Premier League Preview - Part 1
Here it is. Screenshot it. Bookmark it. However you intend to take a picture of this and recite it to me throughout the season, just do it. It’s every writer and pundit’s worst nightmare, prediction time. Here is the Lowe-Down on my Premier League predictions.
Part 1.
Mid-table safety
West-Ham are the embodiment of a story where the
ending outweighs the plot throughout. West Ham’s Europa Conference League
triumph was an incredible achievement for the club and a message to other
Premier League clubs to try and follow suit. After what had been a
disappointing domestic season, where Moyes was on the brink a few times, the
win against Fiorentina saved their season. It certainly cemented Moyes’ legacy
as one of tremendous success at West Ham. Hook or by crook, Moyes will have
taken West Ham into Europe for three seasons in a row. That’s a tremendous achievement.
However, new season planning has not been going well. West Ham knew Declan Rice would be leaving the club this summer, yet two weeks after his departure, there’s still not been a single replacement signed. They had a deal agreed with Man City for the transfer of their talented winger, Carlos Borges, however Ajax have now gazumped them at the last minute and are set to land the Portuguese youngster. What is going on? Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian reports that there is tension between Moyes and new technical director Tim Stiedten. After losing both Rice and Mark Noble, Moyes is seeking British players as replacements and is targeting James Ward-Prowse, Scott McTominay, and Harry Maguire. Stiedten, on the other hand, is seeking for more value and is looking abroad for signings. So far, no one has arrived. The impasse remains.
West-Ham have a Declan Rice sized hole and will require at
least one midfield reinforcement to replace him, if not two. Rice took on the
mantra last season as the defensive midfielder as well as someone who carried
the ball from deep, driving West-Ham up the pitch. He covered up the
deficiencies. West Ham will also require strengthening up front with both
Scamacca and Antonio linked with moves away. Whilst the squad on paper is too
strong to be considered as a genuine relegation candidate, last season’s league
performance fell way below par and Moyes will need a good start to ensure the
pressure does not begin to mount again.
Crystal Palace start this 2023/24 season with Roy Hodgson in charge. Who would have thought that? Hodgson was called in to steer the club to safety last season and did just that and with aplomb. Hodgson had Palace playing scintillating attacking football as they scrambled clear of the bottom three in style. One of his magicians, however, has left the club this summer. Palace’s talisman, Wilfried Zaha, deciding to weigh up all of his options before deciding to join Turkish side Galatasaray. Yeah, work that one out.
Still, when one man leaves, another one steps up and angling to be that guy is Eberechi Eze. He showed his ability last season, picking up the ball centrally before going on mazy runs and creating chances. Eze also scored 10 goals last season and will be looking to add to that as he cements his bid to become Palace’s main man. Another jewel in the crown at Palace is winger Michael Olise. He, too, will look to step up in Zaha’s absence with his pace and trickery from wide positions. Olise, however, has been linked with a move away to Man City so we’ll have to see how that one develops. Palace should be secure in mid-table this season.
Fulham will be hoping the “second season
syndrome” doesn’t creep in at the Cottage this season. They had a fantastic
first season back in the top flight, playing attacking, entertaining football
under Marco Silva, earning lots of plaudits in the meantime. Keeping hold of
their head-coach has proved a challenge, however, Silva rejected a
mouth-watering £40million deal to leave Fulham for Saudi Arabia. The same
cannot be said for their talisman Alexander Mitrovic. The Serbian has had his
head turned by Al-Hilal and is reportedly furious at Fulham’s high valuation of
£52million. How this one turns out, I’m not quite sure.
Another man Fulham will be relying upon this
season is their stalwart in midfield, Joao Palhinha. An unlucky candidate to
miss out on the team of the season, Palhinha made 147 successful tackles last
season which was by far the highest in the league. Second place, Moises
Caicedo, made 100 in comparison. He’ll be crucial in ensuring mid-table safety
which I expect will be Fulham’s destiny.
