season is about to get underway and the full team of BBC football pundits have predicted how they think the top 4 will look come the end of the season.

All of the BBC pundits have had a go at predicting which four teams will qualify for the Champions League including the likes of Micah Richards, Leon Osman, Glenn Murray, Danny Murphy and Chris Sutton.

Unsurprisingly, there is overwhelming support for Manchester City to retain their Premier League title again, with no less than 25 pundits predicting Pep Guardiola’s side will be top of the table next May. Only Ellen WHite made a different prediction, going for Arsenal to go one better than last season’s second place finish.

21 of the BBC pundits expect Arsenal to finish 2nd behind Man City, with Leon Osman and Steve Sidwell going for Manchester United to finish in second spot and Shay Given the only one to put Liverpool in second place.

The two dominant teams expected to finish 3rd are Liverpool and Manchester United but there were two votes for Newcastle, from Pat Nevin and Chris Waddle and a shout for Chelsea by Glenn Murray.

Fourth spot has a couple of shouts for Newcastle and also two for Aston Villa on the BBC pundits table predictor. Both Ellen White and Stephen Warnock are predicting Villa will get into the top four this season and Danny Gabbidon was the only pundit predicting a fourth place finish for Chelsea.

 

BBC Pundits Top 4 Predictions

Predictor	1st	2nd	3rd	4th
Ellen White	Arsenal	Man City	Man Utd	Aston Villa
Stephen Warnock	Man City	Arsenal	Liverpool	Aston Villa
Fara Williams	Man City	Chelsea	Arsenal	Man Utd
Leon Osman	Man City	Man Utd	Arsenal	Liverpool
Steve Sidwell	Man City	Man Utd	Liverpool	Arsenal
Lindsay Johnson	Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	Newcastle
Chris Waddle	Man City	Arsenal	Newcastle	Man Utd
Pat Nevin	Man City	Arsenal	Newcastle	Liverpool
Shay Given	Man City	Liverpool	Arsenal	Newcastle
Glenn Murray	Man City	Arsenal	Chelsea	Man Utd
Danny Gabbidon	Man City	Arsenal	Liverpool	Chelsea
Chris Sutton	Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	Liverpool
Sue Smith	Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	Liverpool
Dion Dublin	Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	Liverpool
Michael Brown	Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	Liverpool
Karen Bardsley	Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	Liverpool
Jermaine Beckford	Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	Liverpool
Matt Upson	Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	Liverpool
Ashley Williams	Man City	Arsenal	Man Utd	Liverpool
Martin Keown	Man City	Arsenal	Liverpool	Man Utd
Micah Richards	Man City	Arsenal	Liverpool	Man Utd
Anita Asante	Man City	Arsenal	Liverpool	Man Utd
Nedum Onuoha	Man City	Arsenal	Liverpool	Man Utd
Danny Murphy	Man City	Arsenal	Liverpool	Man Utd
Clinton Morrison	Man City	Arsenal	Liverpool	Man Utd
Rob Green	Man City	Arsenal	Liverpool	Man Utd

 

Key Quotes from the BBC Pundits

Micah Richards on Man City: Their squad is still better than everyone else’s. They won’t win the Treble again, but they will win the Premier League.

Chris Sutton on Man City: The other top clubs have done some very good work in this transfer window but you can’t look past City for the title. Guardiola evolves something every year – some tweak to his tactics will emerge and another player always seems to step in and become key.

Martin Keown on Arsenal: Of course I really want Arsenal to win the Premier League – as a pundit I am impartial, but as a former Arsenal player I am excited because last season was the first time in many years that we felt we were back in the fight and the team was competitive. It was a hell of a ride for the 248 days we were top of the table, and I don’t expect that form to disappear.

Ellen White on Arsenal: Arsenal were so close last year and they have added to their squad really well. They need Jesus back because I don’t think Havertz is a number nine, but they won’t be short of goals – I am a big fan of Leandro Trossard.

Steve Sidwell on Arsenal: Arsenal were immense last season and the culture and environment Mikel Arteta has created is evident on the pitch. They will fall short of the title again, but still secure another top-four spot.

Danny Murphy on Man Utd: I am a bit worried about United, in a positive way for them but a negative way for everyone else. I really like the business that Erik ten Hag has done.

Chris Waddle on Man Utd: Hojlund is young and unproven, and he has not scored that many goals, but he will set the tempo for the team and let United play on the front foot – if he leads the press, everyone will back him up. But they need to be challenging for the title, not just the top four – and I don’t see that happening this season.

Shay Given on Liverpool: Liverpool are going to make a serious comeback this season. They have freshened it up in midfield of course, but I just think they will be stronger everywhere and hungry to get back to competing at the top of the table.

Leon Osman on Liverpool: They have lost a lot of leadership over the summer and they still haven’t got enough energy in midfield.

Pat Nevin on Chelsea: I’ve got to be absolutely honest, I haven’t got a clue how Chelsea are going to do, and that’s unusual. Sometimes, though, you have to put your hands up and say it is so random that they are just as likely to be top four or top six as they are to be the same as they were last season – in the bottom half, and have a nightmare.

Fara Williams on Chelsea: With Chelsea not in the Champions League, and Mauricio Pochettino bringing the group together, they have a real chance to focus on the Premier League. He has done it before, with Tottenham… and they might surprise a few people.

Chris Waddle on Newcastle: Eddie Howe has done a great job because, when you look at their team on paper compared to the other sides up there, you wouldn’t say Newcastle are a top-four team. I’m expecting more of the same this year, though, which is why I am backing them to make it again. They were terrific at home, they were solid defensively and there was a real buzz about the way they played.

The only problem I see with them is still who is going to get them goals, because they don’t score enough. Callum Wilson is a poacher but he has fitness issues, and Alexander Isak seems to prefer to come and join in the build-up.

Ellen White on Aston Villa: I really liked the way Villa played under Unai Emery last season – it wasn’t just their results which were impressive when they were flying up the table.

Matt Upson on Aston Villa: Emery had an amazing impact but sustaining that form for an entire campaign is very different. Have they got enough quality, in depth, to finish in the top four? I’m not sure about that.

Nedum Onuoha on Tottenham: I’ve gone for Spurs to finish fifth and get the extra Champions League spot for 2024-25 that will go to the two countries with the best record in European club competition this season.

Matt Upson on Tottenham: Spurs are miles off my radar. I’d pick Brighton to finish above them and having a better chance of making the top four. The Seagulls essentially had a top-four season last season but they were robbed of at least four points by VAR – they even got an apology about it – and then the FA Cup semi-final defeat finished them because they lost all momentum and didn’t seem quite the same after that.

Pundits Predictions this Season

See Paul Merson’s score predictions for each Premier League game.

Lawro makes his predictions for this season.

Michael Owen predicts the final Premier League table.

Sky Sports pundit Jones Knows predicts the scores this weekend.

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