SEASON’S GREETINGS
Our indispensable guide to the English Premier League
ARSENAL
Exit Arsene Wenger, after 22 years at the helm, and enter Unai Emery. Yet with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan beginning a first full season in London, Arsenal have the talent to do better then expected if they can ally it with consistency and structure.
Key player Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – The statistics are remarkable. The Gabonese scored 100 goals in his last 118 games with Borussia Dortmund. He added 10 in his first 14 in the Premier League.
Manager Unai Emery – Arsenal is less of a superstar vehicle than his former club Paris Saint-Germain and they could derive encouragement from his record of overachieving with Valencia and Sevilla. Prediction 6th.
BOURNEMOUTH
They were 91st in England when Eddie Howe took over. They finished ninth in 2017 and 12th last season. They have stayed up for three successive seasons because of their ability to outscore opponents.
Key player Nathan Ake – There was no surprise when Ake won Bournemouth’s player of the year. He had been named their outstanding player in seven of the first nine months.
Manager: Eddie Howe – Far and away the greatest manager in Bournemouth’s history, Howe has done a remarkable job. His calm method always helps end slides.
Prediction 16th.
BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION
Brighton have been ambitious investors as they look to avoid second-season syndrome, with club record buy Alireza Jahanbakhsh expected to help them find more goals.
Key player Pascal Gross – One of Brighton’s cheapest buys last season ranked as one of the season’s best by any club. Gross cost just £2.7 million (Dh12.8m) and registered seven goals and eight assists.
Manager Chris Hughton – One of the most underrated managers, Hughton has an excellent record. Improving the away form is his immediate objective.
Prediction 18th (relegated).
BURNLEY
Burnley were a surprise seventh last year. Now comes a challenge for men who had career-best campaigns – such as Ashley Barnes, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and James Tarkowski – is whether they can maintain those standards.
Key player Chris Wood – The New Zealander showed why Burnley made him their record buy by averaging a goal almost every other game last season. Manager Sean Dyche – After two promotions and taking Burnley into Europe for the first time in half a century, Dyche has done a stunning job, and the test is to keep that momentum going.
Prediction 13th.
CARDIFF CITY
Cardiff recorded the best start in their history last season, then embarked on an outstanding run in February and March to gain elevation. They are likely to be direct again as they bid to stay in the top flight for the first time since 1961.
Key player Junior Hoilett – He was pivotal in promotion, bringing flair to a team that does not possess it in huge quantities.
Manager Neil Warnock – He turns 70 in December and set a new English record with his eighth promotion last season. He is a specialist at getting teams up, but he has never kept one up in the top flight.
Prediction 20th (relegated).
CHELSEA
New manager Maurizio Sarri faces the difficulty of a Europa League campaign and improving a mediocre recent record that saw Chelsea end last season in dismal fashion in the league, as Antonio Conte’s reign ended with a whimper.
Key player Jorginho – The Brazil-born Italy international seemed bound for Manchester City until Chelsea appointed Sarri, his manager at Napoli. He boasted an 89.5 per cent pass completion rate in Serie A last season and instigates attacks.
Manager Maurizio Sarri – The Italian will bring a more attacking brand of football, but there are questions if some of the players he inherited suit his style of play.
Prediction 4th.
CRYSTAL PALACE
Palace made history last season, beginning with seven straight defeats when they failed to score, yet almost ended it in the top half. It pointed to a remarkable resurgence that needs to be built on.
Key player Wilfried Zaha – He ran defences ragged last season after being liberated with his use as a roaming striker. He still should score more goals, but nine represented a career-best tally last season.
Manager Roy Hodgson – He turns 71 today and is surely in the last job of a career that began 42 years ago. Palace are understandably keen to keep him until 2020.
Prediction 14th.
EVERTON
Enter Marco Silva, charged with producing more attacking, more entertaining football. The task of trimming a bloated, badly compiled squad has begun, while Lucas Digne’s arrival is a step towards rejuvenating a defence that was creaking last season.
Key player Richarlison – A flagship signing and not just because, at £50 million, he is the costliest buy in Everton’s history. The Brazilian began brilliantly under Silva at Watford, but did not score a league goal after November – or create one after December.
Manager: Marco Silva – Now a manager who has only had a combined 42 Premier League games in charge of Hull City and Watford has to show loyalty, rather than the ambition to leave, and that the methods that have brought early results are sustainable.
Prediction 7th.
FULHAM
When Fulham only won four of their first 17 league games last season, they were rank outsiders to win promotion. Yet a play-off final triumph was the deserved reward for the fine football they have played in the past few years.
Key player Jean Michael Seri – It ranked as a coup when Fulham signed the Nice midfielder, who almost joined Barcelona last year. It indicated Fulham’s ambition and sets up the chance of a formidable combination with club captain Tom Cairney.
Manager Slavisa Jokanovic – Finally managing in the Premier League, three years after he took Watford up. It is a sign of how well the Serb has done that he was linked with the Chelsea job in the past.
Prediction: 12th.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN
It would be no mean feat for Huddersfield to make it a third straight season in the top flight, after they stayed up last term, something that the Terriers have not enjoyed since the 1950s.
Key player Jonas Lossl – Erratic, but sometimes brilliant, the goalkeeper kept Huddersfield up with an astonishing performance at Chelsea, but needs to be more consistent.
