Maybe the hardest thing to do in sports, predictions. In the most competitive league in the world for soccer that makes it even more difficult. The Staff has put together its predictions for what the Premier League table will look like come May 2019. Could we see Manchester City maintain the title or will their be a different champion? What is your prediction of the Premier League this season?
Have any opinions on the topic or want us to pick a different topic, be sure to comment your thoughts. Follow us on our Social Media’s- Cam: Twitter @CamB_PerSources, James: Twitter @PerSources_JP, and Oisin: Twitter @OB_PerSources and IG @OB_PerSources to join the conversation and keep up with more articles. To see more articles Soccer articles.
3. @CamB_PerSources
Relegation
One team has stuck out as early season relegation favorites, Cardiff City. The Welsh club has only made a handful of signing but none have been have been to the standard of the other promoted clubs. Along with other Premier League Clubs Brighton and Watford, the Seagulls and Hornets have made signing but none are gaming changing and provide an impact over the long season. Brighton and Watford were in and out of the relegation zone last season and this season should be no different.
Fighting off Relegation
Last season 10th and 16th were separated by just four points and multiple teams were pivoting on the danger zone for so time. Southampton, a Europa League team just two years ago, were fighting relegation last season and this season should be the same. The Saints boast a proud academy but needed till matchday 37 to escape. This season could be the same in the south of England. The Terriers of Huddersfield and Eagles of Crystal Palace could be in a similar spot. Second season sendurm could trouble David Wagner and the West Yorkshire Club as they hope their new signings will keep them afloat. Palace made one notable signing in Max Meyer their biggest action has to be holding on to Wilfried Zaha. Zaha is difference between going down and staying up for the London club.
Caught in the Middle
Newly Promoted teams Wolves and Fulham will find themselves safe after excellent work in the transfer window. Both teams maybe not challenge for Europe but certainly will be in a good spot in the table. The same goes for Bournemouth, West Ham and Newcastle. Each team has made impact signing to keep them afloat but not to challenge. Burnley and Leicester City just miss out on Europe due to different reasons. The Foxes have made good signings over the window but the loss of Riyad Mahrez will prove to be a big loss in the midfield and moving forward. Burnley however have retained a majority of key players but the extra games of the Europa League could prove costly (UEL already injured Nick Pope).
Europa League places
With the amount of quality signings Everton has made, it is hard to see them missing out on Europe. Three FC Barcelona players in Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina, and Andre Gomes (on loan) bring real quality. Marco Silva snagged Richarlison off of his old club, Watford, and add the quality players the Toffees already had (Pickford, Coleman, Gueye, and Schneiderlin).
Everton should have an excellent season. Chelsea and Arsenal are my picks of the Big 6 to miss out on the top four. The Blues bring in Sarri and new young goalie Kepa, but the problem could come from upfront. Hazard is still rumored to be on the move and Sarri has not figured out his best lineup yet. Chelsea could find a groove midway through the season, but by then it will be to late. Arsenal are rebuilding the Jurgen Klopp Dortmund with with Aubameyang, Mkhitaryan, and new signing Sokartis all ready for first season. I still feel it will take some time before the Gunners can shake off the Wenger habits.
The Contenders
The top four can be flipped around on how transfers filter out. Two teams that made little to no improvements were Manchester Untied and Tottenham. Spurs have been handicapped due to the financing of a new stadium along with signing many current squad members to new contracts. For Untied, their signing of Fred can complete Mourinho’s midfield three but there defense has not improved and that proved to be the only question along with there consistency. Managing the Champions League will be a problem for both teams as they will need to pick the Premier League or another cup competitions.
The Champions
Two teams could be crowned Champions in my eyes, both would make history. Liverpool could win first ever title while Manchester City could be the first team to retain their title in a decade. Liverpool have spent the most in the transfer window in four key signing that will elevate their chances. City on the other hand didn’t need to improve but they did. The signing of Mahrez will only add depth to a star studded squad. The title will stay in Manchester but the Premier League will have blue and white ribbons come May 2019.
2. @OB_PerSources
Relegation
Looking at the very bottom of the table, it’s extremely difficult to pick all three teams that will go down. Only one team really stands out as relegation material: Cardiff City. Cardiff look destined for failure simply because they have a squad that was equipped to compete in the Championship. The Premier League is another level. After that, the likes of Bournemouth, Newcastle and Watford all look in danger.
That being said, I think that Huddersfield and Southampton will follow the Bluebirds to the Championship. David Wagner and Mark Hughes are both very good managers, but their squads seem underwhelming. Huddersfield worry me more because teams of their nature often struggle with ‘second season syndrome’. Mark Hughes has a solid squad, but the habit of losing seems to stick with many teams in this division.
