English Premier League 2021/22 Season Predictions
I’m starting to type this up on July 28th to give you some perspective. I am going on holiday a week before the EPL gets underway so I’m forced to make these predictions a little earlier than I would like to. Many transfers are still to be done along with the rest of the pre-season games - data that I would love to have to get a better idea of all the teams going into this season.
The 2021/22 season is looking like feisty one with many of the mid-table clubs bolstering their squads to push for higher places. There are also teams that have struggled to make any transfers due to the financial problems coming off the back of the pandemic.
As I said, there are still a few weeks left until the season starts but I have to start writing all of this now so it gets released on time. If there are any remarkable transfers then I’ll try to edit the post to include those deals and their potential impact. For now though, let’s get cracking with the predictions.
#20: Watford
Sorry to all the Watford fans out there but you’re the sacrificial lambs of these predictions. Someone has to be last place and for me it has to be Watford.
Admittedly, I don’t follow the Championship so I’m not aware of what Watford has done in the past season, but clearly they were strong enough to bounce back immediately from their relegation in the 2019/20 season.
From a quick glance at their squad, it doesn’t look like anything changed. Ismaila Sarr looks to be their star player, scoring 13 goals and providing 10 assists in the Championship. He showed great potential when Watford signed him 2 seasons ago but he was still new to the Premier League and it wasn’t enough to keep Watford in the top division. He played the most minutes in the Championship from the Watford squad, establishing himself as the club’s new talisman player. A lot is going to be determined by his ability to score and assist.
Watford’s strength in the Championship was their ability to keep their back safe. They conceded the least amount of goals in the league with 30. It appears that they look for counters where Sarr can be the most threatening.
Although such strategy worked in the Championship, I feel like Watford will need to do more up front to survive. Deeney wasn’t good enough 2 seasons ago, so it’s hard to imagine him getting the necessary goals. Luckily for Watford, they have a 19-year-old wonderkid, Joao Pedro, that has been climbing up the ranks. His season in the Championship wasn’t incredible, but Watford fans will be hoping for him to live up to his hype when it comes to the big games in the Premier League.
Watford’s transfers haven’t been anything special as of yet. I’ve got little hope for them to survive this season, especially if they don’t add anything else to their squad. Players like Josh King and Danny Rose add depth but I would think that Watford need a bit more than that.
#19: Brentford
Another promoted side that I have going down. As you can see, I have a bias against teams that I have little idea about.
What I do know about Brentford is that their climb to the Premier League was a movie-esque story. Many compare their system to the one portrayed in the famous film, “Moneyball”, where a baseball team is ran through sophisticated scouting and data analysis to find undervalued players for the club.
Brentford had to make a run through the Playoffs to make it to the promise land. They made it happen after defeating Bournemouth in the semi-finals and then Swansea in the big final. It’ll be their first time in the Premier League and they’ll be trying their best to remain in it.
The issue I see is that the team lacks any instant superstars that are needed in Premier League teams to even start thinking about surviving. They give off some major Sheffield United vibes, which could be taken as a positive since they finished in the top half of the table in their debut season in the Prem, or as a negative since they got relegated without a fight in the season after.
There might not be any superstars, but there is Ivan Toney which may be considered one depending on who you ask. After all, scoring 31 goals in the Championship is a big achievement. Put 10 assists on top of that and you have 41 total goal contributions which is a ridiculous number for anyone in any league.
His rise has only come in the last few years. He picked himself up at Peterborough in League One in the 2018/19 season where he got 16 goals. 24 goals followed that which earned him the move up to the Championship to Brentford and now he will get to play regular Premier League football. If he can continue this goal-spree then there is a chance that Brentford does well and ends up surviving the drop back down.
They’ve ones again spent their cash on young talent that I have personally not heard of before. However, Kristoffer Ajer is a stand-out buy for £14m. The 23-year-old Norwegian has been highly regarded for a while now, especially among the people that play Football Manager. Rather shrewd signing which fits the Brentford way.
All in all, I feel it’s all going to be too little to get the job done. I do wish them all the best and I will be supporting them to make it to the safe zone.
#18: Crystal Palace
Instead of going for all the promoted sides to get relegated, I’ve gone with Crystal Palace - a team that I would presume will not be in the relegation zone for many people’s predictions.
Palace unveiled their new manager not too long ago, and that man was Patrick Vieira. The Invincible Vieira doesn’t have much managerial experience of the highest level. He spent a couple years managing New York City and another couple other in France under Nice. He was doing average at Nice until a run of bad results came around after which he got the sack.
The biggest factor for my decision to put Palace in the relegation zone is that Eze is out for a large chunk of the season. The player looked like a real deal last season, so much so that he featured in my top transfers of 2020/21 season list for the Premier League which I wrote earlier this week. Eze being out means that Zaha will likely have to drop back to help carry the ball up the pitch, something that Eze was doing when he was playing.
I just think this squad is not that good ones you single out the clear stars of the team. Without Zaha and Eze, this team has practically nothing going for it. Most of the players are ageing and it’s only a matter of time until the steam runs out.
