Your Premier League End Table Predictions

[StevieDay1983]

Alright everyone! Let's put our predictions where our mouths are! In here, you will be asked to submit your final table predictions for the 2016/17 Premier League before the opening game. We will then compare at the end of the season and see who got them right.

There has been a fair bit of disagreement over how certain teams will do so it will be interesting to see how everyone does. I think I need a bit of a think before I post mine but will do soon.

Who is going to be brave and get some early shouts in?

[NornIron]

OK, let me have a crack at this.  It's probably a billion to one to predict the outcome of the entire Premier League but, for what it's worth, here's my effort:

1.   Man City  (Guardiola factor kicks in early)

2.   Man Utd   (Mourinho back to his tactical best)

3.   Southampton (This year's surprise package....some shrewd signings in Redmond &  Hojbjerg adding to an already impressive squad.)

4.   Liverpool (Klopp getting closer but no cigar this year...settles for top 4).

5.   Chelsea (another season of struggle for Chelsea.  Conte fails to ignite the Blues)

6.   Arsenal (The unthinkable happens and they miss out on Top 4.....Wenger's swansong).

7.   Stoke (Joe Allen inspires the Potters to the dizzy heights of Europa League)

8.   Everton (Koeman stabilises the Toffees and on track for top 4 in 2017/18)

9.   Leicester  (the people's champions not disgraced but lightening fails to strike twice)

10.  West Ham  (Big ambition, big budget and big crowds but average results).

11.   Sunderland (Moyes get's it right (finally)....scraps enough boring victories to attain a decent finish)

12.   Tottenham (Pochettino's departs for the Argentina job and Spurs slump to this season's big disappointment).

13.   Middesbrough (Boro comfortably finish as the highest placed new-comers).

14.   West Brom  (Same old story.  Half decent home form but dreadful on the road).

15.   Swansea  (Flirt with relegation but a 4 game winning streat in February hauls them clear).

16.   Crystal Palace  (Pardew leaves mid season for a better job offer...Palace just do enough to stay up).

17.   Bournemouth    (Last day win.  Eddie Howe works his magic and keeps the Cherries in the Premier League, yet again.)

18.   Watford     (A bridge too far.....slump to a final day defeat and relegation). 

19    Hull    (Losing Bruce proves to be a hurdle that can't be overcome....straight back to the Championship they go).

20.   Burnley  (Relegated by early March on very few points).  

 

 

Edited July 27, 2016 by NornIron

[neilovan]

1.   Man Utd   (Great signings in every line of the game. Mourinho is not there to come second | Mou loves the 2-0 scoreline)

2.   Man City  (All the firepower is there, just turn the engine on | Over 2.5 goal champions this season)

Top two way better than the rest for me. 6 to 10 point gap between them and the rest.

 

3.   Chelsea (Conte will be excellent for Chelsea. No better defensive manager in league | will be a top NO to BTTS bet every week )

4.   Liverpool (Klopp is a great manager, but Liverpool can't compete financially. | Great 1st half team)

5.   Arsenal ( 22 Goal per season striker problem  | too many of the 'same type' of players | To win you GOTTA Spend some cash)

6.   Tottenham (The lack of on-field leadership shown in that game vrs. Chelsea, showed me that Spurs don't have the BMT to win it).

Any combination of the above four teams in these positions. I don't think any of them have the total package needed to win the league.

 

7.   Leicester  (Midweek champions League games are going to be very disruptive for Leicester. The squad is not deep enough for this | Double Chance on opponent after midweek games)

8.   Everton (Koeman gets Everton back on track | Great home form)

9.   Stoke (Stoke were horrid away from home last season. Can they get the attacking balance right on away days?)

10.   Southampton (I don't think people understand what a solid Coach Koeman is)

11.  West Ham  ( Expect a slow start to a vanilla season, maybe a decent cup run ).

Any combination of the above five teams in these positions.  

