My Premier League Predictions for 21/22
It’s that time of the year again …
Looking back over last year’s predictions, it’s safe to say I had a bit of a shocker. If I wasn’t predicting Aston Villa to go down, I was predicting Aubameyang to win the Golden Boot. Of course, I got the big one wrong, too, failing to predict that Man City would win the league. It was an unprecedented season, though (that’s my excuse). Hopefully I can do better this time around.
The Table
20. Norwich
Sorry Norwich fans, but you just are getting relegated, aren’t you? While I actually think they have a decent squad with a competent manager, I just can’t get the traditional view of Norwich being the whipping boys of the league out of my head. Norwich could genuinely stay up and I am probably doing them a disservice, but logic goes out the window here.
19. Watford
Watford probably have the weakest squad in the league for the upcoming campaign. They have a few gems, such as Ismaila Sarr, however, it will be a lacklustre season for the Hornets. Hey, at least we’ll get to see some BTS Premier League action from Ben Foster’s YouTube channel!
18. Newcastle
I didn’t expect to relegate Newcastle this season, but looking at their uninspiring squad (and the fact I don’t want to be boring and relegate all three newly-promoted sides), it won’t surprise me to see Newcastle going down alongside Watford and Norwich. I think Newcastle are a team who benefitted from not having fans last season and I can see the capacity crowds at St. James’ Park becoming disgruntled with the dull football early on.
17. Brentford
For a couple of years now, the Bees have been flirting with promotion to the Premier League. Finally, after a fairly comfortable Championship Play-Off run, they have made it. Everyone is talking about Ivan Toney and his incredible goal-scoring record last year. Manager Thomas Frank has them playing a nice brand of football and I think this inexperienced (in Premier League terms) squad could stay up.
16. Southampton
Perhaps a rogue shout, but I wanted to be bold this year because the league never seems to go to plan. Losing star-striker Danny Ings seemingly out of nowhere to Aston Villa is devastating for the Saints. Furthermore, they had a very poor run at the end of the season which could continue into the new season. The spark appears to have fizzled out on the South Coast.
15. Burnley
Never underestimate Burnley, or, probably more fitting, Sean Dyche. He works wonders every season on a shoestring budget, keeping them in the Premier League for five consecutive seasons now, each time being written off. I can see a fairly bog-standard 15th-placed finish for Burnley.
14. Crystal Palace
New manager Patrick Vieira doesn’t inspire me or give me much hope for Crystal Palace this year. It’s possible he kickstarts a successful managerial career but I don’t see it happening. The squad is quite dry with flair players Eze and Zaha being the exceptions. I’m going to throw out an early shout that Vieira is the first manager to be sacked.
13. Brighton
Brighton. The xG kings. With a decent striker, they could be pushing top ten, without one and we saw last season how flat it can be. I like Graham Potter and 13th would be a great achievement. If Maupay has practiced his finishing this year, or if the club can land a striker such as Edouard in the remaining weeks of the transfer window, then Brighton could be a serious prospect this season.
12. Wolves
After losing their esteemed manager to Spurs, Wolves seem to have hit their peak in Premier League terms. They struggled without Jimenez last season who is only now starting to return after the horror head injury he sustained. Neves could still be on his way out, Moutinho is a year older, Patricio has vacated the goalkeeper spot: it’s not looking promising. Having said that, if you had said two years ago that finishing 12th would be fairly disappointing for the Midlands side, I’m sure the fans would have taken it!
11. West Ham
Similarly to Wolves, this finish would have looked brilliant at the start of last season, but the Hammers went on such a great run, finishing 6th, that this now looks like an under-achievement. Moyes doesn’t appear to have been backed very much, talisman Lingard doesn’t look likely to re-sign and the added strains of European football will surely take its toll.
10. Everton
Everton were one of the failures of the season last year. At the start of the season, their project looked mouth-watering as serial winner Carlo Ancelotti was taking charge of a side that had been heavily invested in. It was a sticky one for the Toffees, though, and with unpopular manager Rafa Benitez walking through the door for this term, a mundane mid-table finish looks likely.
9. Leeds
Leeds were the entertainers last year and were rewarded with a respectable 9th-placed finish. I think the same sort of season can be expected from Bielsa’s men this term. I’m not sure they quite have enough to break into the European spots, especially since recruitment has been quite dry, but they’re surely too good to find themselves battling relegation.
8. Aston Villa
Villa have arguably had the best transfer window of any Premier League team this summer. Despite losing their main-man Jack Grealish, they have instantly re-invested the mouth-watering £100 million they received for him back into the squad, with highly-rated players such as Buendia and Bailey coming in. It looks exciting for Villa this year and they could certainly push for the Europa League spots.