Now, credit to Palace, they have done some good business to try and prevent what I think is the inevitable. Marc Guehi for £21m from Chelsea is said to be a promising young centre-back. Michael Olise for £8m from Reading gives me some heavy Eze vibes as a young midfielder outclassing the players from the Championship. And then you have the most recent signing of Joachim Andersen from Lyon for £16m which is very good. Andersen is certainly no slouch of a defender and will undoubtedly improve the team.
With everything changing at the club, Crystal Palace is a real enigma of this Premier League season. I’m making the tough call that Vieira will not be able to make the difference to turn this ship around despite the good arrivals. High variance on this club so they could very well do much better than I think. Time will tell.
I’m an Arsenal fan so I want to see Vieira do well for the sake of his managerial career. They also have very exciting players to watch which would be a shame to see them go down to the Championship.
#17: Burnley
I see Burnley a lot like Crystal Palace. The major difference is that Burnley have stability on their side instead of having to rely on individual brilliance to put them over the line.
Burnley has been awful in their transfer windows for a few years now. I remember Sean Dyche saying how he will get funds from the owners to improve the squad but as of now it doesn’t look like the funds are anywhere close to what they should be. They signed Nathan Collins from Stoke for £13m which is solid, but realistically he is not going to play ahead of Tarkowski or Mee unless Dyche changes to a 5-at-the-back randomly. Dyche is more likely to swallow gravel than change his managerial ways.
Burnley finished off the last season with 7 losses in 9 games - not exactly the end you want. Then again, they were already safe from relegation so perhaps it was the classic matter of already being on the beach.
I feel like there is still that thing about Burnley that scares everyone. They are a team that will defend and it’s on you to find a way past them, which sounds easier until you get on the pitch. Dyche has his men trained to a tee and there is a benefit in keeping the same players for many years for that role perfection. Everyone knows what is expected from them and know what their responsibility is. It’s the Burnley way and it has been since Dyche took charge.
Assuming the defence stays compact, I see Burnley just about surviving. Their experience is just invaluable and they have it in them to outplay some impatient teams that will get triggered by their style of play. Get Chris Wood going with a few goals that he always chips in with and the points will come slowly but surely. There is something to say about Chris Wood playing in the Olympics so he might not be back right away which might be a slight problem for Burnley.
Strong relegation contender, but I have them just about surviving for yet another season.
#16: Norwich City
Norwich close off my list for top candidates for the drop this season.
I have them coming above the rest because I would hope that they learned from their mistakes that occurred when they were in the Premier League 2 seasons ago. They still have the same manager, Daniel Farke, and the squad is rather similar too. Players like Pukki and Buendia were hyped up going into that season and they were all too quiet resulting in Norwich going back to the Championship.
They bounced back right away with a bang by winning the Championship very convincingly, with the same group of players being key to getting the league title. Pukki got the goals and Buendia providing - well, everything to be fair.
That guy Buendia had a tremendous season. 15 goals and 17 assists in the Championship are unreal numbers. It’s rare that you see players with double digits goals and assists, let alone having them in high ‘teens. Those numbers happened to get the attention of some Premier League clubs that had more to offer than Norwich. Buendia left to Aston Villa and and Norwich have lost one of their best players.
I must admit that losing Buendia doesn’t do Norwich any favours. They got £35m from the deal but I think he could have been worth more if he meant that Norwich stayed in the Premier League for an extra season.
Now, I still think Norwich can survive the drop. Their Championship win doesn’t get rectified because they lost Buendia, they had to be consistent and determined to get back into the EPL and that is exactly what they achieved. I think survival would be as easy as Pukki getting a few more goals than he did 2 seasons ago. That will be harder without Buendia, but Norwich bought some players of their own using those funds.
The direct replacement is Milot Rashica coming from relegated Werder Bremen. £10m for the winger is a decent price for what you are getting. His numbers weren’t exquisite, but his side was relegated so what can you expect. He ads pace to the side which is something that Norwich lacked when they were on any counters.
2 seasons ago, Norwich were the team that anyone knew they could get a few goals past, so it’s good to see them get some defensive reinforcement. Ben Gibson, Angus Gunn and Dimitrios Giannoulis all add to the defence and I would expect the former two to start games for the most part.
I also think Norwich have done a really good sleeper deal that went a little under the radar. Getting their hands on Billy Gilmour on a loan deal could be some really good business if Gilmour extrapolates from the good performances we have seen from him at Chelsea and Scotland. As Rashica looks to be more of an out-and-out winger, Gilmour is a centre midfielder that could pitch in with a few killer passes over to the forwards - something that Buendia used to do.
I am a little worried that Farke won’t change his ways and will try to keep implementing his more expansive style of football in the Premier League. It left them exposed 2 seasons ago and it could very well do the same this season. Sometimes you need to admit that you have worse quality players and just try and scavenge whatever points you can get.
#15: Newcastle United
Newcastle finished 12th last season which was a decent placing for them considering their squad. They were extremely unlucky to get lengthy injuries on two of their top players in the attacking department; Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin. With those two players fit for a whole season, Newcastle fans could see some progress that they have been craving for for over a decade now.
