A comprehensive analysis from Sam Blackaby
This season looks like it could be one of the most competitive years in a long while. The 17/18 season saw us lose Swansea, West Brom and Stoke but added Wolves, Cardiff and Fulham who all have all made significant headway to improving their squads for the season ahead.
Below this will be a team-by-team preview for this season in order of my expected league table.
1st: Liverpool.
Now, putting Liverpool top is definitely bold but they’ve got an absolutely ridiculous squad this year. During this transfer window, Alisson was signed for £67 million to replace Karius as the starting goalkeeper after endless mistakes and lacklustre performances, the former Roma goalkeeper kept Ederson out of the Brazil squad in the World Cup and will be vital for this season. Fabinho is another addition to replace the departed Emre Can, the defensive midfielder will provide an important service in the middle of the park for a very offensive Liverpool side.
Naby Keita will also slot into the midfield in a more forward role, the Guinea midfielder has grown at Leipzig in a box to box role and will be able to play exactly as he has been under Klopp. Liverpool also should continue to give Alexander-Arnold the experience he had last year in the first team with Van Dijk alongside him, who has been turning into one of the worlds best. The front 3 of Firmino, Mane and Salah will once again be a destructive trio, if they’re able to play similar to they did last year then they’ll undoubtedly challenge for the title with an even stronger side behind them now.
2nd: Manchester City
The 17/18’s Premier League winners have got a strong chance of maintaining last years untouchable display. Man City have managed to hold onto all of their main starting players from last season with the added bonus of signing Riyad Mahrez from Leicester, the Algerian is a top player, but it’s hard to see how he will fit into the starting XI. Sergio Aguero looks very sharp this year and after his brace in the Community Shield he’ll hope to keep his place in the starting team, ahead of the classy youngster Gabriel Jesus who is usually rotated with Aguero.
Leroy Sane will be looking for a copy of last season after wrongly being left out of the Germany squad despite a break-out year for City, and talking of break-out seasons it could be time for Bernardo Silva to make his mark. Guardiola has been speaking very highly of him, hinting that currently he’s the “first name on the teamsheet” and he’s really made a difference during pre-season. Man City’s main issue this year could be a seemingly downwards fall for Otamendi and if Pep continuously plays him, he may be a weak link in an otherwise superb team.
3rd: Tottenham
Amazingly, Spurs didn’t buy or sell a single player this transfer window but that shouldn’t be an issue for Pochettino’s progressive side. Harry Kane will hope to continue his ridiculous goal scoring record and to score at least 20 for the FIFTH season in a row or at least 25 for the fourth season on the trot but if he has any form of injuries or niggles the lack of striking cover will prove fatal for Spurs. Eriksen and Alli will look to have great seasons again this year, they’ve been a consistent pairing in the middle providing plenty of goals and assists.
The man to be keeping a keen eye on this season is going to be Kieran Trippier, the England right back has proven at the World Cup what a brilliant player he is and he will undoubtedly go on to show that potential he’s starting to live up to. This Spurs side have gotten better and better over the years and this season will rely on them avoiding injuries, but if they’re able to stay fit then they’re strong enough to finish in the top 4.
4th: Arsenal
Well this is a pick that will be disputed by a few, Arsenal have been putting together a decent squad under new manager Unai Emery who has completely changed the way Arsenal go about their business. Emery has been openly strenuous with the training regimes and that can only benefit the previously injury ridden Arsenal squad.
Talking of injures, the Gunners have offloaded Wilshere and Cazorla who have been stricken by injury for years and brought in Lucas Torreira who had a very decent World Cup with Uruguay and a good season at Sampdoria last year. Arsenal have also added top European experience in Sokratis and Stephan Lichsteiner who will enhance their defensive strength in front of their new goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Leno has arrived for 22 million from Bayer Leverkusen and the German has been a consistent figure in the Bundesliga, playing every single game [excl 4] in the last 7 seasons since he was 19 and could be the answer to Arsenal’s goal conceding woes. Arsenal will rely on Aubameyang for the goals this season and the Gabonese striker will provide them, he has looked terrific since signing from Dortmund and there’s nothing stopping him continuing his form. Arsenal will look more like themselves this season but the lack of leadership on the pitch could prove an issue.
5th: Manchester United
Jose Mourinho is taking this United team further and further away from what it should be and how it should be performing. His “boring” style of play is problematic for the creative players he has and it doesn’t give them as much opportunity as they should to show off their ability. Romelu Lukaku looked very dangerous during the World Cup but was not good enough in front of goal, if he’s able to make the most of the chances he’s given he’ll have a marvellous season.
David De Gea has stayed at United again and will be relied on for his heroics as usual between the sticks as Mourinho’s style of play invites plenty of pressure, therefore more for De Gea to deal with. Luckily enough for United they kept Pogba amongst speculation and interest from Barcelona, the Frenchman has built up a brilliant connection with Jesse Lingard and the two of them are a joy to watch and they clearly enjoy playing together. Manchester United is one of the world’s biggest clubs and they can definitely get back to how they were, but Mourinho will need to go this season.
