Writers’ Tips: Who Will Win The Premier League?

Liverpool finally ended their 30-year wait to win the English title and one can feel many more will now follow after they’ve finally broken the curse. The Reds have lost only four games in the last two seasons and the fact that they haven’t sold any of their star players means we should expect continuity. In the last campaign, Jurgen Klopp’s men won 32 of the 38 games which in all honesty will not be easy to break. Manchester City became the first Premier League team to win successive Premier League titles for a decade in 2018 and 2019 – proof of the competitive nature of England’s top-flight. That said, it won’t be as easy as last season, but I still see Liverpool winning the league. Apart from Man City, I think other teams are still far off and all their coaches don’t convince me that they can really match Pep and Klopp – these are serious coaches with top quality players who are proven in the Premier League. So, I still think it will be a two-horse race. 

Liverpool and Manchester City should be streets ahead of the competition in 2020/21, but I fully expect City to take their place back atop the pile. The ferocity and consistency with which Liverpool ground out results last term was indicative of a team who had a point to prove after falling agonizingly short in 2018/19. Whether or not that same drive will still be present remains to be seen. I don’t think City will have it all their own way, however. Despite signing Nathan Ake from Bournemouth, they still look a bit soft at the back. Their dazzling array of midfielders and forwards should see them through, though. Manchester United and Arsenal make up the remainder of the top four, only because there are too few top players carrying too many passengers at Spurs. Chelsea – despite throwing obscene amounts of money at signings in the off-season – may well face problems, and will be one of the more interesting teams to watch this season. Frank Lampard has binned a lot of the young talent that got them into the top four in the first place and risks splitting the dressing room. They’ve also not replaced Kepa (yet) who has proven to be an absolute liability between the sticks. There are also question marks around whether Thiago Silva – who will be 36 in mid-September – can cope with the demands of the Premier League after coasting to the Ligue 1 title in the last few seasons. 

2) Liverpool (5/10 To Finish In The Top 2)

3) Manchester United (5/10 To Finish In The Top 4)

4) Arsenal (5/2 To Finish In The Top 4)

5) Chelsea (1/12 To Finish In The Top 6)

6) Tottenham (57/100 To Finish In The Top 6)

Liverpool were crowned champions after some extraordinary life-changing circumstances. Against all the odds, the impossible was achieved. The big question now is: can the Reds successfully defend their title? The lack of activity in the transfer window from the champions and potential loss of key player Georginio Wijnaldum, coupled with their rivals strengthening in all departments, means its going to be a lot tougher this season. Manchester City and Chelsea will go all out to try and take the crown from Liverpool and it pains me to say, I can see the Citizens regaining the title. I think we’ll be their nearest rivals with Chelsea very close behind, while I’m backing Arsenal to a seal top-four finish for the first time since the 2015/16 season. 

6) Tottenham (57/100 To Finish In The Top 6)

This should be one of the most undulatingly engrossing league title races considering the signings that most teams have made in recent weeks. Liverpool won last year’s league title convincingly, but with Chelsea, who finished fourth last season and 33 points behind the champions, signing the likes of Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech and Thiago Silva, the gap is set to be closed significantly. Coach Frank Lampard’s signings are addressing all the team’s problems with Silva bringing the much-needed stability, experience and leadership at the back, Chilwell should offers the team more balance defensively as opposed to Marcos Alonso who should be relegated to the bench. Werner, Havertz and Ziyech will combine with the likes of Christian Pulisic to provide goals on the top end of the pitch. I think it’s safe to say each of these new signings brings an average of about six points which should be enough to pip Liverpool to the title. 

