Rio Ferdinand made poor Liverpool prediction after immediately changing his mind
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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand's preseason predictions for the Premier League table have not turned out how he would have hoped, including a major Liverpool blunderMany of Rio Ferdinand's preseason Premier League predictions have backfired(Image: Photo by Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)Rio Ferdinand won’t be in a rush to revisit his preseason predictions for the Premier League table.Ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, the Manchester United legend shared a video using a filter that randomly selected Premier League teams, challenging him to predict where each would finish by season’s end. After working through all 20 sides, Ferdinand admitted he wasn’t entirely convinced by some of his picks and second-guessed himself even after finalizing the table.Now, with over three-quarters of the season played, those doubts look warranted, and it’s fair to say his predictions haven’t aged particularly well.
Perhaps his biggest misstep was backing Liverpool to retain the Premier League title in its second season under Arne Slot, a prediction that Ferdinand called "unfortunate" given his Manchester United ties.READ MORE: Mohamed Salah has already hinted at new career after leaving LiverpoolREAD MORE: Rio Ferdinand names only two players better than Mohamed Salah in Liverpool historySeven months later, that call looks well off the mark. Slot’s side currently sit fifth, 21 points off leaders Arsenal with seven matches to play.It’s fair to say that, given Liverpool’s lofty expectations coming into the year, the 2025-26 campaign has been deeply underwhelming, and could still get worse if the Reds fail to qualify for the Champions League.Liverpool’s struggles this season may have played a role in Mohamed Salah’s decision to leave at the end of the campaign, a stunning development few supporters saw coming given the Egyptian’s contract was set to run through to 2027.Liverpool has regressed in year two under Arne Slot(Image: Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)Despite Ferdinand’s footballing pedigree, which includes six Premier League winners medals, a Champions League title, two League Cups, 504 Premier League appearances, and 81 England caps, his foresight certainly let him down in this instance.In his defense, many fans and pundits expected Liverpool to build on the previous season’s momentum and bulldoze its way to another title.
As is so often the case with sports predictions, expectations have not matched reality.Ferdinand can at least hang his hat on correctly predicting Arsenal and Manchester City to be near the top of the table, although he won’t want to look back at many of his other picks.READ MORE: Jamie Carragher not interested in being part of Anfield sendoff for Mohamed SalahREAD MORE: Every word Mohamed Salah said on Liverpool teammates and fans in emotional exit messageAmong his other gaffes included picking Tottenham to finish fifth, although after completing the table, he declared they were “too high,” Aston Villa in 14th, which he quickly admitted was a mistake, Brentford in 17th, and both West Ham and Nottingham Forest in the top half of the table.He declared Manchester United, who were coming off a 15th-place finish the previous year, would improve under then-manager Ruben Amorim and come seventh.Ferdinand also stuck with the recurring theme of all three promoted sides – Leeds United, Burnley, and Sunderland – going back down, a prediction that may only become one-third true as Leeds and Sunderland currently sit clear of the drop zone.