Twenty-one of 33 BBC TV and radio pundits backed Liverpool to win the Premier League title last summer. None of them got more than two clubs right in their top-four predictions. As Premier League seasons go, it was a humbling exercise for everyone involved — human and machine alike.

The pundits who came closest

Six pundits correctly identified Arsenal as champions: Martin Keown, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Sue Smith, Leon Osman, Jermaine Beckford, and Matthew Upson. Of that group, Upson stood alone in picking the top two — Arsenal and Manchester City — in the exact order they finished. Every pundit did at least have Arsenal and Manchester City somewhere in their top four.

A handful of pundits earned honourable mentions for other calls. Wayne Rooney and Danny Murphy both flagged Manchester United as a team to watch, while Steph Houghton argued Aston Villa were the side most likely to break into the top four. Chris Waddle went furthest of all, tipping Chelsea to win the title outright.

Upson's record was not without blemish, however. He also predicted Tottenham Hotspur would finish at the top of the chasing pack — a call that did not materialise.

Where the collective wisdom landed

Thousands of readers made their own predictions on the BBC website in August, and the collective verdict mirrored the pundits: Liverpool to win the title, with Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea rounding out the top four. The overall pundit ranking — compiled from all 35 predictions using a points-based system — placed Liverpool first on 121 points, Arsenal second on 90, Manchester City third on 83, and Chelsea fourth on 46.

It is worth noting that Liverpool went into the final day still mathematically capable of finishing fourth. The picture was complicated further when it was confirmed in April that the fifth-placed team would also earn a UEFA Champions League berth — meaning several pundits who tipped Arne Slot's side to qualify were not entirely wrong, just off on the finishing position.

The supercomputer and AI fared no better

Opta's algorithm — which simulates each season 10,000 times using betting market odds and its own Power Rankings — gave Liverpool a 28.5 percent chance of retaining their title before a ball was kicked. It also projected Manchester United to finish 12th. On the brighter side, it did correctly forecast Aston Villa in fifth place.

Microsoft Copilot, when asked to predict the 2025-26 Premier League table, crowned Manchester City as champions. It did not.

Sutton loses the predictions battle to a chatbot

Chris Sutton made game-by-game predictions for all 380 Premier League fixtures for BBC Sport this season, competing against artificial intelligence, BBC readers, and various celebrity guests. Going into the final round, Sutton and Microsoft's Copilot chatbot were level on outright wins — the decisive metric — but Sutton sat second because he had accumulated fewer tied victories. He needed an outright win on the last day and did not get one.

BBC readers claimed the final weekly prize with three correct results and two exact scores — Arsenal's 2-1 win at Crystal Palace and Burnley's 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers — totalling 90 points. Sutton managed two correct results and no exact scores for 20 points. His guest, singer-songwriter Sam Tomkins, bettered him with three correct results and no exact scores for 30 points. AI finished the final round on 40 points — four correct results, no exact scores — and celebrated its overall season triumph.