Fighting off Relegation
As mentioned above, I see Newcastle, Bournemouth and Watford just hovering over the bottom three. Both Newcastle and Bournemouth had problems with strikers last season, but Newcastle signing Salomon Rondon should definitely help alleviate their goal-scoring woes. Ultimately, their season depends on Rafa Benitez putting up with chronic under-investment from the board and owners. The sooner the club is sold, the better.
Bournemouth’s Jermain Defoe is still able to score goals off the bench, but Callum Wilson hasn’t stepped up to the plate for most of his Premier League tenure. Josh King will get goals. He’s easily their best option up top but he can’t do it alone. Watford have another obscure foreign manager this season. This time it’s Javi Gracia. They’ve been interested in many different players over the summer but only have Gerard Deulofeu and some lesser-spotted, unproven European players added to their squad. They should have enough to survive, but only just. Just above those three, the likes of Brighton, Crystal Palace and Fulham should all come home safe and sound and be pushing themselves to push on even further up the table in the coming seasons.
Caught in the Middle
Burnley, Leicester, Wolves and Everton will probably end up in no man’s land come the end of the season. No sweat over relegation, no chance at top 4 and no prospects of Thursday night football for the following season. For Wolves, this should be a happy pace to be given that it’s their first season in the league since 2011-12. Given how much money they’ve spent, the lower end of this grouping should be their minimum target.
Everton don’t want to be here. This time last year they spent big and ultimately only ended up with one decent central-midfielder for all of their troubles. Wayne Rooney and Davy Klaassen have both moved on. Sandro Ramirez showed that he’s not up to the standard expected of him and Michael Keane showed lots of inexperience in defence. Sam Allardyce was moved on, after only succeeding Ronald Koeman near Christmas. Now Marco Silva has the task of meeting expectations. Leicester don’t seem happy with being safe from relegation. They want more.
After winning the league, they nearly got relegated yet they nearly went to a Champions League semi-final. They sacked Craig Shakespeare midway into the season and Claude Puel had a brilliant start. Now, the players don’t seem to like him and now that Riyad Mahrez is gone, he will have a tough task on his hands. Burnley did well to finish 7th last year, but now that they will most likely have to contend with playing extra games due to the Europa League, they will have a certain drop-off. Ben Gibson was a brilliant signing at a low price but they need a striker that will guarantee over 10 goals in the league if they want to push further up the table.
Europa League places
Out of the three Europa League spots, two of the teams that will occupy them will be far from happy about it. The other team, I believe to be West Ham, will be only too delighted to join them. I have three London teams: Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham finishing in these spots this season.
West Ham have done little bits of brilliant business over the course of the summer. Manuel Pellegrini won the league with City and got them to a Champions League semi-final with a squad which was good, but not at the level of many other teams who achieved the same goal. Signing Felipe Anderson was an absolutely top-draw move. If you want to know who could be the next Mo Salah, look no further than Felipe Anderson. He was involved in nearly a goal every two games in an okay Lazio team, but at the age of 25 he should reach his peak soon enough to allow West Ham fans’ mouths to water. Balbuena and Yarmolenko should also prove to be very valuable as well.
Chelsea have done reasonably good business this summer, but adjusting to Maurizio Sarri will take time and not only that, nobody knows who will stay and who won’t at Stamford Bridge. Contending with the Europa League won’t help Chelsea, although their extended squad is by leaps and bounds better and deeper than what they had last season. Tottenham lack that same depth. In their starting 11, they have one of the strongest in the league without question. Eleven players will not allow you to compete in four competitions. Even forgetting about moving to a new stadium, which has been the downfall of many teams in recent history, Spurs seem to be doing the opposite of what they should. Their squad should be getting bigger rather than smaller. If they add three top players without selling more than one, maybe then we can take them seriously again.
The Contenders
While I predicted Arsenal to finish 4th, they aren’t really a contender either. Their squad is better than it has been in the past few years and a new manager will certainly get the best out of many of the players who aren’t guaranteed a start.
The real contenders for the title should be Manchester United and Liverpool. United haven’t bought a whole load this summer but it’s fair to say that they’ve bought well. Even Lee Grant was a smart signing. While he won’t play much, signing him allowed Joel Pereira to leave on loan. Diogo Dalot has been billed as a player for the future but once he returns from injury he may well prove he’s capable for being a star in the here and now. Fred has been the Red Devils’ star player this pre-season alongside Alexis Sanchez and Andreas Pereira. He could provide the invaluable ability to unleash Paul Pogba which would instantly propel United back to where they belong both domestically and in the Champions League.
