Well it is impossible really to make a good prediction until at least we know who is going where and also how certain teams will adjust to new managers. There should be three battles this season: the 3 way fight for the title, the 5 way fight for 4th spot and then the relegation scrap.
Relegation
I think it will be the easiest year for survival this year purely because of the number of teams on an equal footing. As usual the three going up, Wolves, Birmingham, and Burnley, will find it tough. The other candidates will number from: Portsmouth, Hull, Wigan and Stoke. I do think this will be close but I think Burnley will find it tough despite the new signings they have made. Usually a side that has poor form toward the back end of the previous season usually start poorly and struggle the following season so I expect Hull to fall into this category. For the final spot, this will go down to form, injuries and luck, here I am trying to toss up between Wolves and Portsmouth. Wolves weren't all that impressive in gaining promotion but I feel Portsmouth with the uncertainty over their takeover and the fact that they have had to sell so many players has left them vulnerable so with a toss of a coin I am opting for them.
4th Spot
Well this should be an interesting fight between Arsenal, Man City, Spurs, Everton and Aston Villa. I would first of all like to rule out Everton as they don't have the finances to properly strengthen their squad and as good a manager as David Moyes is, he can't perform miracles. The second one to rule out is Aston Villa, their loss of Gareth Barry will be huge and some of their key players such as Heskey and carew are a year older. Having said that i was envious of their signing of Delph who will be a good player for Villa in the future. Just not enough strength in depth. Man City are really an unknown factor but I think they are a year away from top 4. They will struggle to compete in the middle of the pitch even with the Barry signing and will need someone to partner Toure in defence as well as needing time to gel. Spurs to me are still not quite there. There will need to be a partner for Palacios in defence and there needs to be another option on the left. Whcih just leaves the incumbent Arsenal. The loss of Toure will be felt more than Adebeyor. They need a bit of luck with injuries and seem to be relying alot on Arshavin. Despite this though I think they will just hang on in front of Spurs.
The title
I am hoping this will be tight again. Manchester United may struggle to cope without Ronaldo and to a lesser extent Tevez and may be relying on Owen and Rooney. Liverpool on the other hand will have to live without Alonso and his replacement Aquillano seems to be injury prone. They will need Gerrard and Torres to stay injury free. I think Chelsea look the strongest especially after Terry rejected Man city's advances. They are a settled and experienced side and look the safest bet.
My team to watch are Sunderland. They have spent big in the summer with Cattermole and Bent amongst their major signings and it will be interesting to see how Steve Bruce settles in with what is now the North East's premier club.
My Predicted Table
1. Chelsea
2. Manchester United
3. Liverpool
4. Arsenal
5. Spurs
6. Manchester City
7. Aston Villa
8. Everton
9. Sunderland
10.Fulham
11.Blackburn
12.Bolton
13.West Ham
14.Birmingham
15.Wigan
16.Stoke
17.Wolves
18.Portsmouth
19.Hull
20.Burnley
Well lets see come May!
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