6th: Chelsea
Chelsea are going to be a whole different team under Maurizio Sarrithis season, they’ve moved from a 3 at the back to what seems to be a 4-3-3 and have brought in a couple of central midfielders by the names of Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic.
Jorginho was consistently playing under Sarri at Napoli last season and has built up a good chemistry with his manager and Kovacic has been brought in on loan from Real Madrid. Unfortunately for Chelsea they sold their number 1, Thibault Courtois but replaced him with Kepa of Bilbao. Courtois had one year left on his contract and Kepa cost 36 million on top of the Courtois fee, it really doesn’t seem like a good replacement at all and a slight downgrade at that.
Eden Hazard has stayed for another season at Chelsea and his quality will continue to shine but it will have to with the lack of a top striker with Morata being the current starting pick, and he definitely hasn’t managed to perform as was expected. Hazard being relied on for the main source of goals will definitely be Chelsea’s downfall this season unless Morata suddenly wakes up from whatever daze he has been in.
7th: Crystal Palace
It’s an unbelievably bold prediction to put Palace as high as this after their recent seasons, but it’s not without good reasoning. Wilfred Zaha has been the centre of transfer rumours for the whole summer but has stayed with Palace and will be the pivotal man to look towards for goals and chances. He’s been getting better and better for a few seasons and is turning heads every game with his skilful and quick playing style and he will be there to provide chances alongside Max Meyer who has arrived from Schalke.
The young German has been considered a huge prospect ever since he broke through into the Schalke squad and has played the majority of their games in the past 5 seasons ever since he was 17, so he’s had plenty of experience at the top levels already and a step into the Premier League is definitely a positive one. Palace also managed to sign Cheikiou Kouyate from West Ham which is an absolute steal because the Senegalese midfielder has been a rock for them for years and will provide that defensive cover that Palace will definitely need and have been lacking recently. Palace’s main issues are defensively with their options all being average at best with exception of Patrick van Aanholt but his main ability lies offensively. If they play the offensive football they can play, watch out for Crystal Palace.
8th: Everton
Marco Silva has done some incredible business this transfer window, including deadline day transfers for Andre Gomes of Barcelona and Yerri Mina also of Barcelona for a fee of 28 million. The Colombia defender had a brilliant World Cup and he managed to score 3 goals in the process which could be a key option for Everton with him pushing Phil Jagielka out of the squad and moving alongside Michael Keane. Richarlison was also signed for a huge fee from Watford which is definitely risky considering he didn’t get a goal or assist in the whole second half of last season.
Cenk Tosun will be looking to continue the way he started at Everton last season by getting plenty of goals from the off, the Turkish striker was fantastic on his first few games for the club and he’s got the ability to cause any defence an issue. England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was vital during the World Cup and will be fantastic once again as Everton’s number 1 this season and will hope to continuously show his worth. It’s going to be quite a while until Everton are ever able to break into the top 6 but they’ll have a very decent chance of getting 7th this year.
9th: West Ham
West Ham have made brilliant headway to progressing into a team that can consistently finish in the top 10, if not better. After the signings of Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko they now have two excellent wingers to start alongside last season’s star man Marko Arnautovic. Arnautovic was wanted by United this summer but he stayed at West Ham and will more than likely have another excellent season after his glimpses of genius over the last season or so.
West Ham also seem to have sorted their goalkeeper situation by getting rid of Joe Hart and signing Lukasz Fabianski from Swansea who has been a staple figure in the recently relegated side for a few seasons. There’s a lot of opportunity for Jack Wilshere this season too, provided he stays fit. The former Arsenal midfielder has had a career riddled with injury and a fresh start at West Ham could be exactly what he needs. The Hammers have a lot of potential this season with some very offensive signings, stating clearly how they intend to play this season.
10th: Wolves
Wolves were an absolute pleasure to watch last season in the Championship with their youthful, European players that brought a whole new style to the English second tier. That kind of football will fit perfectly into the Premier League and they’ve also signed Dendoncker from Anderlecht to slot into the midfield alongside the talented Ruben Neves. The pairing will look to use their brilliant passing range to pick teams apart and they’ll also have Joao Moutinho, formerly of Monaco with them in the midfield as well.
Another new signing is Adama Traore who was the leading man in dribbles and take ons in the Championship last season and has arrived at Molineux for 18 million to hopefully light up the Premier League too. Wolves have got a decent defensive line but the loss of Barry Douglas could be huge after he scored 5 goals and got 14 assists from a defensive role last season. Raul Jimenez was brought in to hopefully lead the line and give Wolves a goal scoring striker, which they didn’t have last season. It may be down to him to provide the goals and if he doesn’t then there’s a few players that will need to make the step up to do so, but Wolves safety this season shouldn’t even be slightly threatened.
