AI tips Iraola’s Liverpool to hound Arsenal in 26/27 — but Gunners stay top (Simulated)
Right, gather round. The algorithm has had its say, and if you’re a Liverpool fan, you might just fancy next season already. With Arne Slot shown the door after a flat 25/26, Andoni Iraola is primed to walk through the Anfield gates — agreement in principle reached, per Fabrizio Romano — and an AI simulation reckons the Reds will come roaring back. Not quite champions, mind, but serious contenders.
From Slot’s exit to Iraola’s arrival
Liverpool’s decision to bin Slot raised eyebrows, yet the logic is clear: the 25/26 return of fifth place and 60 points simply didn’t wash. Enter Iraola, the ex-Bournemouth boss who turned the Cherries into a high-energy nuisance and then some. He steered them to a superb sixth in 25/26 — Champions League football on the south coast, imagine that — across a 127-game spell that yielded 47 wins (37%). The CV says front-foot, fearless and relentlessly fit.
Why Iraola fits Anfield
This is a coach who lives for the press — organised, aggressive, and designed to win the ball where it hurts. It’s the sort of identity that gets the Kop purring. GrokAI’s read of it? The style clicks quickly, Anfield becomes a fortress again, and a title tilt is firmly on the table. You can see the logic: turbo-charged wide forwards, athletic full-backs, and midfielders who bite and burst. Liverpool’s squad, even after a down year, still has the legs and lungs to play Iraola-ball.
The AI’s table — winners and wobblers
Here’s the punchline from the simulation. Arsenal make it back-to-back titles on 89 points, with Liverpool leaping to 84 — a whopping +24 on last term — and pushing the Gunners all the way. Manchester City, currently between managers after Pep Guardiola’s exit, settle for third on 81. Michael Carrick’s Manchester United (76) and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa (71) round off the top five.
It’s a renaissance season for a few heavyweights, too: Chelsea sixth (68), Newcastle seventh (64), Spurs eighth (61). Brighton ninth (58) keeps the good times rolling, while Bournemouth — Iraola’s old lot — land a respectable 10th on 55. Mid-table safety blankets go to Crystal Palace (52) and Fulham (50), with Leeds (47), Everton (46), Brentford (44) and Nottingham Forest (42) all keeping their heads above water.
The tightrope act? Sunderland cling on in 17th with 39 points. And at the trapdoor, the forecast is brutal for the promoted trio: Coventry (36), Ipswich (34) and Hull (31) all head back down. It’s a harsh league, and the margins are getting meaner by the season.
If you’re already eyeing the outrights and season specials, check the best betting sites before you have a flutter — and remember, this is a simulated table, not gospel. Still, it’s a handy compass for where the winds might blow.
What Liverpool must sharpen
For the Reds to bridge those final five points to Arsenal, the details matter. Iraola will demand tighter pressing triggers, cleaner build-up under pressure and a nastier edge in both boxes. Converting territory into goals — and keeping clean sheets when the game goes chaotic — will decide if this is a plucky pursuit or a full-throttle title charge. Recruitment that matches his intensity will help; so will turning Anfield into a weekly ordeal for visitors.
Verdict
As debuts go, this is a tasty platform for Iraola: second place, 84 points, and a sense that Liverpool are back to being Liverpool — breathless, belligerent, and difficult to live with. Arsenal, says the AI, still have the edge. But give Iraola a pre-season, a couple of smart additions, and the Kop’s tailwind, and you wouldn’t rule out a red ribbon on that trophy sooner rather than later. Simulated? Yes. Far-fetched? Not one bit.
