Whatever happens in 2024-25, the hearing into 115 charges brought against Manchester City will be a key milestone The Premier League markets itself on its competitiveness. It is, the cliche has it, the league in which on their day anybody can beat anybody. Historically, it has been justifiably proud of the way – far more than equivalent leagues across Europe – it has regulated the distribution of broadcast rights, with the champions getting no more than 1.8 times more than the team finishing bottom. So when this week the high priests of statistics gathered by the great Opta oracle, performed their incantations and asked the supercomputer to predict the unpredictable and give its forecast for the season to come, what was its gnomic response? What cryptic, back-covering prophecies did it offer for the soothsayers to sift in search of meaning? There is an 82% chance that Manchester City will be champions again. Continue reading...

Plus: early-season repeats of major finals, more unlikely objects lobbed on the pitch and the first club websiteMail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU “In last season’s Eredivisie, De Klassieker had an aggregate score of Feyenoord 10-0 Ajax. Have any other derbies had such a lopsided scoreline across both legs of a season?” wonders Jack Hayward. What’s worse: losing 4-0 at home or 6-0 away? Ajax got to wrestle with that question after being routed twice by Feyenoord last season. An aggregate score of 10-0 is pretty emphatic, but we’ve seen worse. Or at least read about worse. Continue reading...

Amid a club overhaul, Arne Slot has made a good early impression as he looks to fine-tune a rich Anfield inheritance Guardian writers’ predicted position: 3rd (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season’s position: 3rd Continue reading...