Finally! The English Premier League is back! Oh, how much I’ve missed it! But don’t get me wrong—the Euros, Copa America, and the Olympics were fantastic alternatives. Still, there’s something about club football’s weekly drama, derbies and star-studded line-ups that international tournaments just can’t quite match. The stage is set for another unforgettable season. If you’re as enthusiastic as I am, the wait is finally over. Without further ado, here are some predictions and insights on the 20 teams competing in this year’s Premier League, the world’s most-watched league.
- Arsenal
The Gunners have started the season strong, with a 2-0 victory and a clean sheet. Arteta’s boys will definitely be hoping that the third time is the charm this time around. Kai Havertz has shown he can lead the line for a title charge and the ever-brilliant Saka is just as pivotal. But I can’t help but see the Gunners finishing as runners-up to Man City for the third time. While Calafiori is a great signing, Arsenal hasn’t really addressed a key area of their squad that needs reinforcement: the attack. They had the second-most potent attack last season, but they still need a 20-goal-a-season striker. Havertz may reach that tally this season, who knows? But if he or Saka gets injured, then they are left exposed in attack. Gabriel Jesus is injury-prone and you wouldn’t expect double-digit goals from him. The transfer window is still open; if Arsenal secures another striker or winger to cover for Saka, then this could be their year.
– Key Player: Bukayo Saka
– Notable Signings: Riccardo Calafiori, David Raya
– Manager: Mikel Arteta
– Prediction: 2nd
- Aston Villa
Villa had a fantastic campaign last time out and I doubt anyone saw them finishing 4th! Kudos to Emery; he has transformed Villa from a mid-table club into a Champions League team. They have also made some great signings, such as Amadou Onana, who scored within 4 minutes of his debut. They also brought in Ross Barkley, Ian Maatsen and managed to keep Ollie Watkins. Their season started off well with a 2-1 win away at West Ham—a very fine result. I’m only dropping them lower this season because I believe Champions League football will put additional strain on Emery’s squad. We’ve seen it many times before: a team not used to Champions League football often falters the following season (e.g., Newcastle). Because of this, I predict a drop from the top four and a 6th-place finish for them.
– Key Player: Ollie Watkins
– Notable Signings: Amadou Onana, Ian Maatsen
– Manager: Unai Emery
– Prediction: 6th
- Bournemouth
Losing Dominic Solanke, who scored 19 goals last season, is a huge blow and it remains to be seen how the Cherries will cope without him. In Antoine Semenyo and Luis Sinisterra, they have fantastic players who, on their day, can change the course of a game. But the impact of Solanke’s loss will definitely be felt. The 1-1 draw in their opening fixture against Nottingham Forest sums up my expectations for them this season. However, Andoni Iraola is a fantastic manager and his tactics and ability will be crucial for them this season. They should do enough to avoid relegation, but anything higher than 14th or 15th would be asking too much from the Cherries.
– Key Player: Antoine Semenyo
– Notable Signings: Julian Araujo, Luis Sinisterra
– Manager: Andoni Iraola
– Prediction: 16th
- Brentford
With Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, the Bees are blessed with talented players who on their day, can give any team in the league a run for their money. The expected exit of Ivan Toney hasn’t dampened the atmosphere at the Brentford Community Stadium. Thomas Frank took Toney out of the lineup amidst speculation about his future and they still won their season opener 2-1 against Crystal Palace, who finished last season strongly. One downside is the injury to Toney’s replacement, Igor Thiago, whom the Bees signed from Club Bruges. He has been ruled out until near the end of the year due to a knee injury sustained in a friendly against AFC Wimbledon. In Fabio Carvalho, they have a fantastic midfielder signed from Liverpool. Thomas Frank has a very talented squad and my expectation for them this season is a 14th-place finish, which is two places higher than last season.
– Key Player: Bryan Mbeumo
– Notable Signings: Fabio Carvalho, Igor Thiago
– Manager: Thomas Frank
– Prediction: 14th
- Brighton & Hove Albion
The Seagulls have the Premier League’s youngest-ever permanent manager in 31 year-old Fabian Hürzeler, who led St. Pauli into the Bundesliga. It remains to be seen how Hürzeler will fare in the Premier League, especially after replacing the charismatic Roberto De Zerbi. However, they started the season strongly with a 3-0 thumping of Everton, albeit the Toffees were a man down. Pascal Gross was a big loss, but new signings Mats Wieffer and Yankuba Minteh have both settled in nicely, with each grabbing an assist in the first game of the season. Their league position depends largely on the performances of Kaoru Mitoma, Evan Ferguson, Joao Pedro, Simon Adingra, and Danny Welbeck. A top-half finish or 11th place should be expected.