7. Arsenal
For me, it’s close between Arsenal and Spurs this season. Arsenal have made a couple of decent signings and look likely to do at least one more; hopefully for Gunners fans it’ll be someone to fill that creative void. The lack of European football will help them focus on the domestic game this season. Nevertheless, there’s something about Arsenal that really doesn’t fill me with hope. I just can’t picture them fighting for the Champions League spots, but this could come back to bite me.
6. Spurs
Tottenham finished one place above Arsenal last season and I’m tipping them to do the same this season. New manager Nuno (from Wolves) is an odd appointment but it may work out. If they lose Harry Kane (most likely to Man City), they are going to really struggle and could well drop two or more places. However, I think they have a point to prove this season.
5. Leicester
The team, in my eyes, most likely to break into the top four this year are Leicester. Two seasons running now they have narrowly missed the Champions League spots, and a third consecutive 5th-placed finish is what I’m predicting. They have done some great business, both in bringing in players like Daka but also retaining some of their stars such as Tielemans and Ndidi. Centre-back Wesley Fofana’s gruesome injury in pre-season is a huge blow though, and this will cost them a Champions League spot.
4. Liverpool
The top-four is looking very competitive this year. Liverpool, while potentially still having the best starting XI, don’t have the squad depth anymore of the other three teams and I think this will play a role in their lack of a title charge. Having van Dijk back is huge, and he could form a really solid partnership with either Konate or Gomez this season. Moreover, the front three, whether Jota or Firmino plays, is class and the midfield is great, too. Like I said, though, the squad depth isn’t there and we saw how it cost them last year.
3. Manchester United
I would love to see a three-team title race this season and it’s not off-the-cards. United’s recruitment, while still lacking a midfield arrival, has been excellent as both Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane will greatly improve the starting XI. The depth of the squad is suddenly looking frighteningly good, particularly up-front. Despite this, I think the two teams left have slightly stronger squads.
2. Chelsea
Chelsea’s acquisition of Romelu Lukaku is huge. A superb number 9 is what they lacked last season and they have just brought in one of the best suited players for the role. Add to that their already talented squad and exciting manager, as well as the confidence off the back of the Champions League and Super Cup victories, and they are going to put in a solid title bid.
1. Manchester City
Boring? Possibly. Realistic? Yes. The Citizens have an incredible squad of players and star-striker Kane is potentially going to be added to it. If that does happen, City will be an even scarier prospect and will surely have the title wrapped up. Pep is relentless and so is the squad of players and staff, they never seem to let up and they certainly have the facilities and personnel to play a strong squad every week on all fronts. For me, Man City are winning the 21/22 Premier League.
The Golden Boot
As ever, there are many names that you could throw into the hat for the Golden Boot this year. Strikers such as Cavani, Vardy and Calvert-Lewin, wingers such as Sterling, Sancho and Mane and even midfielders like Bruno Fernandes are all likely to score bags of goals.
For me, though, there are three stand-out options: Salah, Kane and Lukaku. Salah always seems to be up there and now that Liverpool have pretty much their best starting XI back, he will certainly stake a claim. Meanwhile last season’s winner Kane is simply lethal in front of goal and if he does move to Man City, well he will be unstoppable. But my pick is Chelsea’s returning striker Romelu Lukaku. The amount of chances that were created for Werner last season which were not put away was crazy, and Lukaku will eat them up all day long. He seems to be the final piece in the puzzle for Chelsea and I’m predicting him to have a barn-storming campaign.
The Golden Glove
I’ll keep this short and sweet, I think it will be Ederson. A great keeper with a solid defence in front of him which vastly improved last season.
The Player of the Year
This is a very difficult award to predict, especially this season with the amount of talent in the league.
In terms of the stalwart candidates, you have the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Kane, Salah, Grealish (now in a fantastic City side), Dias, de Bruyne, van Dijk etc.
Out of the new boys, I think Sancho, Varane, Grealish and Lukaku will all have brilliant seasons.
Dark horses include the likes of Manchester United stars Maguire, Shaw and Pogba, Leicester’s maestro Tielemans, Leeds creator Raphinha and Chelsea’s midfield general Jorginho, among many others.
Personally, I am going to back Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United to have an amazing season and pick up this accolade.
The Young Player of the Year
There are a myriad of young talents in the league this season, so it will be fascinating to see who wins this come next May.
The main candidates for me are Sancho, Rashford, Greenwood, Foden, Mount, Saka and Alexander-Arnold.
My pick is Man United new boy Jadon Sancho, who I hope can tear up the Premier League like he has done in the Bundesliga for a couple of years now.