However, I do think Newcastle will actually do worse than last season, and it’s not entirely their fault. In a league that requires yearly investment to keep afloat, Newcastle has yet to do any deals this summer while their opposition has done just that. You will fall behind if you don’t do the business.
Last season it did really look like Newcastle could be in trouble. They were hovering over the relegation zone for the longest of times - that was up until Joe Willock was signed on a loan deal in January and chipped in with several goals for Newcastle which brought them into total safety. Unfortunately Newcastle have yet to sign him up permanently so I would expect the lack of goals from midfield to continue.
I don’t think Newcastle will necessarily be in danger of being relegated, but I do think that they will struggle to get results against most teams, just like last season. If I was a Newcastle fan, I would prepare for misery again because the chances of moving forward without further reinforcement is going to be tough.
#14: Southampton
In my predictions I tend to overrate Southampton because I of how much I rate their manager, Ralph Hasenhuttl. The fact of the matter is that this Southampton squad is no better than the Newcastle squad. In many aspects I would actually say that Southampton have worse players.
The big difference is that Southampton generally plays with this high line and often try to get results against any team, no matter where they are in the table. Yes, that sometimes leads to embarrassing scorelines like the 9:0 against Man United last season, but football fans at least can appreciate the effort when it does work.
I would say that two players carry this Southampton side. The first would be Ward-Prowes, who is the key man in the midfield and is responsible for the large chunk of the creativity going forward. His stand-out strength is undoubtedly his expertise from dead ball situations. Whether it’s delivering a perfect delivery from a corner, or sending the ball right into the top corner from a free-kick without giving the keeper a chance to save it. He is a top asset for Southampton.
The other man is Danny Ings who has an awful track record with injuries. Last season was one of his luckier ones in recent times, only missing out on a few games due to minor injuries. He is Southampton’s main goalscorer and a reliable one at that as long as he remains fit.
What makes me worried for Southampton is the rumour that Danny Ings could be heading to Spurs. It seems like a totally believable transfer given the possibility of Harry Kane moving on to Man City. It could also just be the case of Ings playing alongside Kane or be his backup because Spurs have real lack of quality depth in that striker position.
If Ings was to be let go, that could be a sign of real doom and gloom for Southampton. I have little faith in players like Che Adams and Theo Walcott to make up for the goals lost due to the Ings transfer.
#13: Wolverhampton Wanderers
I have a feeling that this season is going to be an off-season in preparation for the future. Wolves really struggled last season, playing some real bland football that was often not getting the job done. It was nothing like the Wolves that got European football 2 seasons ago.
The main reason for that was the horrible injury in November 2020 to their focal point up front, Raul Jimenez, that put him out for the rest of the season. He is now back playing for the team in the pre-season with head protection but I would expect him to not be back to his best immediately.
During the time that Jimenez was out, Pedro Neto proved himself to be a quality winger so it’ll be interesting to see how Neto and Jimenez link up together. The two didn’t get much time together beforehand because Neto wasn’t quite ready to play in the starting 11. Technically he still isn’t ready because he is now injured for an undisclosed length so who knows when we’ll actually see them two play together.
Of course Nuno Espirito Santo has moved on to Spurs with Bruno Lage taking over his duties at Wolves. Moving to a 4-at-the-back system will be quite the change for the Wolves squad if Lage was to implement his system from his time at Benfica. I don’t know much about Lage apart from the fact that he got sacked from Benfica for equalising Benfica’s worst ever series of results - 2 wins in 13 matches.
His expectations will be a lot less at Wolves, although it’s going to be his job to rebuild the squad to what it was 2 seasons ago. Sales of Jota and Doherty backfired and signings of Nelson Semedo, Fabio Silva and Ki-Jana Hoever have not really impressed as of yet. Hoever and Silva are both 18-years-old so we’ll give them time, although Silva did cost £36m which you would expect more from than just 4 goals and 3 assists in 32 appearances in the league.
I suspect there are going to problems to begin with but as more time passes, Jimenez should get back into his top form while players like Podence and Neto return from their long-term injuries.
#12: Brighton & Hove Albion
Brighton is every stat nerd’s favourite team. They can’t talk about Brighton without mentioning xG and other similar stats. I can say that because I’m one of those nerds, to a lesser extent.
Graham Potter is certainly building something, there is no question about that. For the large part, Brighton have been very solid defensively. Robert Sanchez replacing Mat Ryan along with Ben White adding quality to the defence has proven to be valuable last season, and that was with Solly March and Tariq Lamptey being out for the majority of said season.
The problem for Brighton has always been in the attack department. The reason why everyone raves about Brighton’s xG is because it is unbelievable high compared to where they are placing in the league. The statistics shows that Brighton should be pushing for European places but they just about survived the drop last season. Even though they create many chances for themselves in front of goal, they are incredibly wasteful - Neal Maupay being the main culprit.
Although nothing has been done about the issue as of yet, there have been rumours that Brighton are heading for Odsonne Edouard from Celtic to solve their attacking problems. The French striker has a very good record for the Scottish side and would be a fantastic addition to Brighton.