 

12.   Swansea  (Just vanilla again).

13.   Middesbrough (Rock solid defense that has improved year on year will make them tough to beat).

14.   Bournemouth  (Howe will keep them up )

 

Six goes into three relegated

 

 16.   West Brom  (Showed awful form towards the end of last season, not winning any of their last 9 league games.).

 17.   Sunderland ( A miracle that Sunderland stayed up ... thank Big Sam. I see them really struggling under Moyes. Can you try too hard ?)

18.   Crystal Palace  ( Palace winning just 2 of their last 21 league games, only stayed up due to an impressive start.).

18.   Watford     (New manager upheaval could see them relegated ). 

19.   Burnley  (Relegated : They just don't have the firepower to stay in the league).  

20    Hull    (Relegated : A disenfranchised Owner and managerial upheaval  ).

 

Edited July 28, 2016 by neilovan

[StevieDay1983]

Haha, big call on Southampton there NornIron! I'm not sure I can see it happening. I think they will fall further down the table. Here are my predictions...

1. Manchester City (think Pep is just going to fine tune things and will get it right - still think they will fall short in Europe again)

2. Manchester United (Jose always does well in his first season or two but then gets bored. He's wanted this job for ages so he'll thrive)

3. Chelsea (Conte has the basis of a very good squad but he's going to need time to adapt his tactics to the Premier League before he pushes for a title challenge)

4. Arsenal (signing Granit Xhaka is a wise decision but they still lack defensively. Still think Wenger will get the standard Champions League qualification spot)

5. Liverpool (I'm not totally sold on Klopp's signings but he can bring the best out of even the most average players so think they will flourish this season but just miss out on top four)

6. Tottenham (it will be difficult for Pochettino to replicate last season's success. I rate him as a manager but their lack of movement in the transfer market is disconcerting)

7. Everton (I think Koeman will take the Toffees to the next level and I was even tempted to put them above Spurs. It's going to be close)

8. West Ham (it appears Payet is staying and that will be key. I think they will love life in their new home in front of the big crowd and Bilic is such a class man manager)

9. Leicester (Kante has gone and I still think Mahrez will leave. Those two players were massive but I have liked the look of their new additions. I think they will still have a positive season but nowhere near last season)

10. Middlesbrough (I think if they continue along this route with their signings they could be the surprise package this season)

11. Southampton (their new manager is an interesting one but I think he will need time to adapt and so will the players. Will have a solid season but will fall short of Europe)

12. Sunderland (I think Moyes will do well with them. They have everything in place for a decent manager to start the season well with them. He'll turn them into mid-table mediocrity)

13. Stoke (I'm still not a massive fan of Hughes. I think he should do better with the players he has. I think he'll under-achieve and get sacked this season)

14. Swansea (totally agree with neilovan - vanilla)

15. Crystal Palace (I think they will fall short of doing anything and it could be a season that sees Pardew depart Selhurst Park)

16. West Brom (Tony Pulis never gets teams relegated!)

17. Burnley ( I actually think Dyche will be wiser and I think he's one of the best British managers around so will guide them to safety if they spend right)

18. Bournemouth (I think selling Ritchie was a massive mistake and they could well struggle purely due to a lack of resources and quality)

19. Watford (will have a terrible season. Big risk changing manager and could be a long campaign ending in relegation)

20. Hull (not much I like about the club and wouldn't care if they went down in 20th place)

[andrewcalo]

You might be wrong about Swansea. Our squad has been growing in leaps and bounds since we started to play them all and been more flexible in selection. Dyer is back too, and word is we're signing a great striker before the start of the season...Sevilla's Llorente.

Edited July 28, 2016 by andrewcalo

[dylanphan]

I'll give this a crack

1-ManUnited.  Times are bright at OT for a big season.  It seems Pogba is just about a done deal and this brings another dynamic player to a very deep team.  with the likes of Zlatan, Martial, Rooney and Rashford in the attack, there is plenty to choose from.  Mkityarin will hit the ground running and his brilliance will be on display on the biggest stage.  Carrick back to playing the defensive midfielder really sures up the defensive posture and United add another athletic CB to pair up with Smalling.  So much experience all over the field, and a very good mix of youth and experience.  And still with one of the best GKs on the planet, if United able to get another 0.5 gpg or so, they should be just fine to win the title.

