The first games of the premier league have concluded as the team’s head for the international break. These are early predictions of what the table might shape out to become the end of all 38 games:
1st- Manchester City:
Too much talent. Manchester City are easily the most dominant team in the league and it seems more than likely that they will claim their (record) fourth straight Premier League title. This team has so much depth with the likes of Haaland, Grealish, Bernardo Silva, Walker, Alvarez, Kovacic, De Bruyne, to name a few and their new summer signings will look to add more to the squad. Of course, players only make up part of the winning equation, the coaching side of this team is also near perfect as Pep Guardiola-style football continues to guarantee wins week in and week out. Last season’s Champion League winners will look to claim the EPL trophy once more.
2nd- Liverpool
A lack of Champions League football after last season’s slip-up means that this Liverpool side can turn their attention to the Premier League. Their strong attack that has numerous options to choose from will provide plenty of goals if Darwin Nuñez and Cody Gakpo remain in top form for the season. New midfield additions will surely bolster their squad, though missing transfers like Moises Caicedo will sting. If Virgil Van Dijk can find his top form again he has the ability to support a strong backline. Overall, Jurgen Klopp’s side will do well, but in the end, come up short of the Premier League title.
3rd- Arsenal
Arsenal, who had the title firmly in their grasp last season but lost it, will again fail to win it this season. However, this season won’t be a failure for Arsenal, who will finish in a strong third place. The long-awaited addition of the Champions League to their schedule will mean more games for the side, and they will have to focus on qualifying out of their group. A strong team, and well-coached, but they do not have quite enough to beat Manchester City to that title.
4th- Tottenham
A poor season last year, finishing 7th while also firing head coach Antonio Conte. Tottenham will look to bounce back this year and with no European football, they can focus their efforts on the Premier League. New coach, Ange Postecoglou, has his team playing well with some nice additions in the back line, as well as new keeper Vicario to replace the aging Lloris, who has been very solid so far. Added playing time for players like Sarr and Bissouma has really let their talents shine. However, the loss of Harry Kane will certainly dent their hopes of finishing higher up in the top 4 as he was their top sorcerer last season and Richarlison fails to look like a viable option, but Son will look to fill in the former captain’s boots. James Maddison will provide an extra form of attack up top and recent signing Brenan Johnson will hopefully provide. Overall a strong transitional season for Tottenham.
5th- Brighton
So much talent all over the field, and fantastically coached by De Zerbi. Brighton will just miss out on a Champions League. But expect vast improvements this season as younger players develop throughout the season. The young attack is full of talent with the likes of Kaoru Mitoma, Evan Ferguson, João Pedro, Solly March, and new summer signing Ansu Fati from Barcelona. This team will be better than last season, however, they are still only developing with so many young players and won’t really challenge for the title just yet.
6th- Manchester United
Once again, Manchester United has a sloppy start to the beginning of the Premier League season. Ten Hag’s side will regress this season as they struggle to beat the top 6 sides (already lost to both Tottenham and Arsenal this season). Wingers Antony, Garnacho, and Sancho fail to provide for the team, while most of the scoring duties come down to Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, hopefully 82 million dollar man Rasmus Højlund pans out this season and can provide some goals, but if that fails to happen then United could be in trouble. A midfield with the likes of Eriksen, Casemiro, and of course Bruno Fernandes can prove to be reliable, but they will also hope for summer signing Mason Mount to find his feet at his new club. The back line will be what ultimately kills this team. Injury-prone Varane is often absent from the starting 11’s and Lisandro Martinez has his on and off days, the same situation with Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, but Diogo Dalot has looked to improved this season. Victor Lindelöf, Johnny Evans, and Harry Maguire remain the unreliable options for substitutes for this back line. André Onana has had his moments so far, but will need to do more in order to fill the boots of club legend David De Gea. Overall, a disappointing season for Manchester United, who will most likely look for solutions from outside when the transfer window opens.
7th- West Ham
West Ham struggled heavily last season but did manage to win the European Conference League. This year, they will look to improve as they will endure a solid season in the Premier League. The addition of Mohammed Kudus will certainly be a great thing for this attack where he will line up with Jarred Bowen and Michail Antonio. Edson Álverez as well as free-kick maestro, James Ward-Prowse are other additions to their midfield. The defense has some weaknesses but if they hold up well West Ham could be looking forward to an exciting season.
8th- Newcastle United
Another team who will sadly regress this season. Despite the addition of Sandro Tonali (who still hasn’t gotten to top form yet) their midfield looks like a shell of its former self. The back line lacks depth in most positions and looks very unstable at times which will be a problem management will look to fix as the season progresses. Overall not a great season for Eddie Howe and his side but it will be exciting to see them in Champions League football.
9th- Aston Villa
This season for Aston Villa could go either way. They brought in some exciting stars this season such as Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres, and Youri Tielemans. However, early this season they have conceded 5 to Newcastle and 3 to Liverpool which highlights their need for more depth in the defensive positions. They can grab points against lower competition in the Premier League but will struggle against the elite competition. However, if they can reconfigure the defense to make it work and Ollie Watkins goes into top form again, they could soar up the table.
