Premier League Predictions

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Jul 2, 2006
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What's everybody got? Time to go on record...

Champions


1. Man City - They'll be run closer by Liverpool and Chelsea but depth sets them apart. Repeating is hard and hasn't been done for a while but a title winning squad hasn't been this far ahead of its challengers going into a new season for a long time. The real test for them will be the Champions League. If Guardiola leaves City having won a few league titles but not the UCL, its still going to be seen as a qualified success given the club's spending and ambitions.

Challengers

2. Liverpool - Poised to challenge, will need to stay healthy and for Salah to maintain his level from last year, which I'm somewhat skeptical about.

3. Chelsea - I wouldn't be surprised if they finished second. I believe in Sarri-ball and the Kante/Jorginho/Kovacic midfield might be the league's best.

Chasing the Fourth Place Trophy

4. Arsenal - Bit of a homer pick but between a better manager, a full season of Aubameyang (a much more complete player than I previously realized), and some sneaky good additions that filled big holes over the summer, there is substantial reason for optimism.

5. Spurs - They could easily finish 3rd or 4th but there is a lot that could go wrong between a thin roster, a trio of spine players (Vertonghen, Alderweireld, Dembele) out of contract next summer, and the difficulty of keeping everybody fully motivated for another run after its become so clear that Levy won't improve the team in the market.

6. Man United - If Mourinho stayed and the team was drama free for the season, I'd expect them to finish 3rd or 4th. But everything seems fully primed for a Mourinho meltdown. :popcorn:

Rounding Out the Top Ten

7. Everton - Did the business at the deadline, not enough to rise higher but enough to be favorites for seventh again.

8. West Ham - A group of offensive additions should see them scoring enough goals to land somewhere in the back end of the top 10.

9. Wolves - Jorge Mendes FC played some good stuff in the Championship and haven't rested on their laurels, bringing in a bunch of other players. I think it'll translate well.

10. Fulham - Welcome back, the league is more fun with football at Craven Cottage.

The Drop

18. Cardiff City
19. Watford
20. Huddersfield
 
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CPT Neuron

Got Pitching?
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Dec 4, 2001
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Top 4:
1/2 - Man City/Liverpool - head says Man City wins again, but heart longs for a resurgent Reds to topple the sitting champs.....
3 - Tottenham - too much talent coupled with too thin a squad leads to a 3rd spot in the table a best - they are, in my opinion, 1 injury away from 6th or 7th though
4 - Chelsea - as long as Hazard stays, they round out the top 4, if he goes, they drop as well

Rest of Europe:
5 - Arsenal - good bit of work this summer, but not enough good work and not enough of a bounce from the new boss, the anti-Wegner effect can only get you so far

Remainder of Top 10
6 - Everton - loved their closing business, revamped the defense and seemed to restructure the roster in a way to eliminate some of the ridiculous redundancy present this time last year
7- Man United - Tropical Storm Mou hits Hurricane Force and the implosion is inevitable
8 - West Ham - another good bit of business by them, and they should push up in to the upper half of the table
9 - Burnley - European nights stretch them thin
10 - Wolves - the sneaky promoted team that punches above its weight

Bottom Half
11- Leicester City
12 - Bournemouth
13 - Crystal Palace
14 - Newcastle
15 - B&H A
16 - Cardiff City
17 - Huddersfield

Last Train to the Championship:
18 - Fulham
19 - Southampton
20 - Watford
 
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teddykgb

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Jul 16, 2005
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For me:

1. City
2. Liverpool

These two sides seem to be separate from the pack. Liverpool strengthened but the thing about buying players is that some just never settle. If one (and certainly two) of these signings turns into more of a Bakayoko/Kagawa/Mangala type of situation then Liverpool’s summer will look quite different. City face the difficulty of being champions while Liverpool hopes Salah can be Messi again. I think City perform better against parked buses and just grind out the points.

3. Arsenal - I serially overrate them. But I think everyone below the above 2 had a poor summer and Arsenal did good business. I’m not necessarily sold on all the players they brought in but Emery is a good coach, Aubameyang can play, and the constant Wenger drama is over. Without as many responsibilities they get the benefit of playing their best XI every week.

