2015/2016 English Premier League Team Previews

Arsenal:

Arsenal need to continue the great form shown at the end of last season, and build on their second FA Cup win in a row. The fantastic signing of word-class Petr Cech is a weight off of Arsene Wenger's mind, and all he has to do now is concentrate on allowing his other brilliant players to flourish; Mesut Ozil needs to prove that he is one of the best players in the world after a poor showing last season, Alexis Sanchez simply needs to do exactly what he did all season whilst Olivier Giroud needs to avoid injury and keep up the form that earned him 14 goals in an injury-hit season. He could definitely pass 20 this year if he can stay on the pitch. Arsenal are set for a great season, and in the predicted table I have them finishing 2nd, which would be a great platform for them in their title quest the season after. This year is just too soon for them though.

Aston Villa:

With Tim Sherwood at the helm, the Villains will be more optimistic this season than last, and despite the loss of Christian Benteke and captain Fabian Delph, the money is there for them to improve as a squad and with 7 signings made already it is clear to see that Sherwood is doing just that. Ayew looks like a great signing for Villa and fans will be hoping he flourishes early on. Despite the 4-0 loss in the FA Cup Final to Arsenal, the Villains can be pleased that they made it that far, Tim Sherwood guided them there brilliantly and they came up against a brilliant Arsenal side in good form. I have Aston Villa finishing in mid-table, 11th place, not shocking anyone but comfortably away from the relegation zone, which will please the fans of the side that finished 17th last year.



Bournemouth:

Newly promoted Bournemouth have made some smart signings, guys like Mings, Atsu and most importantly Distin could just give them the quality stay up, although the battle at the bottom of the table will be tightly contested. The Football League Manager of the decade Eddie Howe will use this new platform to impress further, and do what he always has done with Bournemouth, and keep shocking people. 17th place is where I think Howe will make his mark in the first year of Bournemouth's Premiership career, and the defence will need to be very tight, although new signing Artur Boruc can protect the goal pretty well. The pace up top could see Bournemouth snatch a few surprise points and this season every point will count. 



Chelsea:

Can Chelsea win the title again? Yes, yes they can. This world-class squad is still world-class, and Falcao has joined the squad looking to prove that his spell at Manchester United was a blip in an otherwise stunning career. If there is one manager that can get the best out of Falcao, you'd think it would be Mourinho. Tactically brilliant, technically flawless, and proven winners, Chelsea will show once again why they are one of the best sides in the world by winning the title. They will need to be wary of Arsenal breathing down their necks, and the usual threats from Manchester, but this side looks so calm and drilled that it would require something special to knock the champions off of their perch.



Crystal Palace:

With Alan Pardew at the helm, and the backing from their usual backing from the stands, Palace will be looking for a good mid-table place, and I have them finishing in 12th. Pardew rejuvenated the side and led them to 10th, a fantastic achievement, yet the mid-table competition will be much stronger this year, and although Yohan Cabaye could be the signing of the season, the quality of the player's isn't up to the standards of those around them. It will once again be a spirited campaign from Palace, and one I'm sure that will have it's ups and downs, but 12th place is nothing to be ashamed of and will help to improve Palace's worldwide reputation and potentially attract the kind of players that will help them push up the table, players more similar in quality to the brilliant Yohan Cabaye.




Everton:

Everton will be delighted to see Gerard Deulofeu return to the club, and they will need many of their star players to return to their former selves, after a disappointing last season. Romelu Lukaku for instance really needs to step up his game and start banging the goals in again, while Barkley, Mirallas, Stones and McCarthy need to have strong, impressive campaigns, provided that Everton can hold on to them. I have said Everton will improve on last season's performance, but not quite up to the standards of the season before that, and will finish in a respectable 8th position. Martinez will have dreams of Europe, but those dreams will have to be put on hold briefly as Everton try and regain their confidence after a poor season.