10th- Brentford
Brentford will suffer this year with the loss of starlet striker Ivan Toney to a gambling ban, however, they will remain in the top flight of English football but it won’t be easy. The goals will be harder to come by, but Mbuemo and Wissa can always prove to be reliable. A mediocre defense will need to perform well though.
11th- Chelsea
There is so much to say about this team. To keep it brief, it looks like a team of individuals strung together by some loose tactics from Pochettino. The bottom line is that Chelsea will struggle this season, and Todd Boehly’s mind-boggling and sporadic spending of rather mediocre players will not heal their wounds. Nicolas Jackson fails to convert the chances given to him by Sterling who disappears from games during times, and other striker signings (which there are so many of) don’t seem to be making an effective impact. Enzo Fernandes and Connor Gallagher continue to do well, however, Moises Caicedo and others struggle to adapt to their new team. In the defense, it seems very chaotic at times as they try to find order in the back, and the plague of injuries does not do any better. Overall, tough season for Chelsea, and wouldn’t be surprising if Pochettino gets sacked way too early in the season (a Frank Lampard return!).
12th- Crystal Palace
So much young talent on this team. They are also in the early stages of development and will need time to show real signs of growth and move up the table to challenge for a European spot. Roy Hodgson’s team has a solid (but young) defense, the midfield could use some further depth and improvements, though Eze looks to be making great progress this season, and the attack is stacked with talent, especially young star Olise. The loss of Zaha will certainly hurt Crystal Palace and a transfer of Olise to a bigger club would be detrimental to the team’s hopes of staying in the Premier League, but if all goes well, they could move higher in the table.
13th- Nottingham Forest
Heavy spending by the management will secure their safety in the Premier League but they will have to work hard to achieve this. Despite this, they have had a pretty good start to the 23/24 season, narrowly losing to both Manchester United and Arsenal but beating Chelsea. Striker Awoniyi is a force to be reckoned with this season, and a rejuvenated Anthony Elanga is also looking to have found his feet at his new club. If they manage to scrape out some wins against the top 6 teams, and Awoniyi continues on his stellar form they will definitely enjoy a fruitful season this year.
14th- Wolves
This season will be a struggle for Wolves, as was last season. Wolves went through a mass exodus this summer transfer window with the notable departures of Matheus Nunes, Daniel Podence, Raul Jiménez and of course their star midfielder Ruben Neves. They did add(record signing) Matheus Cuhna to their attack though which has been stunted as Fabio Silva still has failed to score a goal in the Premier League. Tough season ahead for Wolves, and if their attack doesn’t shape up they may be headed for relegation.
15th- Fulham
Fulham has a nice team slowly building with Marco Silva. Bernd Leno is a fantastic goalie (probably deserves to be on a better team), a defense powered by American international Tim Ream has been improved with the addition of wing-back Timothy Castagne from Leicester City. Unfortunately, the loss of midfielder Jaõa Palhinha seems ever so likely, however, they have signed Alex Iwobi from Everton, who will add some attacking mentality to the midfield. The loss of goal machine Aleksandar Mitrovic will be felt definitely, however, the signing of Raul Jimėnez and speedster Adama Traoė will add a more versatile attack. Veteran winger Willian can always be a hero when they need him. Relegation looks unlikely, but so does finishing in the middle of the table.
16th- Bournemouth
This team is really not as bad as it looks. Adoni Iraola possess the team and talent to secure their safety in the premier league if they can play well together. Their defense is a weak point, though Tavenier and keeper Neto (sometimes) have their moments. They made a very nice addition to their midfield with the signing of Tyler Adams from Leeds and Phillip Billing can be a good player to have around. Up top Dominic Solanke is the main man, but will need to provide more goals, however, new signing Justin Kluivert and Luis Sinistera can help him with that. Bournemouth will hope to stay and they can definitely do it.
17th- Sheffield
Sheffield will need to have some luck on their side to stay up but it will be a close call. Not many notable names on their side, but a competent coach can lead them to safety. They will be lucky to survive this season and will need to make some changes in their lineup to survive the next one most likely. Would not be surprising to see them be unfortunately relegated.
18th- Burnley
These bottom three, who will be relegated, can really be put in any order. The only reason Burnley is on top is because Vincent Kompany is an intelligent coach and will make his team put up a fight. However, there is no real talent in this team and justifies them staying up in the Premier League this season. It will be unfortunate to see Kompay’s team be relegated after a stunning season in the Championship, but after 3 losses in their first 3 games it seems more than likely that this will be the case.
19th- Everton
It will be a shame for the club that has never been relegated to finally be sent down to the second division. With all that said, it’s been a long time coming, Everton has been lucky to not be relegated the previous two seasons. This season looks like to be their last in the Premier League, a team with no real tactics topped by comical defending and attacking dullness, they are the perfect recipe for relegation. This is not a team that lacks premier league-level players, they just can’t figure out how to play a full 90 minutes and still go home as the victors. It will be sad to see Everton exit the top flight, but they have had a good 31 year run.
20th- Luton
Not a whole lot to say about this team. It will be a rough season for the club and fans. They lack the talent to stay up this year and their 3 loss start isn’t proving to be hopeful either. They have been beaten pretty soundly by all three teams they have faced (West Ham, Chelsea, and Brighton) and show no signs of being able to keep up with the rest of the table. Great accomplishment that they got here in the first place though.