Looking good on the pitch leaves you exposed to major poaching. All the bottom-half teams suffer from this and Brighton is no different. Ben White has been practically confirmed as an Arsenal player, but at least Brighton reportedly got £50m from the deal which is more than they would have ever imagined a season or 2 ago.
I’m assuming Brighton sign a striker. If that was to happen, Brighton can very easily get a mid-table position, even if they lost Ben White. Keep the defensive record, and focus on chance conversion - that is the name of the game for Brighton this season.
#11: Everton
Everton, strangely enough, might be in the biggest mess out of all the Premier League teams competing this season, and there are many factors contributing to that.
Let’s begin with the elephant in the room - Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Icelandic international has been accused of child sex offenses and has been arrested for the alleged crime. Everton have suspended him and we will likely never see him again, for a very good reason.
Then you have the whole Carlo Ancelotti situation. Don’t worry, Carlo didn’t commit any serious crimes from what I know. He just ditched Everton after a single full season to go back to Real Madrid, which is in all fairness a more appealing job than Everton. Not only have Everton lost a top manager, but remember all the great players that Ancelotti attracted? Well, they have a good reason to feel betrayed and we have already heard rumours of James Rodriguez wanting to get out from the Merseyside club.
Everton got Rafa Benitez in Carlo’s place which got a horrible reception from their fans as they sent threats towards Benitez due to his previous ties with Liverpool. The unreasonable behaviour didn’t stop Rafa from signing on the dotted line as the former Liverpool man will try to stable the sinking ship that Everton may be.
Rafa is more of a defensive manager by nature so it was a weird appointment for me in the first place. If Everton had 1 strength I would have thought that it was their impressive defensive record, especially towards the tail end of the season. Benitez will have to innovate on the other side of the pitch to improve Everton from last season.
With no serious transfer deals coming through, I can’t see Everton doing too well this season. With all the interior problems within the club taking place, I reckon a drop in league position is to come. Improvement is very well possible if the likes of DCL, Richarlison and James Rodriguez play closer to the level they played at the start of last season and less like they played towards the end.
#10: West Ham United
David Moyes completely turned this West Ham side around. From getting closer and closer to relegation, to suddenly jumping up the table to clinch European football. The question is whether West Ham can continue this going forward.
As it has become tradition, I would expect their league position to dip if they are going to remain in the Europa League. We have seen clubs such as Burnley and Wolves very much struggle battling on the national and international fronts. West Ham doesn’t have the depth of those top clubs so I would expect something similar happening to them.
I love watching West Ham play. Defensively they are as solid as anyone else in the league and their attack is pretty deadly too. They detonate lethal crosses from the their wing play onto Soucek and Antonio that often find the back of the net. They are very systematic but it works, or should I say it worked because other teams might find them out this season.
They do rely on their first team players to stay fit and healthy. Players like Coufal, Cresswell, Antonio, Soucek and Rice are irreplaceable in the team. The same could be said about Lingard for the second half of last season but of course that was a loan deal and it doesn’t look like Lingard will be returning to West Ham again for this season. Playing Europa League would mean that these players would either have to swapped for worse players or they’ll be exhausted by the schedule.
I still very much rate the team and as long as they keep all of their players, they shoulf give a tough game to pretty much every team in the league. I do wonder what their approach is going to be heading into European football. Last time they were there I recall they got eliminated right away at the qualification stage to some unknown Romanian club.
#9: Leeds United
I feel like I’m a man that learns from his mistakes. Last season, I put Leeds close to the relegation zone as I didn’t believe in the hype that was around this team after their dominant Championship run in 2019/20. After watching them for a season, I must admit that Leeds are a one-of-a-kind team with a manager that gets the most out his resources.
Everyone was talking about Leeds as a team that relentlessly play attacking football hoping to outscore their opposition. The scary part is that towards the end of the season, they retained their firepower while simultaneously limiting the amount of goals that they concede. That would make them a strong contender for the European football places in all honesty. It’s not like they were far from it last season.
My biggest worry is that the player quality is going to catch up with them. I refuse to believe that Patrick Bamford is suddenly a solid player after watching this guy miss chance after chance beforehand. You can catch him miss chances for Leeds too, but the frequency he gets chances is so large that it he is bound to bury a few of them.
As much as I like to rave about how average to bad most of the Leeds lot are, they all have incredible willpower and determination to succeed, else they wouldn’t be playing under Bielsa. The notorious press puts every opponent of theirs off their game - even Man City struggled against it.
In the transfer window, Leeds have only done the necessary transfers. They signed Jack Harrison on a permanent deal and got themselves Junior Firpo from Barcelona as the replacement for Alioski who departed due to his contract running out. Both were needed to maintain the same quality as last season. I wonder if Firpo can fill in Alioski’s shoes in that left wing-back slot.
As long as the players don’t burn themselves out, I don’t see a reason why Leeds can’t be in-and-about the same places they were last season. If anything, players that they signed last year; the likes of Rodrigo and Raphinha, would have had more time to play together so they can have a more important role in the squad.