– Key Player: Kaoru Mitoma
– Notable Signings: Mats Wieffer, Yankuba Minteh
– Manager: Fabian Hürzeler
– Prediction: 11th
- Chelsea
With an overly bloated squad, the Blues still seem far off from their rivals Arsenal and Manchester City. A poor showing against the champions, Manchester City, with a 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge where they conceded two sloppy goals, shows that Enzo Maresca has his work cut out for him. There is also an evident lack of leadership, especially in defence and with Reece James’ constant injuries, it doesn’t help matters. Despite over £300 million invested in midfield, Chelsea still lacks steel in that position. They also need a clinical striker—if they get Victor Osimhen, maybe their season could look a lot different. Nevertheless, with Cole Palmer, who they heavily relied on last season, they have one of the Premier League’s finest attackers. If players like Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, and Romeo Lavia can perform to their abilities, Blues fans will be up for some delightful football at Stamford Bridge. The jury is still out on key players like Enzo Fernández and Moisés Caicedo.
– Key Player: Cole Palmer
– Notable Signings: Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
– Manager: Enzo Maresca
– Prediction: 7th
- Crystal Palace
In stark contrast to how Palace ended last season, they were unbeaten in their last seven games but endured an opening-day defeat to Brentford, losing 2-1 away. Manager Oliver Glasner is a fine coach and after taking the Palace job midway through last season, he orchestrated one of the finest attacks of the season with a trident of Eberechi Eze, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Michael Olise; they felt unplayable at times. The loss of Olise to Bayern Munich is a big blow, no doubt. It remains to be seen if Daichi Kamada can step up and be an adequate replacement. They also have the bright youngster Adam Wharton and new signing Ismaila Sarr. I wouldn’t read too much into the opening-day defeat, as a top-half finish should still be expected.
– Key Player: Eberechi Eze
– Notable Signings: Ismaila Sarr, Daichi Kamada
– Manager: Oliver Glasner
– Prediction: 10th
- Everton
How not to start a new season! The Toffees were battered by Brighton and had a player sent off in their opening fixture. A 3-0 opening-day loss will dampen the enthusiasm for the new season among the fans, but if anyone can overcome obstacles, it’s their manager Sean Dyche. He performed miracles last season. Not many teams with points deducted can escape relegation, but they did it. This season, there’s another points deduction looming over them and Dyche has his work cut out again. Adding to that is the huge loss of Andre Onana to Aston Villa. However, the signings of Iliman Ndiaye and Jesper Lindström should lift the mood at Goodison Park, but fans shouldn’t expect more than a 13th-place finish, especially if their profligacy in front of goal continues.
– Key Player: Dominic Calvert-Lewin
– Notable Signings: Iliman Ndiaye, Jesper Lindström
– Manager: Sean Dyche
– Prediction: 13th
- Fulham
They started the season with a strong performance but ultimately lost in the end. Losing 1-0 to Manchester United at Old Trafford isn’t the worst outcome. However, if they are going to turn good performances into points, they need to become more clinical and decisive in the final third, especially players like Adama Traoré and Andreas Pereira, who were guilty of some sloppy final touches in the game. Key losses like João Palhinha to Bayern Munich, Tosin Adarabioyo to Chelsea and Tim Ream to Charlotte FC might affect their season, but I still expect them to finish a place higher than last season. Emile Smith Rowe’s addition is fantastic and with him pulling the strings behind Rodrigo Muniz, Marco Silva has a very good core of players capable of finishing the season in 12th or 13th.
– Key Player: Rodrigo Muniz
– Notable Signings: Ryan Sessegnon, Emile Smith Rowe
– Manager: Marco Silva
– Prediction: 12th
- Ipswich Town
In Kieran McKenna, Ipswich have one of the brightest young managers in football. The fact that he was heavily courted by Chelsea and Manchester United to replace their managers in the summer is a testament to his brilliance. Playing an exciting brand of football, many people are going to enjoy watching Ipswich play. If he can manage to keep the Tractor Boys up in the Premier League, it would be even more remarkable than his feat of achieving back-to-back promotions from League One to the Championship and then to the Premier League.
However, the Premier League is ruthless and despite a brilliant performance against Liverpool in their opening-day fixture, they ultimately lost the tie 2-0. As with other promoted teams, the financial gap between the established Premier League sides and the promoted teams is massive. A return to the Championship seems inevitable.