4. Spurs - As I said in their thread, I think they’re playing with fire. You don’t get better by just resigning your existing team. I think they underperformed a bit last year but they’ve been quite fit in my view. Injuries could probably derail this team more than most. I could really see them falling out of this spot. If United had not done the one thing you can’t do with Jose I’d definitely have them here.

5. United - Id have had them comfortably third and maybe second 2 weeks ago. So I’m probably overreacting to transfer window. But José in his 3rd season combined with the board not making moves while he whines about it is a play we have seen before and it usually doesn’t end well. I think we could earnestly see Mourinho sacked and they’ll take a step back as a result. Basically they just had to give him a couple more players and I think he’d have unraveled slowly. Instead they just put gasoline on the fire.

6. West Ham - they’ll have some flops but I think they signed a bunch of good players and will have a strong season. Pellegrini isn’t a master technician but players like him and he knows the league. I think Everton have overshadowed their moves but West Ham have done more to build a squad imo.

7. Chelsea - I think Sarri plays great football and if he hadn’t inherited a roster so awful for his system he’d be way higher. They’ve started the overhaul in midfield which makes sense but the thing about playing a high line in the PL is that it will make top class defenders look stupid. Chelsea do not have the CBs to play this system and will leak points as the Jamie Vardys of the world poach their way through. I honestly wonder if Sarri makes it through season. If he can manage them higher though look out as a revamped for Sarri ball Chelsea will be a force. I wonder if Chelsea have the money to back him and if they’ll be aggressive in Jan

Everton would be my other team knocking on the doorstep. Wolves probably there as well but it’s a big ask to come up and finish even this high.

I really don’t know who will get relegated, give me two promoted teams and probably Soton or Watford
 
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Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
Citeh
Spurs. Pool
Pool. Spurs
United
Arsenal
Chelsea
...
Huddersfield???
Southampton
Cardiff

Edit: depth a bigger factor tha I first considered.
 
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Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
Falmouth
I really don’t know who will get relegated, give me two promoted teams and probably Soton or Watford
I don’t know a goddamn thing about football, but Wolves was the best Championship team I’ve ever seen and I’m pretty sure Fulham’s style plays up in the PL compared to the rock fight that is the Championship. I thought Cardiff was mediocre and as confusing of a promotion team as I’ve seen, and their offseason moves suggest they’re just prepping to go back down.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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1. City - No one has mentioned how young the core of this squad is and how much improvement we could see just as key player mature under Pep. They may well be at the start of a historically great run.

2. Liverpool

3. Chelsea - Sarri is a savvy, flexible coach. They won't play like Napoli did last season, but the midfield core of Kante/Jorginho/Kovacic is really quite amazing. Any one of those guys could be the heart of a CL qualifier. The big asterisk here is retaining Hazard. He could thrive in an attacking role under Sarri...or he could enjoy the jamon in Madrid.

4. Spurs - the New White Heart Lane will be a boost, but the core of this squad played a ton of minutes last season and made deeps runs into the World Cup, not to mention Son's absence. Will be a sluggish start.

5. Arsenal - but Emery wins the Europa League again!

6. ManU - by May, Mourinho will be in the stands at PSG stoking rumors that he's angling for Tuechel's job.

7. West Ham

8. Everton

9. Leicester

10. Palace

11. Wolves

12. Burnley - Small squad and a lot of games to play.

13. Newcastle

14. Fulham

15. Southampton

16. Brighton

17. Watford

18. Bournemouth - Started laying out big transfer fees on a few players, but would have been better off investing evenly across the squad.

19. Hudderfield - Last year's luck balances out for future USMNT manager David Wagner.

20. Cardiff

Golden Boot - Lacazette. He should see a lot more space and a lot more chances in Emery's counter-attacking system.

Player of the Season - De Bruyne

Golden Glove - Ederson

Manager of the Season - Pep

Young Player of the Year - Sessegnon
 
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OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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1. City - just too strong and too deep. Their second string would be top-ten and might push for Europe. Pep is the man with the plan.