#8: Leicester City
Third time is the charm they say. Leicester City have bottled to qualify to the Champions League for the second consecutive season after being in a comfortable position to do so. A poor run at the tail end of the season has once again meant they dropped off from the top 4 spots on the very last day. They will try to finally claim top 4 this season although I suspect it’s going to be very tough for them to do.
There is no doubt in my mind that Leicester is a great team. They have some really talented players that would not look too out of place an the top teams in the world. Take Tielemans, Ndidi or Schmeichel - those players are top tier. Then you have Castagne, Soyuncu, Barnes, Maddison, Vardy - all players that not too shabby themselves. It’s a great, all-rounded squad and it’s no surprise that they have been the lead club to break through the traditional top 6.
The reason I have them in 8th is mostly because of the rise of other teams more than anything. Looking at it, Vardy is only getting older. At 34-years-old, you can’t expect him to play week-in-week-out, let alone score as reliably as he has in the past. You could see his drop-off last season already. 15 goals in the league is still very good, but a large portion of those came from penalties.
Leicester have signed Patson Daka from Salzburg for £27m, a player that could very well be the future once Vardy moves on. For now, Leicester have Iheanacho who found some form last season so he can carry the torch for a while too.
Boubakary Soumare might just be a Tielemans-like transfer that goes under the radar for most people, even if the player itself has been known as a talent for a long time now. He is a very highly touted midfielder coming from France. If he ticks right away, then Leicester could very well be pushing for the top 4 spots.
I’m just more willing to bet against Leicester because of their track record of not getting the job done. They also failed to show up in some important league games where anything but a loss would have helped them out a lot in their aim to get to top 4. Losing to Newcastle 4-2 at home or drawing to a 10-man Southampton away are results you cannot be proud of.
#7: Aston Villa
I’m sure there is some bias involved with this one. Although I don’t actively support Aston Villa, I do like them and I backed them to do well last season when many didn’t believe in them.
I might be going over the top here but with what I’ve seen last season, and what they have brought on top of that, I don’t see a reason why they shouldn’t push to break through the traditional top 6.
Whilst everyone was fit at the start of last season, Villa made quite the impression with not only their results, but also their team performances. The 7-2 win over Liverpool jumps out immediately. Then Grealish had his injury and things began to slow down. However, the key man returned for the last two games of the season and Villa managed to get a win over Spurs and Chelsea - two teams that still had to play for European places until the very end.
The above shows you that Villa with Grealish is something to be aware of. Unfortunately for them, the big clubs started calling with offers that are very tough to decline for both club and player. Man City are in constant talks to get Grealish with Villa reportedly trying their best to keep their homeboy captain. Of course it would be a big blow if they were to lose him, although Villa have demonstrated that they are very good at spending their money wisely. Watkins, Martinez and Cash have been phenomenal transfers from last season, and now Emilliano Buendia could be added to that list if things go well. Villa have also been linked with Emile Smith-Rowe and James Ward-Prowes which are very serious players in their own right. ESR has signed a new deal with Arsenal but JWP could perhaps be tempted.
I love Emi Martinez and I think Villa got themselves a top 10 keeper in the world right there. His quality means that Villa could be more adventurous going forward which makes full use of players such as Grealish, and now Buendia. If Watkins gets his finishing a bit better then there is not much more you could ask for in the attacking front. Douglas Luiz is a great DM that goes under the radar in most games. He cleans up anything that heads his way and is very progressive in his passing.
It’s such a young and exciting team that I wish would stick together for an extra year or two to see how it all develops. For spectators’ sake, I hope that Grealish remains at Villa without causing any trouble. Villa have a lot of potential but I would fully understand moving to club that is destined for success. I’m sure the cash is nicer over in Manchester as well.
#6: Tottenham Hotspur
I don’t think it’s too farfetched to say that Spurs have it the worst from all the traditional top 6 teams. Their whole manager fiasco where they were rejected by everyone and their mother must have been humiliating. Furthermore, “One of their own” Harry Kane has been pushing for a move this summer to Man City with Daniel Levy not willing to let his star man go for a anything less than his outrageous price tag. Finally you have the most recent centre-back situation where on the same day as Alderweireld was announced to leave the club for some Qatar money, reports were circulating that Spurs’ #1 target, Cristian Romero, supposedly declined them.
There are still a lot of question marks over Spurs as we get closer to the start of the season. It looks likely that Harry Kane will stay at the club against his will. I would assume he would still try his hardest as he is a professional but even his fan connection can’t be the same after admitting that he is looking for a move from Spurs.
The defender situation is horrible as of right now. Spurs can’t go into next season with Dier and Sanchez being their centre-backs. I can’t imagine Nuno choosing to go 5-at-the-back with what he has right now. There is just not enough depth and quality out there.
Son signing a long-term deal is one of a few positives to gather for Spurs. The Korean has been a key man for them in the last few years and can be relied on with or without Kane.
Spurs haven’t been totally quiet in the window. They managed to snag themselves a brilliant player exchange deal with Sevilla. By shipping Erik Lamela and and additional £22m, Spurs got themselves Bryan Gil, a young Spanish playmaker that has been valued rather highly in La Liga last season when he played on loan at Eibar. I feel like the Premier League will be a little too demanding for him to begin with and It’ll take some time for him to get used to it. At 20-years-old, he is definitely one for the future.
