Gary Lineker has revealed that Liverpool and Manchester City held the highest average position in the running order on Match of the Day last season. The revelation came during a conversation with Micah Richards on 'The Rest is Football' podcast.
The discussion was sparked by criticism levied at Lineker from Nottingham Forest fans who were upset their surprise 1-0 victory over Liverpool wasn't the first match shown on last Saturday's MOTD. Instead, Aston Villa's thrilling 3-2 comeback win against Everton took precedence.
The MOTD host defended the decision, stating: "If you're picking the game of the day, that probably just edged Forest, which we thought would definitely lead but that went second." He further explained the rationale behind the show's running order, admitting they focus more on title contenders towards the end of the season.
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He said: "If Forest were to beat Liverpool and they were in a title race and it was the last couple months of the season, that would definitely have gone first." However, he added that since it was only the fourth game of the season, the best game was chosen, which in his opinion was Villa vs Everton, reports the Mirror.
The former England star, armed with statistics during the podcast, listed the average position for each Premier League club in the running order, with Liverpool, Manchester City, and Arsenal taking the top three spots.
Despite their relegation last season, Luton Town managed an average position of 10th, with fellow relegated side Burnley trailing at 11th. Brighton's attractive football under Roberto De Zerbi earned them many admirers last season, but they only managed to secure 15th place in the Match of the Day running order average.
Match of the Day running order average positions for 2023/24 season
Aston Villa
Nottingham Forest
Luton Town
Burnley
Sheffield United
West Ham
Wolves
Brentford
Brighton
Everton
Crystal Palace
Bournemouth
Fulham
