1. Manchester United: Why am I not betting against the defending champs? Because as long as they have a certain Portuguese winger (albeit injured right now) and Sir Alex leading the way, it will be hard for anyone to dethrone the Red Devils. Sure no reinforcements have been brought in, but the most significant departure wasn’t a player, it was assistant Carlos Queiroz. As it showed in winning the Premier League and Champions League last season, United has depth, experience and the youth needed to fight through a grueling season. While a right back and Dimitar Berbatov would help, United still have the championship pieces they need to succeed. Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal will be breathing down the Red Devils’ necks all season, but in the end United will come out on top.
2. Chelsea: There is wonderful depth, a new coach (Felipe Scolari) and the pain of finishing second best twice to United last season to drive the Blues forward. Robinho may be on his way in and Deco and Jose Bosingwa have both arrived, but Chelsea’s most important business all summer was hanging onto Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba. Without Drogba’s presence the attack would become weak and as many detractors as he has, replacing a center mid who scores 20 goals a campaign is hard to do. The title race could be decided by just a point or goal differential.
3. Liverpool: I shudder to give Liverpool any kind of credit because of its blatant inconsistency the past few seasons (not to mention its opening match in Champions League qualification) but Rafa Benetiz has made some good additions in Robbie Keane and Andrea Dossena. Still league form has been a struggle and Liverpool will again be on the outside looking in no matter how many goals Fernando Torres scores.
4. Arsenal: It was tempting to try and put the Gunners above Liverpool like last season’s predictions, but losing Hleb, Flamini and Gilberto could be too much. Samir Nasri and Aaron Ramsey could turn out to be stars, but they are young and the Premier League is a tough place to cut your teeth. Keeping Adebayor was key and a return to health by Robin Van Persie will be needed to pick up the scoring slack. A significant injury anywhere could expose Arsenal’s weak depth and a long season with cups and Champions League play will most likely do just that.
5. Tottenham Hotspur: After two straight fifth-place finishes Spurs floundered to 11th last season. However, Juande Ramos did lead Spurs to a Carling Cup title and off-season additions of Luka Modric and David Bentley have only bolstered the squad while an in-house cleaning of unnecessary players have been shipped out. With or without Berbatov Spurs will be looking in on the Big Four so they might as well cash in now and continue to strengthen its midfield and defense.
6. Aston Villa: Will the Gareth Barry saga ever end? Villa desperately needs to keep Barry not only because of his talent, but also because of the squad’s lack of depth. Young guns Ashley Young and Gabriel Agbonlahor will carry the attack. Manager Martin O’Neill has also brought in quality additions like Curtis Davies, Steve Sidwell, Nicky Shorey, Brad Friedel and Carlos Cuellar.
7. Portsmouth: Maybe a bit high, but I see Pompey doing well this season. Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch lead what could be a talented attack (no that is not a misprint). Lassana Diarra is due to show why Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger fawned over him and Niko Kranjcar showed he can handle pulling the midfield strings last season. Pompey will also need David James to repeat his performance as the league’s best goalkeeper from a season ago.
8. Everton: Not many additions to speak of and that does not bode well for a side that had a defender (Joleon Lescott) as its second leading scorer last season. The loss of Steven Pienaar for seven weeks is a recent blow for the Toffees. Production must come from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta while Tim Howard continues to man the penalty area.
9. Manchester City: I wanted to put them higher, I really did, but just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Mark Hughes is a great manager and after what he showed at Blackburn I believe he can take City higher in the table, maybe just not this season. Last season City suffered from an inability to score so in comes the young and high-priced Brazilian, Jo. Whether or not he can score in England like he did in Russia is the big question. Another Brazilian, Elano, burst out of the gate last year only to fade and City will need his best form to stay in the top half. Martin Petrov is a great winger and provides City with a consistent threat on the flanks.
10. West Ham: A repeat performance is in order for this consistent mid-table side.
11. Newcastle: Maybe the hardest squad to peg, so this just feels right. Michael Owen will have to stay injury free and signing Jonas Gutierrez from Mallorca was a good addition. Defender Fabricio Collocini is due to arrive from Deportivo la Coruna any day to help strengthen what has been one of Newcastle’s worst areas in recent years.
12. Blackburn: Losing Hughes, Bentley and Friedel will hurt and the side will slide from its seventh-place finish a season ago under new manager Paul Ince.
13. Wigan: Wilson Palacios and Antonio Valencia were impressive last season as Wigan made the jump from the Championship and stayed up. Now it will need to avoid a second-season swoon. I think Steve Bruce is up to the task.
14. Middlesbrough: Not much change from last season because no team embodies its name quite like Boro does. Finishes of 11th, 11th, 7th, 14th, 12th and 13th make this the perfect spot for this inconsistent squad.
15. Bolton: Shockingly high, but I feel Bolton will somehow stay up this season. The additions of Johan Elmander and Mustapha Riga will have to produce the goals Bolton gave away in Nicolas Anelka last season. It will be a fight to stave off relegation.
16. Sunderland: Roy Keane has shown he knows how to spend money, but are any of the players (El-Hadji Diouf, Teemu Tainio and Pascal Chimbonda) he’s brought in worth it?
17. West Brom: The only newly-promoted side that looks like it has a prayer of staying up. It will, but just barely.
18. Fulham: Fulham has been due to drop for a few seasons, but has somehow miraculously saved itself each time. Now there is now Brian McBride and Andrew Johnson, Bobby Zamora, John Paintsil, Zoltan Gera and Mark Schwarzer are not the answers.
19. Stoke City: Thanks for playing guys.
20. Hull City: It’s going to be a long season for a side in the top flight for the first time ever.
Hey, Hull City are not going to be relegated. They are with Arsenal 20 points. I say Sunderland, Stoke City West Brom. I am a Chelsea fan and Hull City is here to stay.