It’s way too early to make my judgement on Spurs because nobody knows if they intend on getting deals done. All I can say for now is that I highly doubt they’ll be contending for top 4 this season. There is a chance they completely flop and get overtaken by some of the outsiders that are pushing for those European places.
#5: Arsenal
You know how I spoke about my potential bias towards teams I like such as Brighton and Aston Villa. Well, I literally support Arsenal so perhaps my thoughts on the club should just be completely ignored. I like to think I have a good idea of where the team is at but you should take everything I say about these lot with a pinch of salt.
For most people, putting Arsenal in 5th would be considered generous. Arsenal finished 8th last season and were only 2 points ahead of Leeds and Everton; two teams that were chasing them until the very end and would have got the job done if Arsenal didn’t have a solid end of the season. Arsenal got embarrassed in the Europa League when they got outplayed by Unai Emery’s Villareal side. That season was a complete right off and I’m not too sure myself how Mikel Arteta made it through it all.
With a new season comes that new hope. You try to persuade yourself that the squad are more used to Arteta’s style. You tell yourself that without European football Arsenal are going to be more rested and have more time to prepare for those league matches. You hope that Pepe and Aubameyang find their shooting boots and have performances that would represent the investment that has been put into them.
Alas, those things quickly disappear into the season when you realise that this season is just a continuation of the last for the most part. Now it is worth saying that Arsenal’s 8th place finish was mostly down to their shocking first half of the season. I don’t know to this day what was wrong with them. Losses came one after another until a great result against Chelsea on Boxing Day came along.
Arsenal is also the only team I’ve actually seen play during pre-season. To make this short and snappy, the weaknesses are very clear. In possession, the players still struggle to keep the ball when put under pressure. The playing out of the back has been a staple during Arteta’s tenure and the it does seem to cause more problems than benefits. The other issue is defending set pieces. The team does generally struggle in the air and set pieces expose that more than anything.
As I’m writing this, Ben White was confirmed as an Arsenal player for £53m from Brighton. Young English player that is Premier League proven and is capable of playing in 3 different positions will always be a costly one. Arteta loves his centre-backs to be comfortable on the ball, probably to prevent any mistakes when they are under pressure from playing it from the back. The price tag is hefty, but no doubt he’ll improve the squad.
Lokonga and Tavares add depth in needed areas while not really damaging the budget too badly. They are both young with potential to break into the first team if they impress. Lokonga has looked really good in the few minutes he has given, looking forward to seeing him play.
Even though I’m putting Arsenal 5th, I think that is the absolute best position they can achieve this season. The other 4 appear to be too strong for the North London clubs to do anything about it. If anything, they’ll be competing with Leicester, Villa and other teams of that nature that are hungry to prove themselves.
Arsenal’s final placing will be heavily determined by the form of the attacking players. I feel like defensively Arsenal are good enough that it won’t be a problem. White will only solidify that further. Last season I was not impressed with chance creation particularly. I suppose that goes hand-in-hand with the fact that Arsenal played without a playmaker for the first half of the season. Smith-Rowe and Odegaard got introduced and things looked a bit better but it still wasn’t quite there where I would like it to be. Odegaard returned to Real Madrid now and it doesn’t look like Arsenal will be able to secure another #10 anytime soon. There were links to Maddison, Aouar and even Odegaard on a permanent deal but nothing has gone through yet.
This season everyone is going to learn a lot about Arsenal and Arteta. There are no excuses left if things begin to go south. If the opening of this season was to go similar to how it did last season, I would expect Arteta to be gone by November. £75m spent so far too with a possibility of more coming in the next few weeks. I can’t imagine fans will blame Kroenke because that is a decent amount of money spent. Who am I kidding, Stan will get heat no matter what.
#4: Liverpool
The 4 heavy hitters begin with Liverpool.
The struggle last season for Liverpool was real. Their defence was completely torn apart to the point were they had to rely on players from their academy to do the business in some of the most important games of their season. Gomez, Van Dijk and Matip were all out for far too long and it all happened around the same time too. We got to witness the reigning champions trying their best to get results while playing Fabinho and Henderson as their centre-back, obviously not their natural position. Kabak that they got on loan in January was not so good while Nat Phillips was a just too inexperienced to command the backline like Van Dijk would.
The issues at the back had Liverpool hovering just outside of the Champions League spots which would have been awful going into this new season. Thankfully for them, they picked it up towards the end and managed to squeeze into the 3rd position on the final day with both Chelsea and Leicester losing their games.
Onto this season, Liverpool fans got to see Gomez and Van Dijk both playing in the recent friendly. I’m assuming that in a few weeks time, both would be ready to start games for Liverpool in competitive games which would be absolutely fantastic for them. Liverpool have also added Konate to their squad from RB Leipzig, making sure that they have an insurance policy at the back just in case the injuries reoccur. £36m is a lot for a backup but maybe he can push for first team places. Plenty of football to play anyway so I’m sure he’ll get his opportunities to impress.
