Football is not an exact science that is why we love the game, but increasingly statistics are being used in the game, now a leading sports technology and data company have given their prediction of what the final Premier League table will look like come May.

stats.com have fed various data into their computer using a complex aglorithm to determine 'expected points' and here is their predictions.

It's good news for Saints fans in that stats.com predict that we will have a top 10 finish, however they think that we will drop a place from last season and finish in 8th with 54 points.

Although this would be lower than last season both in terms of placing and points gained, I would suggest that this would be an acceptable place in the final table and that it would still be a step forward in that it would be a 3rd consecutive top 10 finish for the club and would cement our standing in the Premier League as a well established club with the foundations to challenge the top 6 on a regular basis, growing as a club is not just about finishing higher every season, those that have those ambitions do need to consider a reality check and just how much more money etc the six clubs that finished above us have at their disposal.

Finishing in the top six is only going to get harder from now on, next season Liverpool will have increased their capacity and West Ham will be moving to the Olympic Stadium a move that will increase their potential revenue streams, not to mention Spurs new stadium in a few years.

So if this table is right it does represent a good season for Saints although it would be nice to be a little higher.

But the opportunity for a higher placing is there, the computer says we will be scrapping with Palace & West Ham for that 8th spot and also Everton who they predict will be 7th on 57 points just pipping us.

The computer does feel though that neither us or Everton will mount a challenge for higher than 7th, Spurs in 6th on 64 points and Liverpool in 5th on 65 according to their predictions could be just out of reach.

But computer predictions of results are far from accurate, will Liverpool revive their fortunes so well in the remainder of the season , that is far from certain, so I think that Saints have as good a chance as last season of a top 6 finish, however with Everton's revival back into the top 10 it will be harder than last term in that there are more clubs battling.

So I do think its a fair prediction albeit a obvious one, I think that if I had sat down with a pen and paper I would not have been too far out from what the computer predicted.

At the top of the table Man City win it on 80 points only 2 ahead of Arsenal and 5 ahead of United.

In fourth place we have Chelsea on 72 points, now this is the one I would dispute, it is saying Chelsea will gain 64 points from their final 30 matches, thats an average of 2.13 points per game (2.13 x38 =81), what that is saying is that Chelsea will gain more points than any other team in the remainder of the season, that their revival starts now and miraculously they will now be the best team in the Premier League for the final 30 games, I think they have too many problems for that.

At the bottom its bad news for AFC Bournemouth fans, they will be relegated in 18th with 36 points, below them will be Aston Villa on 34 and Sunderland on 32 and above them Watford in 17th on 37 with Norwich and Newcastle on 38.

It looks like being an interesting scrap down at the bottom.

Photo: Action Images

davenbennett added 11:21 - Oct 7 My psychic guide, Mystic Smeg told me pre-season that we would get 65 points. I always consult the oracle BEFORE the end of season sales and so did not take into account Clyne, Toby and Spider going, or anybody coming in. By this stage we would have 15. So, 12 is not that far off. Next 3: Leics home win; Liverpool away draw and B Mouth home win. So, pre-season the prediction after that round of games was 22 points.

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Chesham_Saint added 12:06 - Oct 7 With the massive increase in Sky money how much of an impact is say 10-15,000 (at low prices) going to make to West Ham's turnover?
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bstokesaint added 12:49 - Oct 7 Interesting article. It would be nice to see the final predicted table standings. I am going to go on record and fairly confidently say Southampton will get more points than last year. I think now we seem to have effectively replaced Toby and that Bertrand is back, with the attacking improvement we now have compared to last season we are a better team. Historically we have fallen down in the final third of the season. If we don't do that this year and push on with our bigger squad then there is no reason we can't do better. Whilst I wouldn't be gutted with 8th (particularly if we had success in a cup), I don't see why we should settle below Spurs and Liverpool again. Elsehwere I don't think Bournemouth will be relegated in their first season and that West Ham and Crystal Palace will fall away as the season goes on. Chelsea will not finish 4th or above after the start they've had.

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legod7 added 12:49 - Oct 7 We need to keep hold of ALL our players in January to make certain of at least a top ten finish.
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SaintBrock added 13:01 - Oct 7 Based on what we have seen lately and barring key injuries I really believe we have a chance of making the top 4, we just have to keep the intensity going and move the ball to feet quickly and accurately as we did at the Bridge on Sunday. We are becoming real class mark my words!
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bstokesaint added 13:11 - Oct 7 That's true Lego. Would be nice to think Ronald has said to Mane and Wanyama, let's give it to the end of the season and see where we are. They're in a no lose situation because if we don't get the finish of a club that they want to be at, then they'll still get an opportunity to move in the summer. Plus the club will get a healthy return and time to source replacements.

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SaintNick added 13:32 - Oct 7 10,000 added to Spurs and West Hams gates on average would add anywhere between £5 -10 million in gate receipts assuming 19 league games and cup games etc, thats better than nothing (working on average £25 per ticket x 10,000 x 19 -= £4.75m) But the peripheral income would perhaps double that including extra corporate area, increased merchandising and foor drink etc, plus being able to get higher advertising rates as reaching a bigger audience. Take a look at Arsenal's match day income compared to Spurs and they make over £1 million per game more than the north london yobbos

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schatfield added 13:34 - Oct 7 computer says no
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Bettwsresident added 14:09 - Oct 7 Saintbrock. My feelings exactly, but I have always been a 'ludicrous optomist'! I have a feeling we will do better away from home this season given the pace in the side and improved ability to move the ball and should do better in the last 8 games given the better squad. We really should have beaten Man U...that game could come back to haunt us. We have a good spine this year and the flanks are looking exciting. I am nervous of how much the loss of Forster will cost us though, and injuries to Pelle, Mane, VVD or Jose would be problematic.

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Whatsforpud added 20:23 - Oct 7 I would think nowadays that the gate money is secondary to TV money. Sunderland average 40,000, but their gate money hasn't had much effect lately. Spending big does not necessarily guarantee success. Teamwork and good management can.
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BUCK added 21:49 - Oct 7 Don't be surprised if we finish 6th. We play like we did against Chelsea and the skies the limit
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saintsnutcase added 10:19 - Oct 8 I agree with Nick that it is going to get harder in future as other teams expand their stadium capacities and commercial revenue. Also, West Ham are paying almost no rent for a new ground. However, I do think we can finish in the top 6 or 7 this year. We have a very good squad at the moment with many players that can play at that level.
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Jesus_02 added 11:00 - Oct 8 An incredibly deflating artical TBH Lets not get to big for our boots eh Nick. As Koeman said - we will be selling Mane soon - (maybe to Man U in January) And with West Ham being mentioned in the same sentence as Liverpool now maybe it will be them to who we start supplying our better players (Wanyama will need to go somewhere and Spurs don't have the money). All this talk of Europe is nonsense, and Cortese is an ass for even mentioning it.

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