6) Tottenham (57/100 To Finish In The Top 6)

The title race will be much more exciting than the one-horse race that it basically was last season. Manchester City’s hopes of reclaiming the stage as champions of England, however, have taken an early blow with Lionel Messi being held hostage at Barcelona. That’s just a bit of banter but if we get down to business, Chelsea have certainly made better signings than any Blues supporter could have hoped for but whether or not they will be able to gel and spark life back into Chelsea is yet to be seen. Arsenal and Manchester United have also made a couple of astute signings that should at least see them push for top four. Mikel Arteta has shown in his small tenure at Arsenal that he has the talent and tactical ability to take the Gunners to greater heights. Liverpool and City have been fairly quiet about their business during this transfer window at the time of writing, but I have no doubt that we will see both English giants battling it out once again at the summit this season. Oh, I forgot to mention Tottenham, but I doubt Spurs will ‘dare to do’ anything about the title race.

6) Tottenham (57/100 To Finish In The Top 6)

Manchester City showed their class and determination when outclassing Liverpool 4-0 at the Etihad a few weeks ago and even though they are mediocre at the back and that includes the signing of Nathan Ake, I wouldn’t be surprised if they sign Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli. They have the best squad by a long way and even if Sergio Aguero is missing for a few weeks, they have enough quality to cope. 

2) Liverpool (5/10 To Finish In The Top 2)

3) Chelsea (5/10 To Finish In The Top 4)

4) Wolves (6/1 To Finish In The Top 4)

5) Manchester United (1/10 To Finish In The Top 6)

6) Arsenal (57/100 To Finish In The Top 6)

Pep Guardiola is a perfectionist who is always looking for the next innovation to take his team to even greater levels of performance that further raise the bar with each passing season. Not taking anything away from Liverpool’s brilliance by winning a record 32 league matches from 38, which ended their 30-year drought for the league title, but I strongly feel that if City had enough cover defensively to step in while Aymeric Laporte was injured then Guardiola’s men would have also tallied 30 or more victories to give the Reds a closer race. Vincent Kompany was effectively retired by Laporte and his quality leadership and influence in the dressing room was also a big miss. Laporte was unavailable for 139 days and missed 30 games across all competitions. Defenders need to be added to the squad as the team have plenty goals in them with class players like Bernardo Silva on the outskirts of the starting XI. Champions League will continue to be the ultimate target for the Citizens, but we will not see City taste as many defeats as the previous season.

6) Tottenham (57/100 To Finish In The Top 6)

Looking at what they’ve done over the past couple of years and the consistency they’ve maintained at the highest level, you get the feeling that we could see more of the same. At Anfield, Liverpool haven’t lost a league game for three years, while they’ve also accumulated 196 points over the last two seasons. The tide could be slowly shifting from the Pep Guardiola era to the Jurgen Klopp era in just the space of two years. With Manchester City not doing enough in the transfer market, the gap might be still too big to cover in the long-run. With fans also expected to make it back into the stadiums in early October, Liverpool could kick-on after the fans were deprived of sharing the experience of winning the league with the players. Each year, Man City lose one of their leaders. This year, its David Silva. Last year, it was Vincent Kompany. They should still get second spot with Chelsea and Arsenal being my surprise inclusion to complete the top four. I also feel like it could be a long season for Manchester United, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still yet to convince me that he’s a manager fit enough for this level.

6) Tottenham (57/100 To Finish In The Top 6)

Liverpool had a fantastic 2019/20 season, winning the league by 18 points, but I think they’re going to find it very difficult to maintain that same energy, intensity, and resiliency. Pep Guardiola will be determined not to go another campaign as runners-up, while Chelsea look to gatecrash what has been a two-horse race for the past two seasons. While it certainly wouldn’t surprise me to see the Blues challenge Liverpool and Manchester City this season, it’s highly probable Frank Lampard’s new-look side will need time to gel and find their rhythm. That said, I’m backing the Citizens to regain the title. If they sign Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, they’ll arguably have the best center-back partnership in the world alongside Aymeric Laporte. Combine that with the free-scoring likes of Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus, with Kevin De Bruyne pulling the strings in midfield, City are tipped to win their third Premier League title under Guardiola. Liverpool will run them close, with Chelsea and United making up the rest of the top four.