Here’s the next installment of my Premier League predictions. This time, I am looking at the teams I believe will be achieving solid midtable finishes at the end of the season.
15th – Burnley:
One of the main positives Burnley have had in their squad during their Premier League reign is their goalkeepers, as Tom Heaton, Nick Pope and Joe Hart have all played for their national teams (although Heaton is apparently pn the move to Aston Villa as I write). These keepers, combined with the solid defensive pairing of James Tarkowski and Ben Mee, are crucial to Burnley’s success this season, since they have a fairly decent squad should the defence be on top form. They haven’t made many additions to their squad, but they have re-signed Jay Rodriguez, who scored 22 goals last season for West Brom in the Championship. The only real concern I have about Burnley is that they haven’t looked the same team since competing in the Europa League (a.k.a when Sean Dyche worked a miracle), but I feel like they will definitely stay up, although I’m not sure they can bridge the gap to some of the other teams in the division.
14th – Southampton:
The first thing I have to say is that I’m very excited to watch Che Adams in the top flight. He was one of Birmingham’s best players last season, scoring 22 goals, and with good service he could possibly ease into the Premier League (I’m not expecting another 20+ goal season, but he could get over 10, which is a number that Southampton could do with). I’m also interested to see how their right back, Yan Valery plays this season. He played exceptionally well against Manchester United last season, where he scored his first goal for the club. I feel like they could possibly do with strengthening with a winger before the transfer window closes, but I expect them to stay up quite convincingly under the guidance of Ralph Hasenhuttl with the squad that they have, and the performances they gave after the Austrian took charge.
13th – Aston Villa:
In my opinion, Villa are by far the most convincing of the promoted sides. They have made some very good signings – managing to permanently secure the services of Anwar El-Ghazi, Kourtney Hause and Tyrone Mings; and welcoming other good players in Matt Targett and Ezri Konza in defence, Jota in midfield and Wesley in attack. I think with the potential addition of Tom Heaton from Burnley, Aston Villa will be secure in the division – as last season their goalkeepers made some questionable choices. I also think that Dean Smith is a promising manager, and that Villa will have to stick by him this season even if things start to go against them because of the way he managed to rally the team towards the play-offs in the Championship last season. As well as this, it will be interesting to see how both Jack Grealish and John McGinn perform in the top flight, as an England call-up could be beckoning for Grealish – who will also attract a lot of fouls – and McGinn could prove that he is worth the supposed £50 million price tag they slapped on him to wave away interest from Manchester United earlier in the transfer window. Personally, I am expecting very big things from Villa this season, as they have added some quality to an already good squad.
12th – AFC Bournemouth:
I feel bad for Bournemouth, they always seem to have injury concerns and are never able to field their best team. David Brooks, who made a big impact on the team last season and was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award, has to undergo surgery on his ankle and will be out for about 3 months, which is not welcome news. Thankfully though, they have seemingly managed to keep hold of the attacking duo in Ryan Fraser and Callum Wilson, despite there being no progress in Fraser’s contract negotiations – meaning they will still have a reliable goal source. Even though they have many injuries, I am still convinced that they will finish midtable, because their manager, Eddie Howe, is still considered as a manager who deserves a chance at a bigger club. It has become a trend at Bournemouth to start a season off well, but trail off at the end. I suspect this could become the inverse this season, given their current injury list.
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