2. Liverpool - now that they have a real keeper, they could push City. Salah has to regress (right?) but he and Mane could be the deadliest duo in the league. Have to be encouraged by their shredding of City in the CL last year.

3. Arsenal - now it gets tough. Picking the Gunners third for the much same reasons as MMS - Aubameyang, a balanced squad, and the end to the Wenger OUT drama which sapped them last year. Less downside than the other traditional top six. Ozil could be getting old, though.

4. Chelsea - agree with teddykgb: "but the thing about playing a high line in the PL is that it will make top class defenders look stupid. Chelsea do not have the CBs to play this system and will leak points as the Jamie Vardys of the world poach their way through." Loss of Courtois hurts. They could get to third if all goes well, but if the defense gets exposed and/or Hazard leaves, they could drop lower.

5. Spurs - some trepidation about this. Agree that they've stood still; agree that they're too thin; have always hated their misuse/underuse of Son IMO; seems to be some discontent brewing. Here only on the strength of their new stadium which should inject some energy.

6. Everton - allow me to get excited although I know Everton cracking the top-6 is Charlie Brown with the football. Everton have the exact same problem as Chelsea with playing a high line - they got absolutely shredded in preseason whenever the opposition got a pacy runner loose in the channels. Their moves squarely addressed those problems. Whether it's enough remains to be seen. With Coleman, Mina, and Digne, Everton now have 3/4 of a back line with pace. If one of Zouma (assuming it goes through), Holgate, and (least likely) Keane can come good, and if Gomes can push or supplant Schneiderlin at the No. 6 spot, this is a dangerous team. Lot of ifs. Still, why watch if you're not going to be optimistic, right? Edit: as Roger Bennett tweeted, "Genuinely cannot remember a season starting with so much beautiful ill-placed False Hope"

7. ManU - bad vibes, bad offseason, bad moon rising. Why play bunker-ball if you've got a muddle at the back and superior attacking talent? Pogba is lost, I'm not sure that Alexis and Lukaku can coexist, and the likes of Rashford and Marital are underused. Jose is a grump and the fans are near mutiny. Without DeGea last year I think this was a 4th- or 5th- place team. I see an implosion.

8. West Ham - could be higher if they click. Sterile stadium environment is still and issue and will always be.

9. Wolves - a sexy pick for top half but I'm really impressed.

10. Palace - good job keeping Zaha; will not repeat nightmare of last August/September.

11. Burnley - the Iceland of the PL. Good organization and resolute defending can only go so far. Not enough goals in this side to defeat any of the teams above them away; you can't win 0-0. Europa is brutal test of roster depth and they don't have enough (although the lucked out travel-wise in their first tie with Aberdeen, they just had to schlep to Istanbul; Olympiakos may be next).

12. Newcastle

13. Fulham - will not threaten to go down

14. Leicester - with Mahrez gone there's not much here. Maguire is gone in January.

15. Brighton

16. Bournemouth

17. Watford - by process of elimination.

18. Huddersfield - love Wagner, love the fans and the atmosphere at this park, just not good enough to stay up

19. Southampton - a shell of what they used to be

20. Cardiff - still mystified how they won promotion, absolutely no chance to stay up
 
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coremiller

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Jul 14, 2005
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1. City. They were miles better than the rest of the league last year, and other than maybe some regression to the mean, they've improved the squad with Laporte, Mahrez, a healthy Mendy.. They may not hit 100 points again but they are still huge favorites. I think they end up in the low 90s and cruise to the league title by 6-9 points.

2. Liverpool. They took a very good team and made significant improvements. They are deeper and more talented than last year, especially in midfield. Salah won't score 32 goals again, but they are the best-positioned team to challenge City. To win the league though they will need City to take a big step back, and I don't really see that happening.