With everyone returning to full fitness, why wouldn’t I predict Liverpool to do better than 4th? It comes down to me thinking that it’s going to be tough for them just to suddenly be in that 2019/20 dominant form that they were on when they destroyed everything on their path. Both Gomez and Van Dijk wouldn’t have played a competitive game in 2021 yet.
Losing Wijnaldum should also not be understated. With the likes of Henderson and Fabinho being shifted into the backline, Wijnaldum had to do more than ever to make up for the loss of quality in the midfield. He always chipped in with a few goals and was that key midfielder pushing to attack through the middle. Liverpool haven’t quite replaced him yet with anyone so it’s looking like either Curtis Jones or even Diogo Jota will take over that role.
What made me worried a little bit for Liverpool was that the attacking front went a little bit too quiet throughout the season. There were patches were Mane and Firmino just weren’t operating on the same level. Even Salah, who has been Liverpool’s main man for a few years now, had a patch at the start of 2021 where he didn’t get much done. It was Diogo Jota who sort of rejuvenated the attack at Liverpool. The hungry Portuguese international was exceptional whenever he played, but got knocked down by injuries just like many other Liverpool players last season.
Lastly, the midfield is a big question mark for me. Thiago has looked a shadow of his past self last season, including the EUROs tournament where he looked just as bad. Keita hasn’t proved himself in the Premier League yet while Henderson has been linked with a move away which I found to be shocking news. The midfield is looking really soft right now with the Wijnaldum departure.
I still think that Liverpool are a great team. Pretty much all of the top 4 have a chance of winning the league in my eyes. It was really tough to separate them into the specific positions, but I found the most negatives in Liverpool than with the other 3 so it is like it is. It’s going to be interesting to see if Klopp can bring that winning mentality back.
#3: Chelsea
Chelsea has been tremendously hyped up into this season after their win in the Champions League, toppling over the seemingly unstoppable Man City side. Tommy Tuchel completely reinvented the squad and brought them the major European trophy their fans have been striving for. I’m sure retaining it will be a target, but winning the league would put a stamp on Tuchel’s legacy within just a year and a half if he was to achieve such feat.
For me, winning the Champions League is the greatest thing that a European club can achieve, no questions about that. I do also believe that winning the Premier League is a much more difficult task and requires a different set of skills to accomplish. In the UCL, you can casually make it to the Knockout Stage because the groups are often too easy for the giant clubs. Then with a few one-off games, anything can happen. If you play the Chelsea vs Man City final 10 times, I would be willing to bet that Man City win that 7 or 8 times. It’s highly dependent on how you do on the day, and on the day Chelsea arrived with passion and determination, allowing them to give Man City a good game and take the trophy right beneath them.
I’m saying all this because the league format benefits the teams that can produce results with consistency. You have to play 38 games, and if you are a big club like Chelsea, you play most of the games against clubs that in theory are worst than you. Even though Chelsea did have great patches of results, especially when Tuchel was first introduced, I did see some questionable performances that lead to upsets that a team like Man City are less prone to. Losing 2 games to West Brom is just not something that should be happening to a team if they are to push for the title.
This window, Chelsea took a little backseat and have yet to do any important, first team business. They are comfortable with who they got and have faith that Tuchel can turn around the form of some players that haven’t performed too well last season. And no, Werner wasn’t the only one. I can’t remember much coming from the likes of Ziyech or even Pulisic either - two high profile signings that were brought in to bring success, and even though the UCL trophy was won, they didn’t really contribute to any of that. I’ll give Pulisic some leeway because he scored and assisted in the double-legged tie against Real Madrid in the semi-final.
With all of that said, the fact that Chelsea did win the Champions League without their some of their first team players at their peak form shows that there is some serious potential that is yet to be reached within the squad. If Werner converted half of his chances he would be a revelation. The confidence would do him a ton of good too, I’m sure of that. I can easily see him getting off to a great start and continuing on until the very end of the season. We know he has 20+ goals a season in him, it’s about getting that output from him and that is quite the job for Tuchel to do.
I have been very impressed with the way Tuchel set up his defence. Azpilicueta looked completely out of it in Lampard’s Chelsea but the captain of the club seems to be a crucial part of the backline under Tuchel.
We know exactly what Mason Mount brings to Chelsea. There is a reason why the man has made himself undroppable under two different managers. All Chelsea fans love him, and many non-Chelsea fans love him too. He has been the constant in the Chelsea side last season that has delivered game after game no matter the circumstances. If Havertz adds on top of that, like he has towards the end of last season, then the future looks brighter than ever for Chelsea.
As I said, the order of the top 4 is up for debate. All I know is that those 4 teams are going to fight it until the very end because we know that they are all capable of winning it all.
#2: Manchester United
I feel like a lot of people are sleeping on Manchester United for the upcoming season. People are so hyped up to see how Chelsea and Liverpool will do that they are completely forgetting that Man United comfortably finished 2nd last season, with their position being secure many games in advance of the final day. They gathered 74 points which is a decent amount. The number could have easily gone up to 80 if United bothered getting good results towards the end of the season when they were on the beach for their league games. I recall them playing every 2 days for like 2 weeks so it’s understandable why they would focus on Europa League over the league when their position was pretty much confirmed.
