By Dougal Tsakolas – Sports Writer
Manchester United
Current position: 4th
The start of the Premier League season was not a happy one for United fans as despite heavy protesting from the club’s fans, club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was still managing the club, despite being attributed the blame for poor results and performances in the previous season. Their season however, started off well with 4 wins out of their first 5 games and consecutive wins in the Champions League. While they unfortunately got knocked out of the league cup by West Ham, they managed to bounce back with a draw against high flying Chelsea and continued results in the champions league which saw the Red Devils top their group.
While they continued their good run of form most of it was perceived as luck by United fans which may have been true, considering their 4-1 defeat to Watford in late November, which may have been a blessing in disguise for the supporters as it led to the sacking of Solskjaer. Former Red Bull Leipzig sporting director Ralf Ragnick took charge and has since guided the red devils from mid table to a Champion’s league place. Star players such as Rashford, Fernandes, Ronaldo and Elanga have showcased their ability for United and secured points through impressive performances both domestically and internationally. United have improved vastly under Ragnick and their performances and consistency are deserved of a Champion’s league spot.
Predicted finish: 4th
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Newcastle United
Current position: 14th
The Premier League season could not have started better for Magpie fans in the economic sense as a group led by a Saudi Arabia investment fund bought ownership of the Tyneside club. Their season didn’t start off too well as the new signings struggled to gel together, defensively more than anything, as they conceded 13 goals in their first 5 games. It took them until December to win a game against Burnley. They were bottom of the league around December and to make matters worse, they had just been knocked out of the FA cup by League One side Cambridge United.
However, since then, they have only dropped points twice in the previous 5 games, most likely due to new signings, Kieran Tripper, Dan Burn and Chris Wood, and their impact on the pitch for the Magpies. While they have plenty of threat up front from marquee players such as Allan Saint Maximina and Callum Wilson, their defensive issues are the main problem, having conceded 45 goals. It would be embarrassing for Newcastle to be relegated with the key players they have and the budget they hold, and it will be likely that they just avoid it.
Predicted finish: 17th
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Norwich
Current position: 20th
Norwich have once again been expected to drop straight back down to the championship but have managed to do decently well this season. They started off the season poorly, conceding 14 goals in their first 5 games, and conceding half of that in 1 against Chelsea. They didn’t even manage to pick up any points until match week 7 against Burnley. When they did finally win a game against Brentford in early November it was a shock the day after as the Norwich board sacked manager Daniel Farke. Recently sacked Dean Smith from Aston villa took the reigns and guided them out of the relegation zone for the first time in the season for a couple of weeks, with wins over Southampton, Everton and Watford.
However, fellow teams in the relegation zone have been getting better results than them, due to game scheduling. This as a result has left the Canaries at the bottom of the table. Norwich’s problem is that while they have a few decent players they have no standout that can make the difference in a tight game. Players like Teemu Pukki, Mattias Norman and Billy Gilmour have been the best players for Norwich this season, but still not quality enough to compete with the rest of the premier league. This will most likely result in their relegation and a predicted 18th place finish.
Predicted finish: 18th
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Southampton
Current position 9th
The Saints have had an up and down season as per usual. Their season started off poorly, not winning a game until match week 8, although they managed to impressively secure points against both Manchester City and West Ham. They made it to the league cup round of 16 where they managed to valiantly battle against the Blues, narrowly losing on penalties 4-3. After that defeat they managed to win a few more games against Aston villa and Watford, but still ran into the same struggle of falling to high pedigree teams, evidenced by a 4-0 loss to Liverpool and a 3-0 loss to Arsenal, showing that they struggled against mid table teams as well.
Since then, they have managed to pick up form with massive help from Che Adams, who has been one of the best strikers in recent weeks in the Premier League, helping the Saints secure results against Brentford, Manchester city, Tottenham and Manchester United. Southampton have a good core squad with old and young players both contributing to victories, such as Kyle Walker-Peters, James Ward-Prowse and Mohammed Salisu. However, their main problem is consistency of players which then leads to consistency, or lack thereof, of results. While they have recently played well, the Saints do struggle with consistent form and since they have been on a high recently it would make sense for them to drop off and finish lower than they should.
Predicted finish 14th
Is Dougal on the mark? Let us know in the comments and stick around for future parts to this series to cover the rest of the EPL teams.
Dougal Tsakalos is a Sports Writer for The Pioneer Australia. A recent addition to the team, he has already established himself as the team’s foremost Football expert.
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