– Key Player: Sam Morsy
– Notable Signings: Kalvin Phillips, Sam Szmodics
– Manager: Kieran McKenna
– Prediction: 18th
- Leicester City
It feels like an eternity since Leicester pulled off one of the greatest miracles in football by winning the league in 2016. With Jamie Vardy, Conor Coady and Harry Winks, they still have a core of players with lots of experience in the Premier League. However, the losses of head coach Enzo Maresca and Player of the Season Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, both to Chelsea, raise doubts about their season. Both were instrumental in Leicester’s return to the Premier League after a season in the second division. The Foxes were able to get Facundo Buonanotte on loan from Brighton and the Ghanaian forward Abdul Fatawu, who they signed permanently from Sporting CP. Can Steve Cooper avoid relegation with the Foxes? I seriously doubt it. One thing is certain: the fans will be grateful for the return of Premier League football to the King Power Stadium, for now.
– Key Player: Jamie Vardy
– Notable Signings: Facundo Buonanotte, Abdul Fatawu
– Manager: Steve Cooper
– Prediction: 19th
- Liverpool
Life post-Klopp is going better than expected for the Reds. Many predicted a shaky season after so many years under the enigmatic Jürgen Klopp. Would you blame them? Klopp proved to be one of the greatest managers English football has ever seen, so replacing him was never going to be easy. But if preseason results and the opening day 2-0 victory against Ipswich are anything to go by, Liverpool might have found a gem in Arne Slot. The ex-Feyenoord manager has got Liverpool playing an exciting brand of football and they look formidable this season. One concern for fans is that Liverpool failed to sign any players in this transfer window, with Martin Zubimendi’s preference for staying with Real Sociedad being an additional blow. But with Mo Salah looking as hungry as ever, continuing his streak of never having failed to score or assist on the opening weekend of a Premier League season and with captain Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Liverpool have a core of players to win any tie. Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta should keep a watchful eye on them.
– Key Player: Mohamed Salah
– Notable Signings: None
– Manager: Arne Slot
– Prediction: 3rd
- Manchester City
Arguably the best team in the world, what more can I say about the juggernaut Pep Guardiola has built? The Citizens have come a long way from being noisy neighbors to dominating the domestic scene. In Pep Guardiola, they have one of football’s greatest coaches, which makes them the team to beat every season. They started the season by easily defeating Chelsea 2-0 away in a game that felt a lot like a preseason friendly for Pep’s team. Pep is relentless and a serial winner who wants to keep winning. His main challengers for the crown will be Arsenal and possibly Liverpool. A quiet transfer window, with only the addition of Savinho from Girona, is unusual for the Citizens. With about two weeks left until the close of the transfer window, I expect some activity, especially after the sale of Julián Álvarez to Atlético Madrid and the loss of Oscar Bobb to injury, meaning they are light in the striker position. But despite the quiet window, they are still a world-class team with a core of Haaland, Ederson, Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden. They are still the team to beat. I’m fully backing Pep and his team to break more records and become the first English team to win the league title five times consecutively.
– Key Player: Erling Haaland
– Notable Signings: Savinho
– Manager: Pep Guardiola
– Prediction: 1st
- Manchester United
The FA Cup winners started the season with a 1-0 win against Fulham in the curtain raiser of the season, a good result, but at times it felt like the ghosts of last season were still hovering around for much of the match. However, a moment of brilliance by new signing Joshua Zirkzee changed the game in their favor and oh boy! what a fantastic signing he looks to be. Erik ten Hag, in his third season, will be hoping for a top-four challenge and will be counting on players like Rashford, Mount, Højlund, Sancho, and Antony to seriously step up this season. Also, major surgery has been done to the defense, which leaked many goals last season and ended the season with a negative goal difference. The additions of Leny Yoro from Lille, who is expected to be out for two months, Matthijs de Ligt and Matarouzzi from Bayern Munich will bolster the defense. Red Devils fans can expect the team to concede fewer goals and keep more clean sheets this campaign. There are also talks about signing Manuel Ugarte from PSG and all in all, Manchester United have done good business in the transfer window. I expect them to climb three places higher than their 8th-place finish last season.
– Key Player: Bruno Fernandes
– Notable Signings: Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro
– Manager: Erik ten Hag
– Prediction: 5th
- Newcastle United
There’s a lot of unpredictability surrounding the Magpies heading into the new season. They nearly lost one of their best players, Anthony Gordon, to Liverpool due to Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR)and they eventually had to sell Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton to make some signings. They started the season well with a 1-0 win over Southampton despite going a man down in the 28th minute. They also have a brilliant striker in Alexander Isak and with a supporting cast of Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimarães, a top-eight finish is well within reach. However, a lot will depend on whether Eddie Howe remains their manager amid interest in him for the vacant England managerial role.