Out of the top six teams in the league, Liverpool have definitely done the best business in the window. Fourth place in the league and a Champions League final doesn’t sound bad on paper but Liverpool’s squad certainly needed improving. Teams will be smarter to their style of play this season, so adding Fabinho and Keita to their midfield allows them the opportunity to attack with sustained pressure rather than relying too heavily on the counter-attack. Alisson should also provide the back four with a much more real and tangible sense of security in their defense. Liverpool should be disappointed with anything less than third and another run deep into the Champions League.
The Champions
Was this ever really a question? Manchester City won the league by 19 points last season, with a record points tally. It will definitely be a difficult title challenge, but their squad is more than capable of becoming the first team to defend the title since United in ‘07-’09. While Guardiola will be disappointed that Jorginho chose Chelsea over City, adding Riyad Mahrez just makes their attack unbelievably deep and strong. Vincent Kompany looked himself again for the most part during the World Cup and if he can provide just 80% of what he possessed a couple of seasons ago, their defense may well be all but impenetrable. City are not infallible either though.
Injuries to any of Ederson, Kompany, Fernandinho, De Bruyne, David Silva or Sergio Aguero could derail whatever form they have. These stars all work in tandem. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, as the saying goes. If City win the league again, which they should, it would be a historic achievement for the club. However, the Champions League has to come first after their miserable failure against Monaco two seasons ago and their defeats against Liverpool in this past season’s Last-16.
1. @PerSources_JP
Relegation
Cardiff City are the most likely of the three newly promoted clubs to head right back down. They haven’t made an impact in the transfer market like Wolves and Fulham and seemed destined to head back to the Championship. Huddersfield were a fun side to watch in their survival campaign but so often teams don’t have the ability to continue and stay up for a second straight season. Southampton’s form has been trending downward the last couple of seasons and after staving off relegation late on last campaign, I think this season will send the Saints down and set them up for a rebuild.
Fighting off relegation
Newcastle, Bournemouth, Watford and Brighton will be the closest to relegation but able to avoid it. These sides are battle tested when it comes to fighting off relegation and those experiences will help each of them stay up and fight to see another season of top flight football. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if this race was still tight going into the final weeks of the season.
Caught in the Middle
Everton, Leicester and Burnley have each found themselves safe in the middle of the table in the past couple of seasons. Everton and Leicester will aim to improve off of disappointing seasons last time out and Burnley will struggle to balance the Europa League (possibly) and the league. Fulham will find themselves in a safe position throughout the campaign without soaring too high or drifting too low. As long as Crystal Palace avoids a start as horrendous as last season under Frank de Boer, the Eagles will fly to safety again led by Wilfried Zaha.
Europa League Places
A rejuvenated West Ham side under Manuel Pellegrini with a host of new signings should be able to compete for a top-6 spot this campaign. Wolves will need a bit of a miracle to be able to compete all the way through May for a Europa League spot but I wouldn’t put it past them. For me, Tottenham and Chelsea are the two most likely of the “big six” to fall out of the top 4 and be stuck in a battle for second-tier competition next season.
Contenders
New look Arsenal will find themselves in a much better position this season under Unai Emery. Their signings have made them an improved side but title aspirations shouldn’t be high for the Gunners. Getting back into the top 4 is more of a realistic goal for Arsenal this campaign. Both halves of Manchester will be more competitive this season. United, slightly better than last and City not as strong as 2017-18. Alexis will have a better chance to shine in his first full season and new additions of Fred in midfield and the depth of Diego Dalot in defence will improve Mourinho’s side. City’s biggest signing, Riyad Mahrez, will struggle to make an impact in his first season. The improvement of other sides like Arsenal, and the future champions, will have a bigger impact on the table this season than City alone.
Champions
By process of elimination, Liverpool are left to lift the trophy next May. Liverpool proved themselves against City in both the PL and Champions League. For the Reds, the squad depth will make an impact. Jurgen Klopp will need to trust some of the fringe players to get results against lesser sides to allow a fair amount of rest for his bigger names. Will Salah equal his form of last season? We’ll see, but he shouldn’t have that pressure on him with the squad improvements this season. Klopp is ready to take his side to the next level and this season is the time to do so. He struggled to get over this hump when he was with Dortmund against Bayern, but this Liverpool is far better than his Dortmund sides of old. Next May Liverpool will find themselves as just the seventh club to lift the Premier League trophy.