Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster believes Liverpool will finish behind Manchester City and Chelsea in the Premier League this season.
Foster's prediction is surprising considering Liverpool's tremendous form last term. Jurgen Klopp's side won the FA Cup and EFL Cup - beating Chelsea on penalties in both Wembley finals - and lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Paris.
The Reds also finishing just a point behind champions City in the Premier League. They amassed 92 points - 18 more than Chelsea - and were only denied the title after Pep Guardiola's side recovered from two goals down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 on the final day.
Despite this, Foster believes Liverpool will struggle following the departure of Sadio Mane. The Senegal international, who was named African Footballer of the Year on Thursday evening, completed a move to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich earlier this summer.
Mane played an integral part in Liverpool's recent success, scoring 120 goals in six seasons under Klopp. The Reds have replaced Mane by signing prolific forward Darwin Nunez, who scored four goals in their 5-0 win against RB Leipzig on Thursday, from Benfica.
Yet Foster isn't convinced. "I just thought the season before they'd give their all and I thought they'd die off last season - they didn't die off last season they were up there all the way, live and kicking till the very last game of the season," he told his YouTube channel.
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"I think it's understandable I put them fourth last season, this season I'm going to go for third. I think there's going to be two better teams than Liverpool this year. I think losing Sadio Mane, I think they're in a little bit of a transition period, I can't see them trying to be up there and about winning the Premier League - I just can't. I still think they'll do decent."
Foster believes Man City will be champions with Tottenham finishing fourth again. If that prediction comes true, Man Utd supporters will be disappointed. The Red Devils finished sixth in last term and Foster is expecting them to repeat the trick with Arsenal in fifth.
At the bottom end of the table, Foster reckons Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest will make an immediate return to the Championship, while Southampton will join them. The Saints finished just five points above the drop zone last season.
Frank Lampard's Everton are among the favourites for relegation after making only one major signing so far - free agent James Tarkowski. The Toffees finished just four points above the bottom three last time out, yet Foster is confident they'll stay up.
"I guarantee this is where a lot of people went wrong last season," added the goalkeeper, who is currently looking for his next club after leaving Watford earlier this summer. "I bet a lot of people would've predicted Everton to be top 10, sort of top 10."
Foster added: "I think they're going to finish 14th this season, I don' think they're going to be too disappointed with that. I don't think they can expect miracles."
