Liverpool's hope of retaining their Premier League title are dead in buried.

In a bitterly disappointing season for the kings of England, Jurgen Klopp has been helpless to watch his side come apart at the seams as a series of injuries have wormed their way through the squad.

With the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Diogo Jota all spending time on the treatment table, the Reds have been unable to scramble their way out of trouble.

Liverpool's 2020/21 woes

Truth be told, Liverpool did admirably well to maintain their position in the title race for as long as they did, but I think it's pretty clear now that Manchester City's name is on the trophy.

Having gone a remarkable 1,300 days without losing a league game at Anfield, Liverpool have lost their last five on the bounce and now find themselves 22 points behind Pep Guardiola's troops.

As such, attention in Merseyside is now turning to the race for the top four because it would be unthinkable for such a talented Liverpool side to lose their place in the Champions League.

Where will Liverpool finish?

But with the Premier League looking more competitive than ever when it comes to places behind City, Liverpool could be in for the fight of their lives if they're going to make it over the line.

Whether or not Klopp will be singing that famous Champions League anthem in 2021/22 remains to be seen, but that doesn't mean there aren't methods through which we can get ahead of the game.

I'm sure you're all familiar with the 'supercomputers' that have predicted the Premier League table in the past, right? Well, now it's time for artificial intelligence to have a stab at England's top-flight.

AI predicts Premier League table

That's because the Premier League's chief statisticians, Opta, revealed on Friday that the AI team at Stats Perform had predicted exactly how the 2021/22 table will look after the 38th round of fixtures.

And, erm, it doesn't make for particularly good reading if you're a Liverpool fan, so be sure to check out how the gridlocked battle for Champions League football will pan out in the eyes of AI down below:

20. West Bromwich Albion - 25 points

19. Sheffield United - 25 points

18. Fulham - 31 points

17. Brighton & Hove Albion - 38 points

16. Newcastle United - 39 points

15. Burnley - 41 points

14. Southampton - 44 points

13. Crystal Palace - 45 points

12. Wolverhampton Wanderers - 50 points

11. Leeds United - 51 points

10. Aston Villa - 55 points

9. Arsenal - 58 points

8. West Ham United - 61 points

7. Everton - 61 points

6. Tottenham Hotspur - 64 points

5. Liverpool - 66 points

4. Chelsea - 67 points

3. Leicester City - 67 points

2. Manchester United - 70 points

1. Manchester City - 91 points

Fifth place for Liverpool

Ah yes, the three certainties in life: death taxes and City winning the Premier League this season.

Other than that absolute given, there's no shortage of drama in the upper echelons of the Premier League with third place all the way down to ninth poised to be separated by less than ten points.

So, sure, things are most certainly looking poor for Liverpool and their hopes of qualifying for Europe's premier competition, but make no mistake that they'll run their competitions very close. 

And besides, with even underdogs such as West Ham and Everton scrambling around for a crack at the continental whip, it's hard to imagine even the world's best AI being unable to unpick this tangle.

Either way, though, there is one thing we know for certain and it's the fact Liverpool will have to do much better than five consecutive Anfield defeats if they want the sweet taste of the top four.