2-ManCity.  Certainly no shortage of fire power in the attack.  KdB, Sterling, Silva, Aguero, Bony all are dangerous - and plenty of depth in midfield and attack.  Goals should not be the problem.  I do see an issue in the back.  Hart is in my eyes one of the most overrated GKs in the league (if not the world).  And I think the once stout City defense has a lot of questions abound.  Adding Stones would help, but I just see an aging, decaying defense - very similar to what Chelsea had last year which was severely exposed.  I'm sure Pep will try to control the ball, but thats another issue in that City are just brilliant on the counter.  YaYa and Silvas play has fallen off, I'm not sure the current City side pair well with what Pep has done in the past.  We shall see.

3-Chelsea.  Pretty evident that a change needed to be made after the disaster of last season and Conte just seems to be perfect.  Their midfield just designed to run opponents ragged and you have to assume an improvement in form from Hazard will assist in the attack.  Should be a lot of grinding games, I think opponents will very much dislike playing against the Blues this year.

4-Spurs.  this is fully a team on the come, littered with young good players all over the pitch.  Just look at all the impact players on the team over the age of 26.  Vertonghen and Alderweild are 29 as is Lloris (but really that is a prime age for a gk).  And that is it. Everyone else 26 or younger.  Two issues keep me from picking this team higher.  1) Not quite as deep as the teams above them and with CL play this year, this could be an issue.  Spurs oftentimes were vulnerable in years past after midweek games.  2) overreliance on one Harry Kane to get the key goal.  They need to find more consistent scoring from a secondary source in my eyes.

5-Arsenal.  I think Arsenal need to make a change.  It seems forever they have been content to be good, not great, get into the top 4, take CL money and look for bargains in the transfer market.  That formula worked well for years, but with the stupid money now available, Arsenal been too slow to adjust and I think this will be the year changes be made.  Wenger a fine soccer mind, but Arsenal just not better than most of the best teams in England and Europe any more.  They are just 'in the mix'.  They will be decent enough again, but a 5-6 finish will not surprise me at all.

6-Liverpool.  I'm not drinking the Klopp punch just yet.  Central defense and GK's just not good enough.  Attack may be fun if everyone is at full health, but I dont think Lallana and Milner are anywhere near the level of wingers that Dortmunds attack had in the past.  I would be shocked if they finished top 4, I really think 6 is their peak.

7-Southampton.  Liverpool feeder club still with talent but obviously lost quite a bit in the off season.  At this point the teams from 6-12 or so are really interchangeable, so wouldnt surprise me to see Southampton at 7th or 12th, I'll give them the benefit of doubt based on talent alone.

8-Leicester City.  Shame that the team already lost a few key players and very well may lose Mahrez too.  It would have been fun to see if it really were the worlds largest ever fluke or this gutty squad could come close to replicating results.  Thin roster, increase of high leverage matches, I just cant see Leicester coming close to the lofty goals of last year.  Ill put them this high in hope, but wouldn't surprise me to see a 15th place finish simply due to attrition

9-Everton.  Mundane table position for a middling club.  Not much to be excited for here in my eyes.  Defense and goal is relatively weak and loss of Stones wouldn't help.  Barkley, Lukaku, Deulofeu, a few nice young pieces surrounded by mostly dreck and guys well past their prime.

10-West Ham.  I want to put the Hammers higher, but I just dont see it.  Defense isnt very good and Cresswell already injured.  I think Payet is pretty discontent and wants to play for a bigger club.  Most of the guys on this club are in the sweet spot of 25-29 years old, but they are just shy of having the talent of playing for the best clubs, and not bad enough to be key contributors to lesser clubs.  so 10th seems just about right for them

11-Swansea.  Don't see enough goals out of them to push much higher than this.  Don't see enough weakness to have them in danger of dropping.  11-15 range for Swans seems right, although I could see them even further back with an injury or two as this team is not all that deep.

