MANCHESTER UNITED will be pipped to fourth place and a Champions League spot next season by Arsenal, a supercomputer has predicted.
The Red Devils – along with high-fliers West Ham – are currently battling the Gunners for the coveted fourth-place spot.
Mikel Arteta’s troops currently have three games in hand on United, which a Betting Expert’s supercomputer has calculated the north Londoners will win to overtake Ralf Rangnick’s men.
Should Arsenal leapfrog United into fourth place, they will end their five-season exile from the top four.
To make matters worse for United, the computer has predicted their local rivals Manchester City will retain the Premier League trophy.
A fifth-place finish would be catastrophic for the Red Devils, who are hoping to attract a big-name manager to Old Trafford this summer to replace the axed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
United’s fellow Champions League hopefuls Tottenham and West Ham, meanwhile, are expected to finish in sixth and seventh place, respectively.
The supercomputer’s predictions make for grim reading for relegation battlers, Burnley, Watford and Norwich.
It’s been predicted the struggling trio will all fail in their respective bids to beat the drop, with them finishing in 18th, 19th and 20th place.
The algorithm has predicted newly-rich Newcastle United – who are currently four points above the drop zone – will finish in 15th place.
Toon fans will be hoping that prediction comes true so the Saudi-backed Eddie Howe can splash the cash on some marquee signings in the summer.
The Premier League resumes service on Wednesday, with Leeds’ visit to Anfield to face Liverpool being the pick of the three matches.
Top-four-chasing Arsenal, meanwhile, will welcome Wolves to the Emirates the following evening.
And managerless United will play host to Watford the following afternoon in one of the day’s six scheduled matches.
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