Leicester:

Nigel Pearson led Leicester through an incredible season, looking bereft of confidence at bottom of the table, somehow Pearson got his boys to finish 14th in the table. However, with him out of the picture now, when you look at the squad you have to say it looks weak, even compared to the newly promoted teams. It is with a heavy heart then that I say Leicester will go down, finishing in 18th, and it will be a shame to see the team that so famously toppled Manchester United leave the Premier League, but it will take another mini-miracle to keep this side in the league.




Liverpool:

This will be an interesting season for Liverpool. An impressive 2013/2014 season was then marred by a disappointing 2014/2015 season, and this year I see Brendan Rodgers leading his men to somewhere between those points, to an average 5th place. New men such as Milner and Firmino look like great additions to the squad, and Rodgers will be hoping Benteke has something of the Luis Suarez in him, although that seems a tad optimistic. Bringing in Clyne after a great season last year seems like a solid purchase, but Liverpool still need to stop leaking goals so often, and will need to keep an eye on that throughout the season. They will improve on last year's disappointments though, and a fit Daniel Sturridge will help guide them through to 5th place, narrowly missing out on that top 4 spot.




Manchester City:

Pellegrini could well be looking at his last season in charge of Manchester City, especially as they seem to have lined up Guardiola for the role. However, there is still the present to look forward to, and with the quality of players such as Aguero, Silva, Toure and Kompany, Manchester City will always be up towards the top of the table. Something seemed to be missing last year though, and I doubt very much that Fabian Delph will fix those problems, but Raheem Sterling, despite all the controversy, could add a little something to this City side, and help inspire them, something that Pellegrini failed to do last season. I think once again City will be in for a disappointing season given the calibre of their players, and will finish 3rd this season.




Manchester United:

The Reds have spent big, and with massive signings such as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, LVG has looked to bolster his central midfield options, and have attacking flair out wide in the form of Memphis Depay. It will be interesting to see how these signings gel together, LVG brought in Di Maria last year, one of the best players in the world, and he looked distinctly average in this United side, along with world-class striker Radamel Falcao. Question marks have therefore been raised about Van Gaal's ability to manage the great players of the world, and it will certainly be very intriguing to see how the new boys work together in this side. Darmian looks to be a good signing, and hopefully he can produce something that this United side have lack for the past couple of years. Unfortunately for fans of the Red Devils, I still have my reservations about LVG as a manager, and I can't see them performing better than Chelsea, Arsenal or their rivals Manchester City. I do think European football is on the cards for them next year however, with a closely fought 4th place finish.



Newcastle United:

I really like the signing of Wijnaldum for this Newcastle side, and believe that McClaren's side will have a much better season this time around, improving largely on their 15th placed finish of last season. John Carver almost ruined the club after taking over when Newcastle were in 9th position, but now with McClaren in charge Newcastle will be hoping for more, and it looks like the signings they have made will help the Toon vastly, and restore confidence to the side that looked hapless towards the end of last season. This may shock many, but I believe Newcastle can finish 7th with Steve at the helm, he will certainly be under a lot of pressure to succeed but I think with Newcastle he will be able to provide what many in the historic city have been searching for; a reliable, consistent season.



Norwich:

Norwich fought hard to get up into the Premier League, and they will fight hard to stay up, but the squad's lack of quality will sadly make all effort fruitless as they will finish bottom of the table. Mulumbu is a good signing for the Canaries, and they have a few players there that performed adequately the last time Norwich were in the top flight, but the strength of the teams at the bottom of the table seems to have grown in this recent transfer window, and Norwich will struggle to be outside of the relegation zone at any stage this season, and will find themselves in the Championship once again at the end of this season.






Southampton:

Southampton have once again lost players to their rivals, Clyne has been pinched by Liverpool whilst Schneiderlin moved to Manchester United, yet this transfer window seems more optimistic than last summer's as we know that this Southampton squad can perform at the highest standard. Last season we didn't know how many players would do, but Dusan Tadic performed well, the defence was rock solid, and now Jay Rodriguez has returned from injury, so Southampton will be optimistic. Having said that, I don't see them repeating their heroics of last year. Ronald Koeman made some great signings last year, and has added a couple again this year, but I feel Southampton will have to settle for a mid-table 10th position this year, and be happy that they have re-established themselves as a solid Premier League club.