12-Crystal Palace.  Defense is okay, midfield is good....if they could only find a striker or two.  We shall see how long Pardew sticks around, but on talent alone I think this team should have no issues staying above the drop and I'll fancy them for a surprise finish nearer to 10.  Plus, you have to love the Palace fans, so keeping them around for years is a nice juxtaposition against the dullards in OT or the Emirates.

13-16 Middlesbrough/Stoke/Sunderland/Watford

At this point I'm running out of much positives to mention about each team so I'll just lump these 4 teams together as a whole bunch of meh.  I think they will all steer clear of danger and make it another year.  

17-West Bromwich.  The never ending saga of Beranhio aside, this team still with just barely enough talent to stay up.  An older lot, and surely more susceptible to injury, Lambert, Fletcher, Brunt, Morrison, Olsson all will probably be relied upon to be key performers, all on the wrong side of 30.  Johnny Evans coming up on 30, just seems to me this team is a rag tag collection of mediocre players, but when they are all out there, they are professional, play hard and I do like TP as a manager.  But, very easy for me to see an injury or 5 take this club apart and lend them in a very uncomfortable position around April of 2017.

18-20 Burnley, Bournemouth, Hull

These three should be relegated but will fight tooth and nail each week for points.  I think Hull and Bournemouth I would tip for 19th and 20th, but I'll root a bit for Burnley to stay up.  We shall see.

[StevieDay1983]

On 29/07/2016, 00:23:25, andrewcalo said:

You might be wrong about Swansea. Our squad has been growing in leaps and bounds since we started to play them all and been more flexible in selection. Dyer is back too, and word is we're signing a great striker before the start of the season...Sevilla's Llorente.

Your pre-season friendly win over Wolves was impressive but I know a few Swansea fans who have concerns about this season. Interesting to see your optimism. I certainly don't think you'll go down. I actually think Guidolin is a very astute manager. My only concern is what impact the takeover will have. The new owners could play a key role in either helping Swansea evolve to become even stronger or contribute to their demise.

[andrewcalo]

4 hours ago, StevieDay1983 said:

Your pre-season friendly win over Wolves was impressive but I know a few Swansea fans who have concerns about this season. Interesting to see your optimism. I certainly don't think you'll go down. I actually think Guidolin is a very astute manager. My only concern is what impact the takeover will have. The new owners could play a key role in either helping Swansea evolve to become even stronger or contribute to their demise.

There are doubts over new owners, also a lot of BS out there about Ayew going, Ashley Williams, etc.

Hard to know what's what. There's word we're making a move to get Bony back.

I think we'll do better than expected this season, cannot be as bad as last year.

[StevieDay1983]

19 hours ago, andrewcalo said:

There are doubts over new owners, also a lot of BS out there about Ayew going, Ashley Williams, etc.

Hard to know what's what. There's word we're making a move to get Bony back.

I think we'll do better than expected this season, cannot be as bad as last year.

What's going on with Williams to Everton? Personally, I don't see what Williams has got to gain by moving at his age. He's got a great role as captain at Swansea. He's captain of his country. Yes, he might be part of a squad that plays in Europe soon but will he start if Koeman invests further? It's a risk.

[Wobzin]

Surely the rise in wages is Williams reasons for moving.

Why do people think Leicester will lose Mahrez?

Bartosz Kapustka is on the brink of signing for Leicester, which i think could be the best signing of the summer.

[StevieDay1983]

9 hours ago, Wobzin said:

Surely the rise in wages is Williams reasons for moving.

Why do people think Leicester will lose Mahrez?

Bartosz Kapustka is on the brink of signing for Leicester, which i think could be the best signing of the summer.

I'm sure Swansea could offer Williams enough wages to make him stay. If he has his family settled in South Wales as well then it would need to be a big incentive from Everton in my opinion.

I agree about Kapustka. He looked class for Poland at Euro 2016 and is still young enough that he will only get better.

[BillyHills]

My picks

I reckon both Man Utd and Chelsea will just need this season and come up short.