– Key Player: Alexander Isak
– Notable Signings: William Osula, Lewis Hall
– Manager: Eddie Howe
– Prediction: 8th
- Nottingham Forest
Another season battling for relegation survival might be on the horizon. However, Nuno Espírito Santo has a solid core in Brazilian defender Murillo, Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White. Holding on to Gibbs-White for another season will be instrumental in retaining their Premier League status. The Englishman has been at the center of everything good on the pitch for the club. They started the season with a 1-1 draw at home against Bournemouth, but they lost Brazilian midfielder Danilo in the 15th minute to a horrific leg injury. Nuno and Forest fans will be hoping he doesn’t stay out too long, but from the look of it, a lengthy spell on the sidelines seems the most probable outcome. This injury blow will surely dampen spirits in the dressing room. However, if players like Anthony Elanga, Hudson-Odoi, Awoniyi and Neco Williams can step up, they can certainly stay up this season.
– Key Player: Murillo
– Notable Signings: Jota Silva, Marko Stamenic
– Manager: Nuno Espírito Santo
– Prediction: 17th
- Southampton
The Saints regained Premier League status by beating Leeds United in the playoff final. In Russell Martin, they have one of the finest young managers in English football. They play a very expressive brand of football, but it remains to be seen if it will work out well for them in the Premier League. If their opening day result is anything to go by, failing to score with a man advantage against Newcastle sums up my expectations of them this season. They have managed to get Lesley Ugochukwu, a combative defensive midfielder, on loan from Chelsea, as well as Ben Brereton Díaz. Expectations should be low at St. Mary’s and I fancy them for the drop this season.
– Key Player: Adam Armstrong
– Notable Signings: Lesley Ugochukwu, Ben Brereton Díaz
– Manager: Russell Martin
– Prediction: 20th
- Tottenham Hotspur
What Ange Postecoglou did last season isn’t talked about enough. He lost Harry Kane, who was the club’s talisman and one of the greatest strikers in football, to Bayern Munich and wasn’t given adequate cover. He had to rely on Timo Werner and Richarlison for goals. His Spurs team came within two points of Champions League qualification, largely thanks to the ever-reliable Son Heung-min. In fact, if their end-of-season results had been better, they would have nicked the fourth spot from Aston Villa! This season, they have signed an adequate replacement for Harry Kane. Although not as lethal as Kane, if Dominic Solanke hits the heights of last season, there’s no stopping him from scoring 20 goals. Watch out for our rising star from last week, Mikey Moore, who is being tipped to become a superstar.
– Key Player: Son Heung-min
– Notable Signings: Dominic Solanke, Wilson Odobert
– Manager: Ange Postecoglou
– Prediction: 4th
- West Ham United
With a new manager at the helm, it remains to be seen if Julen Lopetegui can achieve the heights David Moyes reached with the Hammers. The ex-Wolves manager has certainly been backed in the transfer window this summer. West Ham has conducted some of the best business in the market, bringing in Niclas Füllkrug, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crysencio Summerville, Max Kilman, and Jean-Clair Todibo. Adding these players to an already impressive core of Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, and Lucas Paquetá, a top-10 finish is certainly on the cards for them again despite their opening day 2-1 loss to Aston Villa. But can they move a place or two higher than the 9th position they finished last season? It remains to be seen.
– Key Player: Jarrod Bowen
– Notable Signings: Niclas Füllkrug, Jean-Clair Todibo
– Manager: Julen Lopetegui
– Prediction: 9th
- Wolverhampton Wanderers
In Gary O’Neil, Wolves have a fantastic manager and much of how their season plays out will depend on his brilliance. The opening day 2-0 loss to Arsenal shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone because they played one of the best teams in the league. However, a concern is the quiet transfer window and the huge losses of key players Max Kilman and Pedro Neto to West Ham and Chelsea, respectively. On the other hand, Tommy Doyle made his move permanent from Manchester City. My prediction this season is that fans at Molineux Stadium should expect some fine performances and their team should steer clear of relegation.
– Key Player: Matheus Cunha
– Notable Signings: Pedro Lima, Tommy Doyle
– Head Coach: Gary O’Neil
– Prediction: 15th
As of the time of writing, Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City have yet to play their opening game of the season.
6 Comments
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