1) Chelsea
Being realistic here, anything less is a failure for the Blues. They have made some good signings (and one that was both to improve the squad and to spite Arsenal fans). If the signings meld into the squad well enough, it’s gonna be tough to beat a team that is so incredibly frustrating to break down. A massive weakness for Chelsea last season was the ineptitude in their strikers. This was a problem for them last year and they’ve tried to address it in the summer. And for the most part they did. The problem now is whether or not Costa can adjust to playing in England.
2) Arsenal
For once they’ve done everything this summer correctly. They’ve gotten into the transfer market early and they’ve brought in some amazing talent. Alexis Sanchez is the biggest name Wenger’s brought in and it’ll be interesting to see where he’s played as Arsene’s hinted at playing him down the middle and he could play on the left as well. They may need one more signing, a CB or CDM, which in all likelihood will happen by the deadline. And if Arsenal can avoid an injury crisis, they could very well win the league or at the very least a trophy. Hell, if Arsenal are fortunate enough, this could be the year the Gunners finally win a European trophy.
3) Manchester City
It’s more to do with past experience than anything else. 2 seasons ago, City came into the season as defending EPL champions. Underwhelmed throughout the season and missed out on repeating by a wide margin. They haven’t really done much in the summer, though that can be forgiven because there isn’t much to improve for them. City still has a strong squad and can win the title. But this is one of those seasons where they could end up anywhere in the Top 4 if they’re not careful.
4) Liverpool
Came within a slip of the title last year and then sold their top scorer/best player in the summer and have tried to replace him with the same tactic that made people laugh at Tottenham over. Of course the Reds are better equipped to avoid a similar end result, but they haven’t quite replaced Suarez and that’s the one thing that’ll keep Liverpool from repeating, or bettering last season. When you sell the league’s top scorer and easily your best player. You’re gonna have to find the perfect guy to take his place. Liverpool hasn’t done that. Liverpool has tried to go for quantity to replace Suarez, a tactic that failed when Spurs tried it after Bale’s transfer. In fact at this point in time, Suarez’s replacement is essentially Rickie Lambert.
5) Manchester United
I don’t quite get the hype. Everyone’s suddenly expecting United to become a title contender again and it’s all because they got Louis Van Gaal as manager. Anyone with common sense can tell you that they can’t win the league with the squad they have. For the first time in lord knows how long Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s are gonna be unusually quiet and that makes getting the players they need difficult as can be. And if they can’t get the players they need, then they can’t win the league.
6) Everton
They came agonizingly close to ending Arsenal’s run in the Champions League last season and they’ve managed to snag a similar squad this season, with some slight improvements on top of that. Lukaku is their biggest signing ever and for good reason. However they more than likely miss out on the Top 4 again. They’ve got a dangerous squad and that’s good for them, but it’s just not strong enough to truly contend with the top of the food chain just yet.
7) Tottenham Hotspur
I really don’t know what to make of Spurs. Last season for this team was like watching a bunch of chickens(pun intended) running around with their head’s cut off at times. They do have some decent talent on the squad, but the issue was getting the team to gel. It didn’t and at times they got humiliated as a result. 20 goals conceded against Liverpool and Man City alone, were swept by West Ham and Arsenal(while only scoring 1 time in the 6 games against the 2). This season does look like it’ll be better. But they’re gonna get the short end of the stick yet again since every team above them made bigger moves over the summer.
16) Leicester City
The start of the season for the Foxes is gonna be like running on spikes, barefooted, while on fire and being shot at. Luckily for them, it’ll get easier over the season and despite the fact that they’ll be in the relegation fight till the end, they’ll survive, but by the skin of their teeth.
17) Southampton
Having a mass exodus is never good for a team that had so much promise a year ago. The scary thing is that there’s a slight chance that it ain’t over just yet. The Saint’s might have to pull a rabbit out their ass to avoid relegation with any sort of ease. They’ll survive, but it’ll cause a few heart attacks by the end.
18) Crystal Palace
Pulis worked another small miracle last year to not only keep the Eagles in the EPL but get them up to 11th. They made some interesting moves in the summer but it’s probably gonna require another one this year to do the same, especially with the news of Pulis’ departure coming out of thin air. If anything they’ll just miss out on survival by a point or 2.
19) Aston Villa
I’d be surprised if there is any Villa fans who weren’t scared shitless about how close they were to relegation at times last year. Problem this year is that their most notable move in the summer was bringing in Keane as an assistant to Paul Lambert. That’s not a good thing if you’re trying to improve the squad on the field.
20) Burnley
Sadly the Cinderella story of Burnley is gonna come to a catastrophic end. Easily the weakest team in the EPL and hasn’t even looked like any improvement has been made over the summer. About as easy a 3 points as the top 7 clubs should get this year.
FA Cup: Liverpool
This season has all the makings of the Reds winning something, but the league title just isn’t gonna happen.
Capital One Cup: Arsenal
Like I said, Arsenal will certainly win a trophy, if not the league then it’ll be a cup.
Top Scorer: Sergio Aguero
Sturridge might get it, but Aguero is too much City’s main threat in attack.
Player of the Year: Aaron Ramsey
Could’ve been in the running for this last year if not for his stint on the injury list.
Biggest Improvement: QPR
Seeing as most teams in the top half haven’t improve massively, I’m going with a promoted side that seems to have it in them to challenge for the top half of the table.
Biggest Dropoff: Southampton
You pretty much lost half your team in the summer, and have been frantically trying to reel in replacements since. Not good if you want to avoid any drop off.
First Manager To Get Sacked: Nigel Pearson(Leicester City)
It’s gonna be one of the promoted team managers, and from the looks of it, Leicester City has the most treacherous starts to the season of the teams(4 of first 5 opponents are Chelsea, Man U, Arsenal and Everton), and that doesn’t bode well for Pearson.