Manager David Wagner – Has spurned interest from other clubs to show his commitment by signing a new three-year contract in May.
Prediction 19th (relegated).
LEICESTER CITY
After campaigns of boom and bust, Leicester find themselves in a form of transition, losing Riyad Mahrez and with interest in Kasper Schmeichel and Harry Maguire, two of their other prized assets.
Key player Jamie Vardy – He became the first player to score against each of the top six in the same Premier League campaign last season, and ended up with 20 goals.
Manager Claude Puel – Despite being unpopular with some fans, he guided club to ninth last year. Needs a good start to ease the pressure on himself.
Prediction 10th.
LIVERPOOL
With Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane linking up well, Liverpool played some scintillating football. Now a side who went unbeaten at home last season need to turn more draws against lesser teams into wins.
Key player Mohamed Salah – It is hard to pick anyone else after his incredible debut season. Perhaps it will be an outlier, because 44 goals represented 25 more than the Egyptian had ever scored before. His challenge is to follow it up.
Manager Jurgen Klopp – The pressure may be greater now after spending £176m this summer, though a Champions League final has revived and reunited a club and transformed the tactics. This is very much his team now.
Prediction 2nd.
MANCHESTER CITY
After overhauling the squad in the previous two years, it is now about evolution more than revolution for the champions. Riyad Mahrez increases the forward options for a club who are likely to face plenty of packed defences.
Key player Kevin de Bruyne – The World Cup offered further evidence of the quality of a player who has reached new levels under Pep Guardiola. He manages to be both a driving force and classy passer.
Manager Pep Guardiola – His time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich shows Guardiola has a habit of retaining league titles and carrying on improving players, which is the challenge facing City after a year of domination in 2017/18.
Prediction 1st.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Closing the gap to City will be difficult: more difficult, Jose Mourinho has suggested, because of their travails in the transfer market, with Fred the biggest recruit so far.
Key player Paul Pogba – If the French World Cup winner can ally tactical discipline with surging runs, he will both please Mourinho and answer questions about United’s best formation.
Manager Jose Mourinho – He has cut a bad-tempered figure on United’s pre-season tour of the United States, with his frustrations giving a reminder that he tends to suffer from third-season syndrome.
Prediction 3rd.
NEWCASTLE UNITED
At a time when many of the other mid-table teams have been investing heavily, Rafa Benitez has been unable to. It means, as ever in Mike Ashley’s Newcastle, a position that feels precarious, with the owner’s actions threatening to damage a club with the potential Benitez recognises.
Key player Jonjo Shelvey – Began last season in disgrace, with an idiotic sending-off in the opening defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, and ended it producing the kind of form that sparked calls for him to make England’s World Cup squad.
Manager Rafa Benitez – He is now in the last year of his contract, and Ashley’s reluctance to provide the kind of guarantees the Spaniard requires means he has not extended it yet. Is this a valedictory campaign?
Prediction 11th.
SOUTHAMPTON
A late surge to safety has afforded the opportunity for renewal and resurgence for Southampton.
Key player Charlie Austin – In the past two seasons, which have both been disrupted by injuries, Austin has scored 13 league goals. His lack of fitness has been part of the problem, so improving that is an important element.
Manager Mark Hughes – While he galvanised an underperforming Saints side, he was perhaps lucky to get a threeyear deal. But Hughes does have a host of top-half finishes to his name. His challenge now is to get another.
Prediction 15th.
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
Tottenham’s rise was reflected when they had the most players of any club in the World Cup semi-finalists’ squads and contributed the most goals in the tournament. Now they return to a rebuilt White Hart Lane looking to remain in the top four.
Key player Harry Kane – The World Cup Golden Boot winner has scored 76 goals in his past two seasons for Spurs in all competitions, even if he is famously barren in August.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino – The club’s greatest manager in the league since the legendary Bill Nicholson. But with every year, the talk of the need for a trophy grows louder.
Prediction 5th.
WATFORD
The model may confound many, with revolving-door managerial appointments and a constant churn of players, but Watford have established themselves as a regular topflight club for the first time since the 1980s.
Key player Abdoulaye Doucoure – A revelation last season, marrying powerful performances in midfield with seven goals.
Manager Javi Gracia – Given how quick Watford are to sack managers, it may be imperative for him that they start well. Four of their first five games are at home.
Prediction 17th.
WEST HAM
The board, criticised for not spending in the past two years, have overseen one of the biggest summer outlays this year, including new manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Key player Marko Arnautovic – The great success of David Moyes’ time in charge. Arnautovic was converted to a striker and made off with the Hammer of the Year award.
Manager Manuel Pellegrini – The Chilean brings the promise of the attacking football that West Ham have often lacked in recent seasons, but faces a tough start with five of the opening seven games against last season’s top eight.
Prediction: 8th.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
The sense that Wolves may be bound for bigger and better things has been amplified by the arrivals of two of Portugal’s Euro 2016 winners: goalkeeper Rui Patricio and midfielder Joao Moutinho.
Key player Ruben Neves – His long-range goals have caught the eye, but his capacity to control games with his passing proved more important.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo – The former Porto manager was super-agent Jorge Mendes’s first client. The question may be how far he can take a club without a top 10 finish in the top flight since 1980.
Prediction: 9th.