After a stunning 2015-16 season in the Premier League where Leicester City emerged as the writers of the perfect fairytale story, it will be interesting to see if they continue to reign or will the big boys from Manchester and North London take over again.
On that note, here’s our predicted top 5 in the standings of the Premier League this season (in no particular order) :
1. Arsenal :
No top 5 would be complete without them, no matter where and how they start. Even though Arsene Wenger came agonizingly close to catch Leicester, choking in the key moments cost them the title and they have a chance at glory, YET AGAIN.
Although their squad is pretty much unchanged with no major star signings, they can still fire on all cylinders and expect Özil and Sanches to deliver for them. Will Wenger learn from his mistakes? We will find out.
Key Player(s) : Mesut Özil
2. Manchester City :
The 2014-15 league winners boast of one of the most expensive squads but couldn’t deliver what was expected of them last season, even though their semi-final appearance in the Champions League has been their best in a long time.
But still, City have the likes of Agüero, Silva, De Bruyne and many more to lead them to glory and win the league for the 3rd time in their history.
With managerial changes happening and Pep Guardiola taking charge, it will be interesting to see how City adapt to his ideologies of possession based football.
Key player(s) : Sergio Agüero, Kevin De Bruyne
3. Leicester City :
Yes. A gamble to say this.
Yes. They may be a one season wonder.
But the consistency shown by their players last season such as Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez and Ngolo Kante (who is now at Chelsea), Claudio Ranieri’s wonder boys will surely stick around in the top 5 or top 3, if they maintain their level of spirit and pragmatic tactics to win crunch games from last season.
They have the heart. They have the talent. They must deliver.
Key player(s) : Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy
2. Manchester United :
Only a club as big as Manchester United can sign Mourinho as their manager and players like Zlatan, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and still chase Paul Pogba for a record-breaking £100 MILLION POUNDS, ALL IN ONE SEASON.
Although, they could have spent the same money to buy 3 players to solve their defensive loopholes and the lack of a proper winger, Mourinho’s tactics should suffice for them to win crunch games with plenty of counter-attacking football and stand-out performances as The Special One finally lands his dream job.
Key player(s) : Zlatan, Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial
AND NOW, FINALLY. Completing our top 5, we have :
1. Chelsea :
Yes, they finished 10th in the league last season.
Yes, Eden Hazard was nowhere near his best, that time.
But after finding his midas touch in the latter stages of EURO 2016, Eden Hazard would be keen to fire his team to glory once again as new manager Antonio Conte has promised to get the most out of him.
With Ngolo Kante coming in, Chelsea will look strengthen their squad and coupled with Conte’s strict approach and disciplinary tactics, the haywire-ness which plagued Chelsea last season should vanish and they should be there right around the pinnacle or even at it.
Key player(s) : Eden Hazard
So, there you have it folks!
What’s your top 5? Feel free to comment!
Also read:
http://edtimes.in/2016/07/6-premier-league-signings-to-look-out-for-next-season/
