Take two: The pre-season Premier League predictions badly in need of a rethink

The certainty of high summer is in the rear-view mirror and faith in your pre-season predictions is falling faster than the leaves from the trees.

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So, with the Premier League braced for two rounds of fixtures in the next seven days, here are seven hot takes which the ‘experts’ might want to revisit before they are colder than a penny pincher’s boiler.

When United have been bad – that deflating opening-day defeat to Brighton, the 4-0 thrashing at Brentford and a humiliating derby loss at Manchester City – they have been very bad, but those lows have been few and far between.

The real story is United go into this week’s games with Newcastle and Tottenham having won five out of their last six and sitting just a point outside the top four.

Erik ten Hag has successfully integrated new signings – Antony has three goals in three starts, Lisandro Martinez is approaching cult status and Casemiro was borderline imperious at times against Everton – while largely diffusing the psychodramas surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire.

There have been false dawns before but Manchester United, with an unusual sheen of competence and rare lack of drama, are not bad at all.

Pipped for the title by one point last season and runners-up in the Champions League, Liverpool had to settle for ‘only’ winning the FA Cup and League Cup last season.

When they downed Manchester City in the Community Shield it felt significant, but that was a game in whichTrent Alexander-Arnold excelled and Erling Haaland struggled. First impressions can be deceiving.

Liverpool now languish in tenth, the injury sidelining Alexander-Arnold feels like blessed relief for the right-back – and he is far from the only player below his