What will happen in this season's Premier League?

Who will win the league?

With the Premier League well and truly underway, I've taken a look at who I think will win the Premier League because this season, it seems like it's anyone’s to win. The obvious frontrunners for this season is the previous holders, Liverpool. However, after Jordan Pickford's horror tackle on Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool suddenly look a lot more vulnerable. Now with only two natural centre backs in the squad, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip, the current Premier League champions look thin at the back. I do not think its panic stations yet for Liverpool as they also have Fabinho who has looked very comfortable in defence. Both Matip and Gomez have looked shaky playing next to Van Dijk this season, with the 7-2 loss to Aston Villa springing to mind as a calamitous performance for Gomez. It has proved to be potentially be a poisoned chalice playing next to the Dutch defender because not only are you instantly seen as the weaker defender, but you are overloaded by the opposition attack. This would mean that the opposition's attack becomes more balanced which could end up actually giving Liverpool more defensive balance. For me I see this season being a lot closer than it was last year, but I see Liverpool being able to cope without van Dijk and retaining their Premier League title.

The team that I see pushing Liverpool is the furthest. They've spent well in the window, reassuring up their, at times, shaky defence with the signing of Ruben Dias (for $79.2 million) from Benfica and Nathan Are (for $52 million) from Bournemouth. They also brought in Ferran Torres (for $27.5 million) from Valencia. City have looked lacklustre at times this season and I believe this to be partially down to Pep Guardiola's motivation following recent events in his life. Guardiola's mother died of COVID-19 and that, for obvious reasons, takes a huge mental toll on a person. The football world has seen a new side to Guardiola where the insignificance football has been seemingly apparent. The Sky Blues' biggest star Kevin de Bruyne has not been able to carry on his record-breaking form from last season and has seated rather slowly but I do not think it will be long before the Champions League's best performing midfielder will resume service as usual. Fernandinho coming off injured in the Champions League won't help City's chances but I believe they have enough cover to be able to carry on without too much disturbance. Despite the dip in both Guardiola and Man City's form this season, I believe Man City have the resources to be Liverpool's strongest competitors, so I see them coming in a close second.

Chelsea have looked very shaky at times this season which has caused a lot of worry amongst some Chelsea fans, but this is to be expected. With the amount of signings Lampard has brought into the club, they were always going to take time to gel; I believe Chelsea are still going through this transition period where Lampard is working out his best XI whilst everyone comes back to full fitness. We've seen flashes of how well Chelsea can play in the first half against Southampton and the second half against West Brom, both games where they scored three goals in a half. Defensively they have not looked so solid, with The Blues leaking 9 goals in 5 games. However, the introduction of Edouard Mendy has looked to have given the Blues more confidence the back, with them keeping a clean sheet at home against Europa League winners Sevilla. Another defensive positive for Chelsea is how well Ben Chilwell has fitted into this Chelsea side, looking as if he had been playing for the club for a number of years. Timo Werner and Kai Havertz are now off the mark so they will only grow with confidence. Hakim Ziyech had a shaky second half appearance against Southampton but his confidence will only grow after he gets more minutes under his belt. I think Chelsea fans will have to be patient with this season as see them really kicking into gear around January and I think after this point, the Blues will be hard to beat. Especially with Thiago Silva starting in defence to aid Chelsea's back line. I would also like to see Tomori used by Lampard more as when he came on against Liverpool, he was Chelsea's best defender. I see Frank's Chelsea side coming in third with them potentially winning the FA Cup and them challenging for the title next season.

Spurs were a hard one for me to predict because they've performed very similarly to Chelsea. They have looked extremely dangerous going forward with a new look Harry Kane scoring and assisting for Heung Min-Son. The addition of Gareth Bale is only going to make them an even more deadly force. Before the game against West Ham, I had them in my head as being able to potentially be in contention for the title, but they have shown themselves once again to lack the minerals to win the league. By this I mean that they clearly do not have the character to hold onto wins and grind out results when necessary. There's only so far having a great attack can take you in a Premier League season when you don't have enough character in the team to hold onto a win. I believe Spurs will eventually have this under the coaching of Jose Mourinho but over the length of a 38-game season I do not see them being able to grind out enough results against the very best teams to put them in contention for the title. However, under Mourinho's management I see them doing a lot better in a knock-out tournament like the Europa League. Jose has won a trophy at every single club he's managed so will be targeting either the FA Cup or the Europa League to continue this trend. He's one the Europa League twice and the FA Cup once. I see Spurs coming in 4th hot on Chelsea's heels as the race for European qualification is closer than it has ever been before.

