The 2024/25 Premier League campaign is now upon us.
By Sam McGuire
Manchester City claimed the first piece of silverware with a penalty shootout win over Manchester United to lift the Community Shield for the first time since 2019. Pep Guardiola and his players will be hoping it isn’t the last trophy they win this term.
If you aren’t familiar with what has gone on throughout the summer, we’ve got you covered with individual previews for each club. We’ve also predicted where each team will finish in the Premier League and we’re going to detail exactly why in this piece.
You can make your own predictions, challenge your mates, and earn some bragging points in the group chat by playing the FotMob predictor. Click – here – to play.
The title challengers
We’re expecting a two-horse title race again between Manchester City and Arsenal.
City haven’t really strengthened this summer. The only arrival, to date, is Savinho, but with the sale of Julián Álvarez, perhaps the reigning champions do some business later on to bolster their attacking ranks and ease the reliance on two-time Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland. Even without reinforcements, you just know City will be there or thereabouts. They always are under Guardiola.
Arsenal have signed Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna. The highly-rated centre-back improves what was the best defence in the league last season. Mikel Arteta is also looking to add compatriot Mikel Merino to his ranks while an attacking addition has been rumoured. On paper, they’re stronger than last season. A season in which they missed out on the title by two points.
Liverpool could, once again, be a dark horse. Few believe Arne Slot and his players will be contenders this term but they have a squad capable of beating anyone of their day. They have difference-makers throughout the starting XI and good depth. More importantly, this group of players has experience competing for trophies, and winning. If they can keep Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah fit for the entire campaign, it’ll be interesting to see what happens with a bit of good luck.
The race for Europe
Spurs are most likely to claim a top four spot this season. Ange Postecoglou has strengthened his squad with the additions of Archie Gray and Dominic Solanke. Tottenham are also into year two of the project under the Australian tactician and should be better conditioned for the rigours of his style. They only narrowly missed out on a Champions League spot last season and that was after an inconsistent campaign. They’ll be better this season and that should see them claim a fourth-placed finish.
Chelsea are an unknown. For the second successive season, they’re starting a campaign with a new manager. Enzo Maresca has a challenge to put his stamp on things. But the squad is good enough to beat most teams. It just needs to click. It might take time, just as it did last term, but expect to see the Blues put together a good run of form at some stage to catapult themselves up the table.
Manchester United will be in contention for a top-six finish. They’ve invested heavily this summer, bringing in Joshua Zirkee and Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. And there’s a belief the club will return for Manuel Ugarte. But will it finally click for Erik Ten Hag and his players or will they, yet again, be inconsistent?
Newcastle United will challenge. They’ve managed to keep hold of key players in Bruno Guimarães, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon, and they are going to strengthen, with Marc Guéhi expected to sign with the Magpies. Aston Villa have had an unbelievable transfer window as they prepare for life in the Champions League. However, their mid-week involvement could well impact their league form and this is why we don’t have them down as a top-four challenger but rather a top-six contender.
The middle of the road
The Premier League has never been stronger in terms of squads being stacked across the board.
In previous years, the likes of West Ham, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Brentford, Bournemouth and Everton might’ve fancied themselves as having an outside chance of a top-eight finish. They all have talented squads. They’re all fairly well-coached too. Bournemouth’s hand has been weakened by the loss of Solanke but it’ll be interesting to see how they replace him.
As is though, expect them to finish comfortably around mid-table. And that is a decent place to be. They’ll avoid a relegation scrap and just build a solid base for a potential European push during the 2025/26 season.
The strugglers
Wolves have lost Pedro Neto and Max Kilman, two key players. Their defensive numbers last season were, to be brutally honest, awful. They’ve not done anything to address this issue so expect them to struggle this time around.
Fulham might have a battle on their hands to avoid a relegation fight. They’ve lost three key players in Joao Palhinha, Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova Reid and though Emile Smith Rowe has arrived, Marco Silva’s men look like they could be in a bit of trouble.
Southampton, Ipswich Town and Leicester City are all going to be lucky to avoid a return to the Championship. We’ve got them finishing in three of the bottom four places. However, it is Nottingham Forest that I’m tipping to finish dead last – something that has not gone down well with Forest fans on social media after the individual club profile was published earlier in the week.
If you think you know better, have a crack at the FotMob Predictor and share your graphic. Play the game – here.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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