Stoke:

If only Stoke had acquired Xherdan Shaqiri, then there would be no doubt as to the signing of the summer. However, they have made some really good acquisitions in the form of Joselu, Afellay and Johnson ,and will be happy to have built on a squad that gave them a great finish of 9th place last season. A great campaign of consolidation last year will see itself repeated this year, some wise additions to the squad in January and next summer will help Stoke push on in the future, but for now they will finish in 9th place again.







Sunderland:

Narrowly avoiding relegation last year, Sunderland know it will be tough again this year, but I think they can hover outside the relegation zone once again, finishing in 16th place this time around. Younes Kaboul looks to be a great signing as a rock at the back, while Jermaine Defoe will look to bang in the goals again. Advocaat did a brilliant job last season, and I'm sure he can repeat his heroics this year, hopefully more comfortably than last time around.






Swansea:

Andre Ayew is a big addition to the Swans this year, and with Gomis up front filling a similar role to Bony last year, Swansea may hope to finish near where they did last time, in 8th position. However, whilst Monk proved himself a good tactician and good with the squad, I find it hard to see Swansea repeating last year's form, and have them down to finish in 14th. I'm unsure how lethal that attack really is, although Sigurdsson is brilliant at adding to the strike force, and the midfield doesn't seem to have a cutting edge, just a lot of pace. The defence may struggle too, and Swansea could find themselves facing more difficulties this year than expected.





Tottenham Hotspur:

If Harry Kane can repeat his heroics of last year, then Spurs could compete for a top 4 place. However, I don't see him having quite the effect he did last year, so I think 5th is a spot too high for Tottenham, although with players such as Christian Eriksen and Hugo Lloris, Spurs are never going to be too far away. That is why we have them down as 6th place finishers for the forthcoming season. Pochettino still needs to add to this side to turn them into genuine Champions League contenders, and so far this Summer he has failed to make the signings that can push his team to the next level. 







Watford:

The Hornets, with players such as Deeney, Ighalo and Vydra, have some firepower, and have added well to their squad since the end of the Championship season. Capoue, Holebas, Gomes and Britos are all very good signings, and now the squad has the depth to compete well in the Premier League. However, it looks as if they will fall just short, lacking the quality needed to stay up. The strikers won't be afforded the same freedom in the Premier League as they had last season, which will take a lot away from Watford's game. A closely fought battle with Leicester and Bournemouth will probably see Watford come out bottom of those 3, and taking 19th place.





West Brom:

Some will say that predicting the Baggies to finish 15th is a bit harsh, considering Tony Pulis's managerial magnificence, but like Tottenham they relied largely on one man to score most of the goals, and it is a huge ask of Berahino to repeat his performance of last year, and that's if they don't lose him to Spurs later on in the transfer window. They lost out on the move for Diaby, but did secure James Chester and Rickie Lambert, who can both definitely add some stability to this side that secured a famous victory against Manchester United, but also lost 4-1 on the last day of the Premier League season. A fall of 2 places from last season is what we have predicted, and West Brom should feel no shame in that, and look forward to a bright future under Tony Pulis.




West Ham:

Judging by their 2015 so far, the Hammers have little to be confident about after a poor second half of last season left them finishing in 12th after a fantastic start. When they played well they looked to Enner Valencia for the goals, but his 12 week injury could leave the West Ham fans facing more despair. However, signings such as Ogbonna and Payet will give Bilic's men talent and experience, and will be enough to secure 13th place, one spot below where they finished last year. Bilic needs to find that purple patch of form they hit early in last season or West Ham could be keeping one eye on the relegation battle, fearing the worst.