"The Premier League is one of the most difficult in the world. There's five, six, or seven clubs that can be the champions. Only one can win, and all the others are disappointed and live in the middle of disaster." - Jurgen Klopp

Whilst I think Arsenal are making great strides under Arteta, I do not think they have the quality to break into the top 4. I think bringing in Thomas Partey is a great signing as he gives Arsenal a different dimension, one they had been missing for a long time. Partey plays as a box to box midfielder, someone who can help the play transition from defence to attack. If Arteta plays him in the right position and manages him well, he can be a real force for many years to come. Whilst Arsenal are strong, they still have weak points that I think will cause them to just miss out on the top 4. I am a big fan of the signing of Gabriel Magalhaes to slot in at CB, but I think David Luiz is too inconsistent and mistake prone for them to break into the top 4. I think the controversial decision to leave Mesut Ozil out of the Premier League squad could end up being a mistake because on his day the German's range of passing matches that of De Bruyne. 5th spot would be a solid finish for Arsenal; the Gunners will have progressed from 8th to 5th and they should be eyeing up winning the Europa League as a viable option for Champions League qualification.

Carlo Ancelotti's Everton side have started this season incredibly. After 5 games they find themselves top of the league with not a single loss. James Rodriguez and Dominic Calvert-Lewin particularly have been inspired, forming a partnership that seems like they have been playing together for years. Duncan Ferguson has also turned Calvert-Lewin into a prime Cristiano Ronaldo with his newfound leap and heading ability. Whilst the blue end of Merseyside has started incredibly, I don't think they'll be able to keep it up because of their average defence. I think Everton will struggle to progress with Yerry Mina as a starting centre back and Jordan Pickford in goal. Whilst Mina can be dominant due to his height and strength, he cane quite erratic on the ball which doesn't help when you've got Jordan Pickford in goal. It seems like he is making a mistake every single time he steps out onto the pitch for Everton. Against Liverpool, he had his blushes saved as his weak hands let in a Jordan Henderson goal for them to lose the derby only for it to be unfairly ruled offside by VAR. Replacing the keeper is the most pressing issue for Everton as he has the potential to cost them points every single game.

I can't see Manchester United sacking Ole Gunnar Solskjær this season and I think they could live to regret this. With every team above them strengthening, and United only managing to bring in a couple of players I think they could struggle a lot this season. The United boss has already found himself to have been tactically outclassed by Graham Potter and Roy Hodgson this season. It is also important to not forget the 6-1 thumping they faced at the hands of Jose Mourinho's Spurs. A lack of direction, leadership and quality in this current Man United team sees them falling four places from where they came last season as I do not think they will be able to keep up with the rest of the pack. However, when Solskjær finds his job hanging in the balance he always manages to suddenly pick up form for a few games where they win very convincingly. I believe these purple patches will stop United from falling further down the table.

Having Leicester and Wolves in 8th and 9th felt harsh from me because they both have quality sides. Looking at the table on face value it would seem that I am expecting them both to drastically underperform but this is not the case. I think the quality of the Premier League has suddenly shot cup with players like Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Gareth Bale all joining. For the first time in a very long while I think places 1-9 are extremely interchangeable with anything being able to happen this season, especially with COVID having a part to play. I also think teams like Aston Villa, Brighton, Leeds and Southampton have the ability to sneak up into the top half of the table, and even challenge for European football... crazier things have happened.

Who's going down?

I believe the biggest shock of the relegation battle this season will be how far Sheffield United have fallen. Before last season was broken up by COVID-19, Sheffield United looked to be the dark horses for European qualification with them being such a hard team to beat and break down. Since lockdown football began, it has been quite apparent for me that the Sheffield squad is boosted by the vocal backing of their supporters, which may have also helped them to intimidate the opposition players. Since then they finished the season in 9th and currently occupy 19th in this season's table. I envisage them picking up their form a little and finishing the season just outside the relegation zone in 16th.

Another team that I see struggling is West Ham. Despite them starting this season well, they currently sit in 9th, they are yet to play any hard teams and I can see them struggling. The Hammers have just announced the signing of Said Benrahma, I believe this will give them the needed boost to keep them alive this season. Like most teams, West Ham look quite strong from the midfield onwards, but their defence can be shaky at times. If they can keep hold of Declan Rice for the duration of the season, I see them staying up but if they can't keep him, it could be a close shave.

I'm afraid to say that I think Burnley's stay in the Premier League could be coming to an end. With them not really bringing anyone in to help strengthen the team I could see them falling dramatically. Last season they finished a very respectable 10th but since then it seems that Sean Dyche has fallen out with the board. With the magic slowly fading away from Dyche's tenure at Burnley I could see him leaving the club at the end of the season in order to join another Premier League side.

I see Fulham continuing to yo-yo between the Premier League and Championship because I do not see them having enough fight to stay in the division. The loan signing of Ruben Loftus-Cheek looks to a great signing with him needing lots of game time to return to full fitness and back to his phenomenal form, something he couldn't be guaranteed at Chelsea, and him giving Fulham a dangerous edge. His debut got off to a flyer with him winning a penalty for the Whites, even if it was smacked off the cross bar. However, I don't think the English attacking midfielder will be able to keep Fulham up on his own and I see them falling short of the mark once again.

I think West Brom's signings of Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira are great bits of business but I do not think it will be enough to keep them up. I believe their 5-2 loss could end up being quite representative of their season: great going forward, more than underwhelming at the back. Despite Everton being extremely strong on that occasion, West Brom showed themselves to lack character. I can unfortunately see them going down without much of a fight.