Man Utd & Chelsea to miss top four? Alan Shearer predicts the entire Premier League table as he makes 'no doubt' claim about Erik ten Hag's new-look side

Premier League champions Manchester City are looking to retain their title as the new season gets underway, but the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool are eager to unseat Pep Guardiola's team from their throne.

After narrowly missing out on each of the last two campaigns, Shearer believes that the Gunners will prevail this time and take the crown for the first time since 2004, while the Magpies legend expects Manchester United to fare much better than the eighth-placed finish accomplished last term.

"Like all managers, [Erik] ten Hag will be under pressure," Shearer said to Betfair. "It wasn't a nice situation for him to be in, in terms of everyone knowing that the bosses at Man United had spoken to other managers and put it out in the public, so he wasn't put in a nice position last season but that's been forgotten. They have said that he's their man to take them forward and they wanted a bit of stability.

"It's a big season for him and Man United because they're going to have to improve massively in terms of the league campaign, they did win a trophy, like they did the previous year but in terms of the league position they are going to have to improve. I was reasonably impressed with them in the Community Shield and with the additions that it looks like they're going to make in the coming days, there's no doubt they'll improve."

While Shearer expects much better of United this time, he does not expect Chelsea to enjoy a productive 2024-25 campaign. They finished sixth in the top-flight last time around, but Shearer sees them falling further down the rankings and ending up ninth, saying: "They're not ready yet."

The new Premier League campaign will kick off on Friday when United meet Fulham at Old Trafford. Shearer's chosen winners Arsenal start their season with a home game against Wolves on Saturday and defending champions City will meet Chelsea on Sunday.