Really like the way Spurs play but Man City just edge it for me. Arsenal are Arsenal and Liverpool should make top 6.

Leicester cant replicate last season but top half should be achievable.

Interesting to see how WHU get on at the new ground, will obviously lose a few home points compared to other seasons.

Could be any of 6/7 at the bottom, some dreadful teams in the Prem and think Bournemouth will struggle this season allowing perhaps Burnley to escape.

[Fader]

Here's my prediction :

1) Chelsea
2) Man City
3) Man United
4) Arsenal
5) Spurs
6) Liverpool
7) Southampton
8) Everton
9) West Ham
10) Leicester
11) C.Palace
12) Stoke
13) Middlesbrough
14) West Brom
15) Sunderland
16) Bouremouth
17) Swansea
-------------------------------------
18) Watford
19) Burnley
20) Hull

[StevieDay1983]

@neilovan, here you go mate. Let's see how we've all done. A quick glance shows my predictions weren't great but not a million miles away bar the odd team.

Here is how the 2016/17 Premier League table finished...

[StevieDay1983]

Here is how far off I was...

1. Manchester City (think Pep is just going to fine tune things and will get it right - still think they will fall short in Europe again) -2

2. Manchester United (Jose always does well in his first season or two but then gets bored. He's wanted this job for ages so he'll thrive) -4

3. Chelsea (Conte has the basis of a very good squad but he's going to need time to adapt his tactics to the Premier League before he pushes for a title challenge) +2

4. Arsenal (signing Granit Xhaka is a wise decision but they still lack defensively. Still think Wenger will get the standard Champions League qualification spot) -1

5. Liverpool (I'm not totally sold on Klopp's signings but he can bring the best out of even the most average players so think they will flourish this season but just miss out on top four) +1

6. Tottenham (it will be difficult for Pochettino to replicate last season's success. I rate him as a manager but their lack of movement in the transfer market is disconcerting) +4

7. Everton (I think Koeman will take the Toffees to the next level and I was even tempted to put them above Spurs. It's going to be close) 0

8. West Ham (it appears Payet is staying and that will be key. I think they will love life in their new home in front of the big crowd and Bilic is such a class man manager) -3

9. Leicester (Kante has gone and I still think Mahrez will leave. Those two players were massive but I have liked the look of their new additions. I think they will still have a positive season but nowhere near last season) -3

10. Middlesbrough (I think if they continue along this route with their signings they could be the surprise package this season) -9

11. Southampton (their new manager is an interesting one but I think he will need time to adapt and so will the players. Will have a solid season but will fall short of Europe) +3

12. Sunderland (I think Moyes will do well with them. They have everything in place for a decent manager to start the season well with them. He'll turn them into mid-table mediocrity) -8

13. Stoke (I'm still not a massive fan of Hughes. I think he should do better with the players he has. I think he'll under-achieve and get sacked this season) 0

14. Swansea (totally agree with neilovan - vanilla) -1

15. Crystal Palace (I think they will fall short of doing anything and it could be a season that sees Pardew depart Selhurst Park) +1

16. West Brom (Tony Pulis never gets teams relegated!) +6

17. Burnley ( I actually think Dyche will be wiser and I think he's one of the best British managers around so will guide them to safety if they spend right) +1

18. Bournemouth (I think selling Ritchie was a massive mistake and they could well struggle purely due to a lack of resources and quality) +9

19. Watford (will have a terrible season. Big risk changing manager and could be a long campaign ending in relegation) +2

20. Hull (not much I like about the club and wouldn't care if they went down in 20th place) +2

An interesting range of predictions. I got Everton and Stoke spot on. I correctly predicted just two of the four Champions League qualifiers and only one of the relegated sides. I came close with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Swansea, Crystal Palace, and Burnley by only missing their final place by 1 position plus only missing out by a couple of places with Manchester City, Chelsea, Watford, and Hull.

However, I was way off on a few almost hitting half a league table away for the likes of Middlesbrough, Sunderland, and Bournemouth.