AuthorsFootball Outcasts, Englandfootball, Football Blogging, Sporting Mad, blogfootballmy The new English Premier League season is only a few days away and like us probably you can’t wait for it to get started. While we are looking forward to many things over the course of this season - like Rooney’s return to Everton, the relegation scrap and whether Stoke can claim back their rightful position of 9th from the usurpers Bournemouth, the Top Four is the main talking point. So below are our predictions on who we think will make the Top Four this season. However, we here at Football Outcasts HQ couldnt make that call alone, so we thought we would ask around and gather some more opinions from our fellow football enthusiasts in the community as well. To kick things off we will start with my fellow Outcast but then over to our fellow bloggers for their thoughts on the EPL Top Four: Joe (Sports Billy) – Football Outcasts
1. Man City – Lots of money spent (they seem to have spent more on defence than most members of the UN!) so pressure is now on Pep to build on his already excellent reputation as a manager and deliver his first title in England. To be fair, although lots of money has been spent, they have bought players in positions that they needed improving, so they should be a much more complete team than last year. 2. Spurs – I was initially going to say its 3rd time lucky for Spurs and tip them for the top as they have possibly the best and most settled side in the Premier (despite them not having won the title yet); however losing their home momentum due to relocating to Wembley is something that they could do without and on past experience will hinder them. Fancy them to finish 2nd again though. 3. Chelsea – last year’s winners will be there or there about again this season. Conte doesn’t seem happy with the amount of transfer activity undertaken so far, but the players that have come in, combined with the remaining current squad, should be more than enough to get them top 3 football. 4. Liverpool – Despite not doing a lot of business this summer, the signings they have made are good (Salah has certainly hit the ground running), so they could surprise a few like last year and claim the fourth spot again. Ignore this though and insert another team for 4th spot should Coutinho leave and Lallana be ruled out for longer than is originally anticipated! It is worth mentioning that Everton have spent well, so could be a contender fighting to get in to the Top Four. Man United have spent heaps and bought some good players (they’ve had to as they’ve been woeful by United’s normally high standards these past few years), but my fingers are crossed that Jose does a Jose and it all implodes ala his last stint at Chelsea after one year! Arsenal, despite bringing in some good players, will most likely do what they always do and bottle it when it matters against the big sides. Squad uncertainty with some of their big names contracts expiring will also add a circus element to proceedings and further unsettle the squad. I look forward to more “Wenger out” chat on social media and embarrassing/entertaining fan vids on Arsenal Fan TV. Rachael Warham – Football Blogging Rachael runs the Facebook group Football Blogging and has written for us in the past (check out her last article here). The Football Blogging page is a great group for those talking about football, to share articles and discuss anything and everything football so please come join the chat. Rachael has also gone bold with her predictions too. 1. Manchester United – Jose Mourinho will take the Reds back to the pinnacle this season. Lukaku’s acquisition to bolster the front line will put an end to the slow, dawdling style created by the now-departed Wayne Rooney, and will make them the side to beat. Last season their strength was in defence but struggled to beat the so-called lesser sides and with the flat-track bully that is Lukaku in the ranks, they should have no such issues. 2. Manchester City – it’s hard to see past the two Manchester clubs for first and second place in the EPL. Pep Guardiola should now have gotten over the culture shock of his first season in charge so that alone is ominous for the rest of the league. They will fight tooth and nail with their Mancunian counterparts, particularly with the signing of Bernardo Silva but I’m not convinced their defensive frailties have been rectified. 3. Chelsea – the whisperings are that Antonio Conte is not happy with the comings and goings at Stamford Bridge. So much so I believe they could suffer from the same sort of post-championship-blues that was previously witnessed under the last Mourinho reign. Conte is said to be unhappy that the blues were pipped by Manchester United to the signing of Romelu Lukaku and that Nemanja Matic should not have been allowed to go to the red devils. 4. Tottenham – After putting up a great title challenge over the past two seasons, Spurs’ settled squad will remain in the top four. With Wembley as their temporary residence, a championship challenge will be off the cards this time out but Dele Alli, Harry Lane and Co will keep them in the Champions League places ahead of their move to the new stadium. James – Sporting Mad.com.au James runs a weekly podcast over at Sportingmad.com.au and chats about all sports. They are up to episode 84 now so plenty of content for you to enjoy. 1 - Man Utd - I wasn't going to put anyone else in here (I am a United fan after all). I am mildly optimistic about the season ahead but I am still worried about strength in depth in some areas, especially with Champions League commitments, but think Utd will prevail.... just. 2 - Man City - They've spent big this summer, with Pep having a full pre-season under his belt and a squad more moulded to his style, should start to see the rewards of it. Concerns over GK still remain and will ultimately de-rail a title win. 3 - Chelsea - Morata coming in is a good buy, but I think others have done more to improve their squads. The Champions though will give a real red-hot go at the title. 