Burnley and
Bournemouth back with a bang
You know that ex you had that disappeared, and suddenly came back into your life a completely transformed person? Say hello to, Burnley FC! Despite leading Burnley to the Championship title last season, perhaps Vincent’s Kompany’s biggest achievement has been revamping the style of play. Managing to combine the results with transforming the entire club’s philosophy in one season is nothing short of incredible. No one wonder the Belgian was strongly linked to the Spurs job this summer.
How will they play in the Premier League? Well, if you’re not an avid watcher of the Championship, you may be pinching yourself watching this Burnley 2.0. Last season, they averaged around 61% possession which is approximately 25% higher than in Sean Dyche’s final season with the Clarets. Kompany, who clearly learnt a few tricks from Guardiola, likes to invert his full backs to ensure stronger ball retention and option availability. Kompany will not compromise his principles of how he wants his team to play. Their first game presents the biggest test of this. Treble-winning Manchester City at home.
They will
be without their top scorer, Nathan Tella, who was deemed not needed by
relegated Southampton and scored 17 goals on loan at Burnley last season. Zeki Amdouni, aged 22, has been signed from
FC Basel as his replacement. The recruitment under Kompany evidences the change
in culture at the club with younger players being targeted. The average age of
the squad is 24.7 and thus the evolution from Dyche-ball to Kompany-ball is
complete. I will be fascinated to see how they get on.
Whilst Burnley underwent their revamp last season, there has been
a sea of change at Bournemouth this summer. Gary O’Neil was thanked for keeping
Bournemouth up in true football fashion, by being sacked and replaced by Andoni
Iraola. With a change in “style of football” cited as one of the reasons for
the change, just what can we expect from Andoni Iraola? Well, as he puts it; “I
prefer to play at a high pace, even if it means a touch of hastiness, than play
at a slower pace and have more control”. In today’s game, Iraola is an
outlier.
I’d suggest this philosophy is in part down to Vallecano having
the second lowest expenditure in La Liga as well as it being part of his DNA.
Seeking control when you have the best players is normal and expected. Opting
for chaos and anarchy, when you do not, is smart. Xavi, called them the biggest
pain in the arse in La Liga as Barcelona failed to beat Vallecano in four games
last season.
Iraola’s team play high, vertically and at a ferocious tempo. Only
Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao spent more time in the opposition’s half. They
also had the top three players in La Liga with the most high-intensity sprints,
Alvaro Garcia, Ivan Balliu and Fran Garcia. It’s no surprise one of Iraola’s
biggest influence’s is Marcelo Bielsa.
With a reasonably young squad makeup at Bournemouth, where the
average age of the squad is 26, Iraola will be relying on the younger attacking
players to run and press all game. If their aggressive counter press is done
effectively, appropriate service to Dominic Solanke will guarantee goals.
Just how Iraola will implement his principles will be fascinating
and there’s no doubt in my mind he’ll be using their underdog status to their
advantage. The football will be risky, but without risk, there is little reward
and where’s the fun in that?
Everton
and Forest seeking comfort
Two teams who will be seeking steady progress towards mid-table this season are Everton and Nottingham Forest.
Touching upon the former first and it was only a few years that Everton were aspiring for regular European football with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm. Dominic Calvert-Lewin couldn’t miss in front of goal, and James Rodriguez was pulling the strings. Fast-forward three years and Everton have been on the brink of oblivion. Sean Dyche was brought in as a fire-fighter in January this year, and did just that, keeping Everton up on the final day of the season.
Looking ahead to this season and Everton have not made wholesale changes this summer. They have managed to keep hold of their key man, Amadou Onana. At the age of 21, he has proven himself to be Everton’s anchor in midfield and his numbers show this. Onana had an average of 2.63 tackles per game, winning 92% of these and, 7.06 winning ground duels per game as well as 2.13 winning aerial dules per game. All three of these are higher than Declan Rice’s numbers which only show the high performances Onana put in consistently last season. Another season like that and he will be the next combative midfielder wanted by all the top clubs. Get in line.