GAP

3. Spurs. Kind of a homer pick, but hear me out. They failed to improve, but they also didn't get any worse, and they were clearly better than the three teams below them last year. I'm not convinced the other three have improved enough to catch them. Vertonghen/Alderweireld/Sanchez/Dier is probably the league's best collection of centerbacks, which is a big advantage over all the teams around them. They have the league's best center forward, and a fine collection of supporting attacking talent (Eriksen, Alli, Son, Lamela, Lucas). They are still very dependent on Kane staying healthy, and they are thin in central midfield, but they are still a more complete squad that fits the manager's tactics than the teams below them. There's also the reasonable possibility for some improvement from Alli, Tripper, Lucas, Lamela. I see the dismal transfer window mostly as failing to make the leap into the group ahead, less so in terms of getting caught from behind.

4. Chelsea. Very close with Arsenal for fourth. That midfield looks awesome, and I think Hazard is primed for a big year. But I am not sold on the strikers, their defenders don't really fit in an up-tempo pressing back four, and there are a LOT of new pieces here that will need to gel quickly in an entirely new tactical system. I could see this being a high variance team that claims some big scalps but drops too many points. They'll be fun to watch though. And there's some potential for an AVB-style implosion.

5. Arsenal. I want to like them more, and they have a lot of fun pieces in attack. But the defense concerns me: I don't think they have enough CL-caliber defenders, and I'm not sure how the pieces all fit together. Can they play all of Aubemayong/Lacazette/Ozil/Mkhtaryan together? How do they fit Ramsey in with those guys? Can Xhaka fulfill his promise under a new manager? Could jump higher if they gel and Sokratis surprises me, but I want to see real improvement before I pick them over teams that were clearly superior to them last year.

6. Man Utd. They were BAD last year and had no business finishing second; they only did so because David De Gea had the greatest goalkeeping season in the history of humankind. That is unlikely to recur. Their defense is still a mess that lacks quality -- of their defenders, I think only Bailly would start for the other top 6 clubs. Jones, Smalling, Rojo, Lindehof are all mediocre. Young and Valencia have done surprisingly well as converted fullbacks but are both old. Shaw is talented but a headcase and Mourinho hates him. They still don't know their best side or how to get the best out of all their stars at the same time. And there is a lot of bad blood between Mourinho, some of the players, and management. They have enough high-end talent that they maybe could figure it out, but I think they will struggle some.

GAP

7. Everton. They'll be fine and won't get caught up in a relegation mess like last year, but this team is just obviously not as good as the top six. And they seem to have been randomly buying interesting pieces rather than pursuing a coordinated strategy with a tactical plan. But they'll be a lot more fun to watch than Allardyce's team was.

8. West Ham

9. Palace

10. Wolves

11. Leicester

12. Fulham.

GAP

13. Burnley

14. Brighton.

15. Southampton.

16. Newcastle. #AshleyOut.

17. Bournemouth.

18. Watford. What does this team do well, besides fire managers every three months?

19. Huddersfield. Scrappy, but they just don't have enough good players.

GAP

20. Cardiff. Blech.
 

Kliq

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Mar 31, 2013
22,668
1. Liverpool: Partially just to buck the trend of people picking City. City was a juggernaut last season; but probably can't repeat that high level of success. Liverpool played the most impressive football outside of City last season and have made the biggest improvements on the transfer market (I love Shaqiri). They'll also have a full season of VVD.

2. City: Best team in the league and didn't lose anyone and picked up Mahrez.

3. Spurs: A lot has been made about their lack of action during transfer season; but outside of Liverpool the other big clubs didn't make any enormous improvements either. With Alderweireld hopefully healthy for the whole season, and Sanchez/Trippier/Aurier improving the team can reasonably expect to be better than last season (a season in which they fared very well against the top clubs except for City). People act like they got ridiculous injury luck last season; but Kane missed a month, Alderweireld missed most of the season, Lamela missed the first half of the year, it wasn't like they had fluke luck. Yeah if Kane blows out his knee they are in trouble, but Liverpool would be in trouble if the same thing happened to Salah.

4. Chelsea: I like their roster more than Aresenal and United, and if they can figure out their best group of midfielders they could contend.