4 - Spurs - Haven't improved, and are struggling to recruit players that will likely only act as 'back-up'. Wage structure also hampering their efforts to bring in reinforcements. Being away from White Hart Lane will be a change. I don't expect a title challenge from Spurs this year, and will instead be wrestling with Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton for the coveted 4th place. Jonathan – englandfootball.blog Jonathan runs the englandfootball.blog, which discuss all things about the England national team. Jonathan has gone big on his predictions for this top four. Spurs to win the league, I can think of a few Spurs fans that would be very happy with his predictions. 1. Tottenham- when your biggest problem is 'the Wembley curse' you know you're in business. Spurs have the best forward, best centre back pair and a nicely balanced side. They'll likely add Ross Barkley and a defender and that should be enough. 2. Man City- spent a lot but I think Ederson & Mendy will need a bedding in season. Still likely to struggle when Kompany is out and I think will concede too many to win the title. Should be great to watch though. 3 Chelsea- Conte is not a happy bunny and although they've bought well squad depth is a major issue. As is the loss of Diego Costa, I like Morata but Costa won them so many points last season when it mattered. It's 9 years since anyone retained the title, I think we can make that 10. 4 Man Utd- will be better and Lukaku will pick up a lot of home points against the weaker sides. But they're still a bit one dimensional and might struggle in the big games. Will have a good run in Europe and defensive strength should be enough to pip Liverpool to 4th. Dhina Darshna Maniam –www.blogfootballmy.com Dhina runs the blogfootballmy.com football blog and is a big Manchester United and Barcelona fan. He writes various topics from top ten lists to opinion pieces and is based over in Malaysia. I think that Chelsea and Liverpool will have a hard time as they need to compete in more games compared to last season due to the Champions League. Man united will have the experience to push on since last season as they have gone all out on their transfers in pre-season. Spurs will be on decline as they did not win anything last season. Guardiola will need to prove to all that he can perform in Premier League as last season was his worst season in his managerial career. I think the race in this season will be between United, Liverpool and Man City. My pick for Top Four is biased here though as I am a United fan. 1. Manchester United 2. Liverpool 3. Manchester City 4. Chelsea Tom (JeffEyesRimmer) – Football Outcasts Right oh I am last on the list and it was a lot harder to pick a Top Four than I initially thought. Actually even picking who I think will win the League this season is tricky. 1. Manchester City – They have addressed the squad issues that were present last season. A better goal keeper, new defence and new midfield force in Silva and they are looking strong. However, as per my previous article on Man City’s defence highlighted, I think they will still be suspect at the back. That being said having Jesus and Aguero fully fit and firing and with De Bruyne and two Silva’s going forward they do have one of the strongest attacks in the league. 2. Manchester United – Like their neighbours they have strengthened the areas that needed it in the close season. They lacked the goals but have brought in Lukaku, they have added steel in Matic to help Pogba flourish as a playmaker, they have added a better centre back in Lindelöf to complement Bailly. Add to that Jose’s winning mentality, he did win 2 ½ trophies last season (I don’t really count the Community Shield) and I think United will be up there but just pipped to the title by their rivals. However, the Super Cup showed that United are still deficient against the top sides. 3. Spurs – I think that Spurs have one of the best first team squads on paper but a lack of investment this close season and the change to Wembley I think will disrupt them too much and they may drop down a little. Add in the Champions League as well and I think it adds up to them potentially burning out. Also, where do the goals come from if Harry Kane gets injured? Like I said though, they do have the best striker, best defence and arguably the best keeper in the league so they will be up there. 4. Arsenal – It seems that I am the only one that thinks Arsenal are going to pip Chelsea and Liverpool to the top four. The signing of Sead Kolasinac and a move to a back three with four in midfield looks a pretty good system for Wenger. Granit Xhatha looks like he is calmer with the current system and in Lacazatte they have found a new and hungry striker. No Champions League to worry about and a squad big enough to deal with the Europa means I think that they will be back in the Top Four this season. Order restored and Arsenal back in fourth. What of the current Champions Chelsea, yes I have gone big and think they may drop out of the Top Four. They already looked a bit burnout in the Community Shield and although they have made some signings it is clear Conte is unhappy with some of the lack of buys and sales that have occurred over the summer. Costa still remains at the club and could be an unnecessary distraction. Looking at their squad they really only have 14-15 first team players, is that enough to retain the league? I don’t think so. In regards to Liverpool I think they have strengthened but I still have question marks over their strike force, there defence still isn’t sorted and they haven’t worked out who is their best number 1. Ok that’s some big predictions for the Top Four, its 3x picks for Man United, 2x picks for Man City and 1x for Spurs. Its been nine years since a team last retained the title, we all think thats going to stretch to ten with no of us thinking Chelsea will win the title. What do you think? Agree with any of us? Let us know on Facebook and/or Twitter and please go check out the other guy’s blogs. They have some great reads. |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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