In terms
of additions, Everton finally added January target Arnault Danjuma to their
ranks on a loan deal. He, of course, has Premier League experience at
Bournemouth however it’s at Villareal where he has enhanced his reputation and
he will add pace and directness to Everton’s attack. The man Dyche will hope to
partner him up front with is Dominic Calvert-Lewin. One could only wonder where
both he and Everton would be if he had avoided his torrid injuries. Firing 16
goals in 33 games in his last injury free season in 2020/2021 shows the quality
he possesses and getting and keeping him fit will be vital in Everton’s pursuit
for progress.
Moving to Nottingham Forest now, and it was certainly an unforgettable return to the Premier League for them. They were written off before a ball had been kicked and written off after a ball had been kicked off the back of making 23 summer signings. How would this all fit together? For a while, it didn’t. Whilst head-coach Steve Cooper slowly got to grips with all the tools he had, Forest kept their grip firmly away from the panic button and stuck with him. They were rewarded as he led them to safety with a home win vs Arsenal.
This summer has been a little quiet for Forest’s recent standards which could be considered normal but also raises some concerns. Anthony Elanga has joined from Manchester United and Forest will be hoping Steve Cooper’s talent for improving young players bears fruit. So far, their pursuit of fellow teammate, Dean Henderson has been unsuccessful. It doesn’t appear that Forest and Manchester United are too far away, both agreeing on a loan deal, just the amount of games to trigger an obligation to permanently buy Henderson being the sticking point.
Forest’s starting
11, providing they add a keeper of suitable quality, is strong and would appear
good enough to keep them up again. They, do, however, lack real depth in the
squad. Forest were particularly strong on counter-attacks last season and
keeping the spearheads, both Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson fit, will
be key to Forest’s survival hopes. Whilst this counter-attacking style was
particularly effective at home, Forest’s away record was tepid and one solitary
win, against the bottom side Southampton, would ordinarily not be enough to
survive. Forest will need to improve their away record as they may not pick up
as many points at home this season. It’s also important that Forest don’t seek
unnatural progression too quickly. Sticking with Cooper, a cult hero amongst
the Forest faithful, will boost their chances of survival and he has earnt the
chance to lead the club towards consolidating itself in the Premier League.
Wolves Woes
Wolves’ season can be categorised as a season of
two halves. Pre-World Cup, they had amassed a lowly total of 11 points from
their opening 16 games and this resulted in Bruno Lage’s dismissal. In came
Julien Lopetegui, the Europa League winning, former Real Madrid manager. Not
your usual firefighter. Lopetegui proved to be up for the job and lead Wolves
to 14th position. This was the lowest since Wolves’ return to the Premier
League and was a sign the club had been standing still and was now going
backwards. With a mere 31 goals scored in 38 games, the lowest in the Premier
League, Wolves had lost their bite.
Their transfer window has been alarming and has
even resulted in Lopetegui to speak out for the need for reinforcements. Those
who have left Molineux this summer include Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Diego
Costa, Adama Traore, Nathan Collins, Raul Jimenez and Conor Coady. Over the
last few seasons, all these players have been mainstays in the team at some
point. Only Matheus Cunha, Boubacar Traore and Matt Docherty have joined the
club this summer.
Wolves have had success in recent years in doing
business with super-agent Jorge Mendes and his everlasting talent pool of
Portuguese players. The relationship has certainly been a profitable one for
Mendes with an estimated £330m being spent on players who were either
represented by his agency or in deals facilitated by Mendes. Early on, the
results lived up to the hype with Neves, Moutinho, Jota and Patricio all
impressing and taking Wolves to new heights. However, for every one of those,
there has been a Fabio Silva, a Goncalo Guedes and a Nelson Semedo, who joined
for a combined £99.5million.
It turns out spinning the Mendes wheel of
fortune does not guarantee a superstar every time. No refunds. No recruitment
policy is 100% foolproof, however relying on an agent to ship the “hottest” new
talent across isn’t destined to work long-term. Having rolled a die too many,
Wolves have now decided to take their shopping elsewhere, parting ties with
Mendes. The damage, however, has been done.