People love to hate on Solskjaer. I love to make jokes at the expense of Ole when things go south for United, which is less often than you would think. Sure they lost to Villareal on penalties in the Europa League final, but that doesn’t take away the rest of the season where they showed some great chemistry and consistency in the league.
With the transfer deals that United have done this window, it’s very hard to pin point any specific weaknesses. Jadon Sancho was finally signed up which gives United a man on that right side that they missed for a very long time. Although I do think he gets overrated by English fans and media, I can’t deny that he does great ability. Dribbling seems to be his strength, but he doesn’t shy away from scoring goals by any means.
The other key transfer is the deal that brings Raphael Varane to United from Real Madrid. A fee of about £40m seems rather cheap considering how much Arsenal have brought Ben White for. The Frenchmen has been at the top of his game for years now and Man United will hope that he is the final piece in the defence puzzle to get them so major silverware.
The only area that I see a gap of quality is in the midfield, specifically in the defensive midfield. Matic is getting on a bit with age, Fred is not a natural DM, and McTominay doesn’t seem to be cut out for the job when left by himself. Solskjaer often had to pair up Fred and McTominay in the midfield because neither man can do the job alone. This means that one of the star attackers misses out in games, whether that is Pogba, Greenwood, Martial or someone else - either way someone is getting left out. If United was to purchase a world class DM, I would be tempted to say that United have the best first eleven in the league.
If Ole grows a pair and does like he says by starting Henderson ahead of De Gea, I see no problems in the backline. Maguire is a leader of men that is going to paired up with a world class defender in the form of Varane. Luke Shaw has come back to his absolute best, only proving that further at the EUROs where I thought he was the best left-back in the competition. Wan-Bissaka lacks quality going forward, but he doesn’t need to push up there. He can be used as an insurance policy on the right, possibly allowing an overload on the other side of the pitch where Luke Shaw thrives.
Along with superstar power going forward, Man United also have the depth necessary to fight on multiple fronts. The players I mentioned previously that will likely miss out the important games will get plenty of game time in the games where the stars need to be rested. I’ve seen concern that Greenwood’s progression is going to stall with the Sancho signing, but I don’t think that’ll be the case. Greenwood will still get his game time and he might even play more as a striker. Cavani is far from a young player you know.
As much as it hates me to say, Manchester United look like a force to be reckoned with. Money eventually tops everything and that just happens to be the case in football as well. Besides a few positions, Man United spend some mad money on throughout the last few years to get up to the standard of Man City. I do believe this might be the season where they put on a serious challenge. They certainly have the players to do so. I’m still not entirely sold on Solskjaer if he capable of managing all these stars, but the fans seem to be largely for him and he has provided some cute moments for United. Now it’s time to push for those major titles.
#1: Manchester City
It is incredibly hard not to place Manchester City as the strongest contenders to win the league again. There were doubts at the start of the last season, but once they stabilised, they never looked back. Win after win through 2021 made it more and more clear that Man City were bound to win the league.
When their schedule got a little bit packed, things began to change a little bit. Losses to Leeds and Brighton were crazy at the time, not to mention the treble that Chelsea got over them across all competitions; once in the league, once in the FA Cup semi-final, and once in the final of the Champions League. That last one hurt the most because that is the one trophy that Man City are yet to win. The league titles and the league cup are nice and all, but after the season ended, I’m sure the vibe at the club was sour due to that final loss to Chelsea.
With a lot of buzz around them, Man City have yet to make any transfer additions to their squad. We keep hearing bits about Harry Kane and Jack Grealish but as of yet, nothing concrete has been reported besides bids. If I had to guess, Grealish is the more likely one, which is weird because you would think that Kane would be the priority given that City’s only striker right now is Gabriel Jesus, who himself was rumoured to leave this summer window. It’s safe to say that anyone that City sign will add something to the squad.
Even if they fail to sign everyone, we know that the quality of their current squad is good enough to win titles. Dias seemingly solved all defensive issues by naturally linking together with John Stones. The wing-backs are all quality and there are so many of them where Pep can easily swap them around for rest. I could say that the midfield is a little soft with not much depth behind the key starters, but in terms of first team players; Rodri, Gundogan and De Bruyne is probably the most balanced 3-man midfield in the league. Then you have the attacking players that can play anywhere in the final third. With the striker role wide open, that slot could be open to Foden, Jesus, Torres, Sterling, Silva or even De Bruyne. Who knows? I’m sure even Pep himself doesn’t know who will he be playing where. Doing opposition instructions against Pep’s Man City must be a nightmare for every coach that comes up against them.
Are Man City too good too fail? Their incredible track record suggests that they should be the favourites for every competition they enter. Is there a timeline where Man City struggle and Pep Guardiola would be on the chopping block? I mentioned how City’s midfield lacks in depth. Imagine a few injuries to those key midfielders that would put them on the shelf for a season. I’m sure if that was to happen, then City would actually struggle just like Liverpool did last season. Nobody is too good too fail. Unfortunate, unforeseen circumstances can always ruin plans. It’s never going to be as easy as to say that Man City will retain the league title.