Every football fan loves to make predictions at the start of the season.

However, for pundits, making predictions can be an extremely foolish thing to do.

If they get a prediction right, hardly anyone will raise an eyebrow. If you get it horribly wrong, it can be brought up on the internet and social media throughout the summer months.

Therefore, it can be an extremely dangerous idea to make an outlandish guess ahead of a new season.

But that didn’t stop Paul Merson from predicting the final Premier League table when he was asked by Sky Sports in August.

Now, Merson is usually ridiculed by his predictions that usually end up being very wrong.

For example, when Hull City appointed Marco Silva, Merson went on a rant about how they were doomed because the Portuguese boss had no Premier League experience.

They were bottom of the table at the time and now sit outside the relegation zone under Silva’s guidance.

However, to be fair to Merson, his 1-20 prediction before a ball was even kicked wasn’t too bad. Ok, he got a few things wrong but he called a few things correctly.

Merson's Premier League prediction

Here is what Merson prediction - with the team’s current position in brackets.

1. Chelsea (1)
2. Manchester City (4)
3. Manchester United (5)
4. Arsenal (6)
5. Liverpool (3)
6. Tottenham (2)
7. West Ham (14)
8. Everton (7)
9. Southampton (9)
10. Stoke (13)
11. Leicester (11)
12. Crystal Palace (16)
13. Middlesbrough (19)
14. Sunderland (20)
15. Swansea (18)
16. Watford (10)
17. West Brom (8)
18. Bournemouth (15)
19. Hull (17)
20. Burnley (12)

Champions

So, Merson predicted Chelsea to be champions which, you have to say, was a pretty good shout considering the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United were strongly fancied.

"I'm going for Chelsea (1) to be champions on the strength of the manager, Antonio Conte, and Eden Hazard," he wrote at the time.

"The Belgium international had a terrible campaign last season, but could still be the best player in the league. If he gets going again then the Blues could sneak their way to the top."

Top four fight

In terms of the fight for the top four, Merson predicted it would be Liverpool and Tottenham missing out on Champions League qualification. Right now, it looks as though Jurgen Klopp’s and Mauricio Pochettino’s sides could prove Merson wrong - although he refused to rule them out in August.

"It wouldn't surprise me if Liverpool (5) finish in the top four and Tottenham (6) won't be far off either because they already have a team while everybody else has had to buy a team,” he said.

Leicester's troubles

He also predicted that Leicester would struggle to defend their Premier League title and, as he guessed, are 11th.

I think Leicester (11) will be in for a hard season, but they'll definitely be in the middle of the table. I certainly wouldn't expect a relegation battle at all, but with Champions League football each week it will be hard for them to finish high up," he said.

Burnley's prediction

However, one team’s fortunes that Merson wasn’t able to call correctly was Burnley. The Clarets are currently sitting pretty in 12th with a formidable home record but the Sky Sports pundit said they would finish rock-bottom.

This is what he said: “I like Burnley (20), but they haven't invested enough and I'm interested to see if Andre Gray can step up from the Championship to the Premier League.

"We've seen centre-forwards struggle to step up in the past and it'll be interesting to see what they can do. They will have to work hard every week to get a result and that could take its toll. It will be tight at the bottom, though, and I don't see anyone getting cut adrift.”

Overall, not bad, Merse. Not bad.