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Former Premier League forward Theo Walcott has made his top-six prediction involving Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool. The former Gunners attacker also made his predictions regarding the relegation battle and the bottom three.
The Premier League 2024-25 season has kicked off with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool all winning their opening games. Reigning Premier League champions Manchester City will start their title defense with an away tie against Chelsea on Sunday, August 18.
On being asked by Mail Sport about his predictions for the season, Walcott tipped his former club Arsenal to win the Premier League title. The former Southampton and Everton star predicted Manchester City and Liverpool to finish second and third, respectively.
Walcott backed Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Newcastle United to finish fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively. The 35-year-old predicted Brentford, Nottingham Forest and Ipswich Town to finish in the bottom three.
Manchester City are the reigning champions having won the league title successively in the last four seasons. Arsenal finished second in the last two seasons while Liverpool finished third last time out. Brentford and Nottingham Forest finished 16th and 17th last season, respectively, while Ipswich Town are newly promoted to the top tier.
Premier League side set to face point deductions twice this season: Reports
As reported by journalist Matt Hughes, Leicester City are set to face two separate point deductions this season. The Foxes have reportedly failed to abide by the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR).
Leicester City have won promotion back to the Premier League by winning the Championship in the 2023-24 season. They suffered relegation from the Premier League in 2022-23, ending their nine-year stay in the top tier of English football.
As per PSR, a club is allowed to suffer a loss of a maximum of £105 million over three seasons. Breaching the rules would result in point deductions and the Foxes are poised to be imposed on.
Leicester City have a huge wage bill which is the seventh-highest in the league while the club have suffered major losses. They suffered a loss of £92.5 million in 2021-22 and £89.2 million in 2022-23 while their wages-to-turnover ratio is also high at 116%.
Everton and Nottingham Forest, who faced points deductions last season, had ratios of 92% and 94%, respectively. Leicester City could still secure survival if they can turn in a profit of £12 million this season.