There’s a malaise that has set in at Wolves. A
slow decay at the club which was present even during the end of Nuno Esperito
Santo’s reign. 14th, 10th and 13th in their last three seasons represents
solidity in mid-table, however Southampton fans would be all too quick to tell
you how mid-table security can quickly turn into relegation worries. A manager
of Lopetegui’s calibre deserves better and I wouldn’t be surprised if he left
the club, one way or another, this season. I predict Wolves to be in a fight
and as it stands, I doubt whether they’ll be ready.
Promoted
Sides
Luton Town are Premier League. I can’t lie and pretend I wasn’t rooting for them in their play-off final against Coventry in May. Luton have had a meteoric rise that began with their promotion to League 2 from the Conference only 9 years ago. Their incredible rise is matched by their Head Coach, Rob Edwards, who last summer was reflecting on his League 2 success at Forest Green before moving to Watford, Luton’s bitter rival. This detail makes the triumph a whole lot sweeter. Edwards, appointed in November 2022, won 14 out of 25 games and lead the Hatters to the promise land. At 1/3 odds of being relegated, the bookies, however, believe there is a 75% chance Luton go down. So, what chance do they have of defying those odds?
Luton play
in a compact 3-5-2 system which morphs into a 5-3-2 out of possession, similar
to Brentford’s system. They are unashamedly direct in their approach and ranked
21st in the Championship for accurate passes per game. Rather than
opting for control with possession, Luton are aggressive pressers and won the
ball in their opponent’s final third as many times per match as almost any other
side in the Championship last season. They’re gritty, tough to beat and the
compact Kenilworth Road stadium and narrower pitch should ensure it’ll be a
tough place to go next season. Luton, whilst not having the best home record in
the Championship (only 9th best), will be pinning their hopes on
Kenilworth Road being a fortress. There are shades of Huddersfield Town in
Luton Town with their low budget and
style of football and despite being written off, Huddersfield survived their
first season in the Prem. If Luton were to survive relegation this season, it
would be one of the greatest survival stories of the Premier League era.
Speaking of Yorkshire sides, let’s talk about Sheffield United. Promoted back to the Premier league at the second time of asking, Paul Heckingbottom’s team quietly went about their business. They lacked the razzmatazz of Burnley and the fairytale story of Luton. Ask your friends who the three promoted teams were and I bet Sheffield United is the forgotten one. Sheffield United’s last stint in the Premier League was one that bring back joyous memories of overlapping centre halves, the only tactical trend that Pep Guardiola didn’t invent, and an incredibly spirited 9th position in 2019-2020. The less said about their next season, the better.
How sharp
are the Blades now then? Similarly,
to their promoted counterparts, Luton, Paul Heckingbottom lines his team up in
a 3-5-2 shape. Boasting the 2nd meanest defence in the Championship, the Blades
will look to be solid and tough to beat. Going forwards they also had the 3rd
most prolific attack in the Championship and just like Luton, again, they look
to counter-press high up the pitch before playing quick passes into their
forwards. They averaged 51% possession last season which evidences the ability
to apply a more patient approach should their opposition choose to be more
cautious. Sander Berge will be crucial in the middle of the park, ensuring the
Blades don’t surrender possession too easily.
However, the fulcrum of their attack, Iliman
Ndiaye has signed for boyhood club Marseille. Ndiaye chipped in with 14 goals
and 10 assists last season and losing him is a huge blow for the Blades.
Sheffield United will need to replace him quickly as well as bring in further
additions in order to compete.
Conclusion:
In an ever-competitive landscape, the
Premier League is a beast that will swallow any complacency and lack of quality.
The gap between the Premier League and the Championship is a chasm these days
and unfortunately, I see both Sheffield United and Luton struggling.
Those two are my picks for 19th and 20th respectively.
As for 18th, it’s a worst of the rest. As I have
outlined, I see a disconnect at Wolves and believe they’ve let rot set in and
have yet to react. I fear for Wolves and they’re my pick for 18th.
Here are my 11th to 20th predictions:
11th – West Ham
12th – Crystal Palace
13th – Fulham
14th – Burnley
15th – Bournemouth
16th – Everton
17th – Nottingham Forest
18th – Wolves
19th – Sheffield United
20th – Luton
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