Here are my predictions on where all 20 Premier League clubs will finish this season.
Then just as importantly, why!
1. Arsenal
Arsenal head into this season as the Premier League champions and from my perspective they have only strengthened their position. The painful loss of Bruno Guimaraes to the Gunners means that following Rodri’s departure to Spain, they now have the two best central midfielders in the Premier League. Factor that in alongside a very well-balanced squad, and I can’t see anyone halting their title charge.
2. Liverpool
I might have stretched here a little as the Scousers are heading into this season with a new manager and still have a few holes in their squad. However, they have some extremely talented players and the vast amounts of money they spent last year will likely start to return some reward this season. Unfortunately, that means Alexander Isak will probably chip in with a few goals, hopefully he can wait until after this weekend.
3. Chelsea
Chelsea epitomises almost everything that’s wrong with the premier League at the moment. Able to spend vast sums of money with seemingly zero consequence when they get things wrong. That being said, they have recruited a manager who will likely be well respected and liked by their fans and players, which is something they haven’t had in a very long time. With no European football, this feels like the season where Chelsea may actually make some strides in the league.
4. Man City
Fourth place feels a little low for what is probably the second most talented squad in the league. But given the fact that they have just said goodbye to the most successful manager of the last 15 to 20 years, it seems a fair prediction. It is very rare that a club maintains the levels of success overseen by a hugely successful manager when he departs, Maresca may prove me wrong but if the Community Shield performance is anything to go by, I think not.
5. Man Utd
I think Man Utd were one of the teams that overachieved the most last season. Michael Carrick is a fair manager, but in the long run I think he’ll go the same way as those who came before him. That being said, they have managed to improve their squad in midfield which was an area of weakness last season. They also have a lot of firepower at the top end of the pitch too, so will probably win some games that they should lose.
6. Nottingham Forest
This one is my rogue shout but I was a big admirer of how much Oliver Glasner got out of an average Crystal Palace squad. I think there’s a little bit more talent in this Nottingham Forest squad and as a result they may be one of the surprise packages of the season.
7. Tottenham Hotspur
If Chelsea are the blueprint for everything that’s wrong with the English game, Tottenham are the evidence for why Newcastle needs to move stadium. Despite consecutive 17th place finishes London’s third best side were able to stump up the cash to sign a string of expensive signings, including Sandro Tonali. Spurs are now much stronger in midfield but lack depth in defence and probably a little bit of firepower up top too.
8. Aston Villa
I’ve seen a lot of predictions place Villa within the top six but I think they’ll finish a tad lower than that. While they haven’t lost their manager this summer, they have lost most of their significant players, particularly in attack. It also looks like Konsa is on the verge of joining Arsenal so they may also be some shortcomings in their defence this season too. To be fair Villa have made some decent signings but they’ve lost a lot of what has made them a good team and it’ll be a challenge for them to keep those standards up this season with Champions League football thrown in the mix too.
9. Brentford
One of last season’s biggest surprise packages. I think teams will know what to expect a bit more when they come up against the Bees so they may not push as high as they did at times last season. Despite this they have kept their key players and if Igor Thiago manages half the goals he did last year they’ll still pull off a few big results.
10. Brighton
Brighton will likely be what they have been over the past several years, a solid Premier League team. They have lost a couple of key leaders from their team so it will be interesting to see how they cope with that.
11. Everton
I thought that Everton could pull a few surprises last season but after some early promise their season fizzled out. I’m not sure they’ve improved a great deal over the summer but I imagine they’ll feel more comfortable in their new stadium which should see some improvement in their league position.
12. Fulham
Fulham are a tricky one to place, they largely have the same squad as they had the previous couple of years but have lost Harry Wilson and the experience of Raul Jimenez. Probably the most mid table team in the league.
13. Newcastle Utd
It’s been a summer of huge upheaval at St James’ Park this summer. Gordon and to a degree Sandro were expected departures going into the transfer window. What wasn’t expected was the departures of both Eddie Howe and, perhaps more importantly, Bruno.
Photo by The Mag
Jaissle seems to be favouring two men in midfield and I’m not convinced we’ve got the person to lead that at the moment. If we can acquire the right man to lead our midfield then we should be able to focus on the cups without having to worry about relegation but at the moment we’re in a group of 5 teams that could get sucked into trouble if things go against us. I think we’ve signed some really exciting young talents but I worry we don’t have the right balance of talent and experience.
14. Crystal Palace
I read a recent article in the athletic which placed Crystal Palace’s Sarr as the only player in the Premier League top 20 not from a “big six” side. While I agree he is a talented player, I feel like the Athletic have perhaps overreached on his quality, and given they have lost the club’s, talismanic manager, there may be a season of both highs and lows in South London.
15. Bournemouth
Another club losing a manager that seemed pivotal to their identity. Like Palace they will be competing in the Europa League this season, unlike Palace they do so with zero experience. Pair that with an adjustment to a new playing style they may be less intimidating to play against in the league than they have been over the past couple of years.
16. Sunderland
The Mackems are our final representative in the Europa League this season and, to be honest, I see them and the other English teams progressing to the quarter finals at least. They’ve made no signing of note yet, the big deal for a left back is in the balance, and I think their league form will suffer. They made a habit of leaving things late last season and that won’t be possible with the Thursday-Sunday grind. Now I’m just keeping my fingers crossed they don’t draw Milan otherwise it’ll be another favourite chant in the bin!
17. Leeds Utd
Leeds may well finish higher up than this. Harry Wilson was a good pick up and, while they massively overpaid for James Trafford, he’s an improvement on Darlow. Otherwise, there’s not too much change in their strongest 11 and I’ve got no faith in Calvert-Lewin continuing his goalscoring habit.
18. Coventry City
I’d love to see Coventry stay up. I had a soft spot for them in the 90’s. A combination of regularly using them on FIFA 95, some iconic players and them being one of my first Newcastle away days probably created this. Unfortunately, having been away for so long I think it’ll be tricky but they’ve got a punchers chance of staying up, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed for them.
19. Ipswich Town
I can’t see this season being a vast improvement on their last. They’ve taken the Sunderland approach to survival and spent a lot. I’m not sure it’ll pay off so I’ll enjoy my December trip to Suffolk, say hello to my relatives in the area and hopefully they’ll get promoted again in a couple of years.
20. Hull City
Let’s be honest, Hull would still be in the Championship if Southampton weren’t a bunch of dirty cheats. I’m glad the Saints were punished and glad we got another away day that won’t take my whole weekend but expect Hull to be poor.
So, there’s my predictions for the league this season. These predictions will get an update once the transfer window is done and dusted but as things stand this is what I believe. It’s a bit of a hopeless task doing predictions at this stage but it’s a bit of fun, and it was very satisfying being about the only person who correctly predicted Liverpool to struggle a little last year (I actually had them 4th). The less said about some of my other predictions the better.
For this year’s predictions there’s essentially a few groups of teams here so I’ll categorise them below.
Potential Champions = Arsenal
Europe Certainty = 2nd-4th
Europe Hopeful = 5th-11th
Fulham = Fulham
Should be ok but need to be careful = 13th-17th
Promoted teams =18th-20th
Let me know your predictions in the comments!