5. Manchester United: I don't think they are THAT bad. The Jose situation is a ticking time bomb and they were lucky to finish second; but they still have a lot of talent. Yeah De Gea kept them in a lot of games last season, but De Gea is still the keeper and will keep them in games again this year.

6. Arsenal: They had a decently productive window; I guess the biggest improvement will be going from Wenger to Emery and just how big of a factor that is.

18. Southampton

19. Huddersfield

20. Cardiff City
 

Mighty Joe Young

The North remembers
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Sep 14, 2002
8,401
Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada
1. Liverpool .. heart over head - they have fixed the glaring weaknesses. Will it be enough?

2. The Citizens - still the best team

Gap

3. Spurs - actually playing home games this year.

Gap

Now the tricky bit
4. Chelsea - heavily dependent on how they adapt to the new manager. They have a great midfield.
5. Arsenal - improved but not enough
6. Man U .. the Special One will be shown the door (or quit) by the new year. A short term gaffer will come in an unleash the hounds- but it won’t be enough for Top Four.

Gap

7. Everton

Both Fulham and Wolves are in the top half.

Relegated : Cardiff, Watford and Huddersfield.
 

BostonJack42

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Jul 14, 2005
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1. Liverpool - knocked out of Champions League rather early - they are able to focus on the league
2. City - Pep ends up focusing on Champions League
3. Arsenal - homer pick but if Lac and Auba can play together they should be fun to watch.
4. Spurs - no new players and 3 stadiums in 3 years keeps them out of title contention but solid enough to grab top 4.
5. Chelsea - new coach doesn't have enough time to mold the team to his model.
6. ManU - Jose self-destructs either right before or right after January window / former rival brought on to "right" the ship.

No clue who's getting relegated, just hope it's not Bournemouth, as I like Eddie Howe and their weird stadium.
 

thehitcat

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Nov 25, 2003
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Lol. They do not, but that’s a lot of ground to make up, is all I’m thinking. City didn’t get any worse.
It'll be interesting to see how the teams get out of the gate this year. Last year after 19 matches City had a 13 point lead on United, were 16 up on Chelsea, a 20 point lead on Liverpool and were 21 up on Spurs and the race was over. In the second 19 games City still had more points but only a 3 point gap on Spurs, a 5 point margin on Liverpool and 6 on United. If those clubs keep it close in the first half of the year I'd say they have a shot. If City takes 55 out of a possible 57 in the first half again this year then it's over again. I just think that as good as they were, that kind of points total, 18 wins and 1 draw in 19 games, is nearly impossible to duplicate. Boring Boring Arsenal in the Invincibles 2003-2004 season was 13-0-6 in the first 19 with 45 points (and were a point behind United.) If City has 45 points at the turn a group of teams should still be in with a legitimate shout and cruising in the second half won't be as possible.
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
34,458
1. City
2. Liverpool
3. Spurs
4. Arsenal
5. Chelsea
6. West Ham (homer pick)
7. United
8. Everton
9. Leicester
10. Palace
11. Wolves
12 Burnley
13. Fulham
14. Brighton
15. Southampton
16. Huddersfield
17. Bournemouth
18. Southampton
19. Watford
20. Cardiff
 

coremiller

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Jul 14, 2005
5,846
Bump so we can see how wrong we all were. Actually this was a pretty chalk year (unlike, say, the Leicester year): City/Liverpool were the obvious 1-2 and they finished that way, and just about everyone saw the Mourinho implosion coming. Cardiff and Huddersfield were easy relegation picks.

The most surprising team was Watford; a lot of us (including me) tipped them to be in a relegation fight, but they cruised to a comfortable midtable finish and the FA Cup final. Fulham were probably the most disappointing side; a lot of us thought they could be competitive and fun but they were terrible.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Sep 27, 2016
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whoever called Wolves being a brilliantly designed squad was spot on. They were a menace to every single team in the league, big boys included.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
8,232
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I figured Wolves would be quality, but I was grossly wrong about Fulham and frankly underestimated Cardiff by a bundle.