Mid Season Projections
Where Teams Will Finish
So far, the 2022 calendar year is Manchester City's season to lose. They lead the league in goal differential and least goals. With that, they have a 12 point difference between second place Liverpool with 48. However, Liverpool has played two less games, so if they play well and win games, theres only a two game difference between points. Chelsea is a close third to the resurgence of Romelu Lukaku back playing in the English Premier League. in fourth right now, is the surprising West Ham. Players such as Declan Rice, Michael Antonio, and Saiid Benrahma are playing their best futbol in their life. They lead Manchester United by 1 point, followed by the other two giants of the Premier League with Arsenal and Tottenham.
The bottom five team's consist of Burnley, Watford, Norwich, Newcastle, and Everton. in 20 games, Burnley has managed to win 1 game with 11 draws. They are in last place and in danger of dropping down to the Championship. The other bottom four teams have a difference of 4 points and will be a close race to not get demoted. Watford's Ismaila Sarr has turned out well, but the team needs to focus on ties rather than winning or losing. Watford needs to focus on their important games and get a few wins with ties against the more talented teams. Most surprising to be in the bottom five is Everton. They have always been in the top ten of the Premier League for sometime now. Forward Calvert Lewin has transformed to a dangerous attacker and James Rodriguez and Docoure have been controlling the midfield. Everton drastically needs to have a second have resurgence before they can't afford their players if demoted.
The top four teams get immediate bids to the Champions League, the fifth team plays in the Europa League, and the bottom three teams drop down to the Championship. From observation, Manchester City will keep their pace in Premier league, followed by giants of Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United. West Ham has been playing far better than their expectations, but I don't think they can keep pace with the top four. With everybody healthy, Tottenham will reach into the Europa League with the five spot, followed by Arsenal, then West Ham.
Burnley, Norwich, and Newcastle will drop down to the Championship. Newcastle can't use their large checkbook for the winter transfer market from their new owner, and don't have the players to keep in the Premier League. Watford will change their mindset on games, and get a couple crucial wins and ties to stay. We'll see how the league pans out, however but there is a wide range between the team's that are searching for bids to play in the European leagues, team's that are coasting to stay in the EPL, and the team's in danger of relegation.
After reading this article and following the table, Everton being in the bottom 5 is the most surprising towards me. I've always thought of them as being near the top of the EPL so it will be interesting to see what happens if they do in fact drop down a league. Also, Liverpool's recent success has been great to watch and I admire their ability to scout and find the hidden gems of talent such as Mo Salah and Van Dijk.
ReplyDeleteI am interested to see not only who wins between Man City and Liverpool but also the race for the top 4. Currently, Arsenal sits 3 points ahead of Tottenham and 4 points ahead of United with one game in-hand. If Arsenal can keep performing well with their amazing young talent, the club could gain millions with a top 4 finish. Like Drew mentioned, I am shocked to see Everton so low in the table. With the likes of Richarilson, Allan, Calvert-Lewin, and Alli who would have thought they might be regulated.
ReplyDeleteAs Drew mentioned Everton are a big surprise, but I would say Leeds are right there as well. They are currently 16th and all the teams under them have games in hand. Last season was their first season back in the prem after having dropped multiple leagues due to financial problems. They where able to muster up a phenomenal campaign and finish 9th with Marcelo Bielsa (their head coach) gaining worldwide recognition. This current season has gone horrible and the Leeds board have chosen to sack Bielsa which was meet very angrily by the fans. Hopefully they are able to stay up, but if they do get relegated many of their top players will be poached by top clubs and one such club is FC Barcelona.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to read this a month after publishing to see how much has changed since this was posted. The league is still City's to lose, but Liverpool have closed the gap to 1 point with the same number of games played. Newcastle have done themselves wonders recently, and Everton and Watford look to be in a dangerous spot.
ReplyDeleteAs of March 27, some of these predictions have been pretty accurate. Especially that of "this is Manchester City's season to lose." Liverpool have come storming back, now only 1 point behind City with 9 games left to play. One of these 9 games is a clash between the two English giants that will likely determine the winner of the league. The take on Newcastle though has been dismantled. The magpies have utilized many of the assets they acquired in the winter transfer window to move up to 14th, straying away from relegation. This is greatly due to the help of new signings Kieren Trippier, who is currently out with injury, and Chris Wood. There is still plenty of action left and I am excited to see who will be at the top and at the bottom.
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