West Ham - Weeks 1 & 2 Review

West Ham could not have started their season in a better way as they stormed through to a 2-0 away victory against a favoured Arsenal side in their opening fixture of the season. Goals from Cheikhou Kouyate and Mauro Zarate allowed the Hammers to leave the Emirates with 3 points in their first Premier League game under new manager Slaven Bilic. Summer signing Dimitri Payet impressed massively, providing the assist for Kouyate’s opener and could surprise a few this season. Youngster Reece Oxford performed awesomely, the 16-year-old protecting the Hammers defence immensely well, completing the game with a 95% passing accuracy – the highest of any player on the pitch. Bilic will be hoping the youngster continues to play with such authority in their coming fixtures.

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.

2015/2016 Preview - 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. 

2015/2016 Preview - 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.

2015/2016 Preview - 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.

2015/2016 Preview - 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. 

2015/2016 Preview - 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.