Yes, we released part I of our pre-season preview four weeks ago. And yes, this is Part II of a preview, three gameweeks into the season. But no, we don’t care and we’re still going to give you our delicious expectations for positions 11-20 in the English Premier League’s 2020/21 season.
Leeds United
Last Season Finish: Championship Champions
Predicted Finish: 11th
Key Player: Patrick Bamford
I can’t remember a time that neutral fans were as excited to see a team return to the Premier league as this year with Leeds United. I was even looking forward to writing their preview the most. A free-scoring and eccentric side under a veteran manager that brings his own stool to matches, we’re tipping Leeds for a fantastic first season back in the Premier League.
The biggest problem that promoted teams generally have is scoring. With Leeds, it looks like this may not be the case. In their last season in the Championship Bielsa’s side scored 77 goals and their attacking form looks to be continuing with nine goals in their first three matches. Patrick Bamford has been key to this quick start with three goals, including a very late winner in the Yorkshire derby against Sheffield United. Whilst his goals may not keep flowing at such an efficient rate, Bamford should be able to get over the 15 goal mark and is vital in ensuring his side can climb the table this year.
The buzz in Leeds this season does not just surround Bamford though. Jack Harrison has once again come back to the Whites on-loan from Manchester City, with new signings Rodrigo and Helder Costa looking to hit the ground running. Veteran Pablo Hernandez proved that he had aged like fine wine in the Championship last season and could certainly contribute with goals and assists this campaign too. If Bamford is not firing, its likely that one of these four will be.
Leeds look very sharp in midfield too, with recent England newcomer Kalvin Phillips able to hold down the fort with Mateusz Klich and Stuart Dallas playing in slightly advanced roles. A robust midfield that is able to sit in against the big boys is a genuine must for any newcomer to the league, and with Hernandez and Alioski very disciplined on the flanks when required, I think Leeds should be able to cope admirably. One concern is at centre-back for Bielsa’s side. It is telling that they made considerable moves toward buying Ben White from Brighton following a successful season last year in search of a partner for captain Liam Cooper. Instead, Leeds have shelled out £18million for former Real Madrid man Diego Llorente, and will be hoping he can hit the ground running. Preventing comebacks, which was only just avoided against a poor Fulham side in an eventual 4-3 victory, will be vital to Leeds’ season.
We are pipping them to finish 11th this season, especially considering their opening to the campaign. As is usually the cause with promoted sides, the season will not be without up-and-downs as Bielsa looks to bed in a side with very little Premier League experience.
Brighton and Hove Albion
Last Season Finish: 15th
Predicted Finish: 12th
Key Player: Lewis Dunk
Brighton endured a less-than impressive season last year, only averaging 1.07 points per game throughout the whole season. There were positive signs however, with Graham Potter introducing attractive football at times as well as digging in when they needed to against other teams outside the ‘Big 6’. Defensively they will need to be stronger as Potter’s side welcome back Ben White after his season-long loan at Leeds who will surely start alongside the ever-reliable Lewis Dunk. The explosive Tariq Lamperty has also enjoyed an excellent opening three games.
Despite losing two out their opening three matches – with losses to Chelsea and an excruciating late defeat to Manchester United – the progress has been evident, and against weaker opposition, they would have got something from those games. With the introduction of Adam Lallana on a free transfer from Liverpool, we are predicting that Brighton may have strong season under the radar and could finish as high as 12th.
Southampton
Last Season Finish: 11th
Predicted Finish: 13th
Key Player: Danny Ings
Despite a poor start to last season, Southampton ended their campaign in a very strong position, thanks to goals from on-fire Dany Ings and Che Adams who kicked on after Christmas. Some inspiring performances elevated them six places up the table to finish the season in 11th. Danny Ings’ 22 goals last season was only bettered by Leicester’s Jamie Vardy – who scored a hattrick against them in the 9-0 thrashing last season.
Southampton’s frailties this season may lie in the number of first team regulars that have moved on – with the most notable being Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who left for Spurs during the summer. They have also lost Cedric Soares and long-serving centre-half Maya Yoshida. It will be interesting to see if Ings can repeat the heroics from last season, but he will certainly need more help from his fellow strike partners as well more goals from midfield if Southampton want to push on. We see Southampton being very safe this campaign, but not quite breaking the top half of the table.
Burnley
Last Season Finish: 10th
Predicted Finish: 14th
Key Player: Nick Pope
Since arriving in 2015/16, Burnely have been stalwarts in the Premier League. Whilst they have yo-yoed between 7th and 15th across their four recent years in the league, Burnley have always been a consistently safe pick and we do not see this changing.
Sean Dyche’s side finished last campaign in 10th place with an uncharacteristically high 50 goals conceded – the second highest of any club in the top half (Chelsea conceded 54 goals whilst finishing fourth). Despite this, goalkeeper Nick Pope was integral to Burnley’s steady season, keeping 15 clean sheets and narrowly missing out on the Golden Glove on his route to Burnleys Player of the Season. With Dyche’s defensive-counter-attack style of play, Burnley rely on not shipping goals easily whilst trying to knick one at the other end. This is why we anticipate Pope to continue to be key to a Burnley side that don’t score many – though Chris Wood did bang in 14 of their dissapointing 43 league goals. Dyche will also be hoping his solid defensive spine of Pope, Ben Mee and James Tarkowski does not become unstuck with a rumoured £37million bid coming in from Liecester for the latter.
Whilst Burnley have began the season with two losses – a 4-2 dispatching away at Liecester City and a narrow 0-1 defeat at Turf Moor against Southampton – the Clarets were without their first choice centre-back partnership as Tarkowski and Mee occupy the injury list alongside Robbie Brady, Ashley Barnes, Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Jack Cork. With these figures returning Burnley are a surefire bet on another mid-table finish, but with teams like Leeds, Newcastle and Everton improving their squads around them (Burnley have only spent £990k on Dale Stephens in the off-season), we have predicted a lower 14th for Dyche’s men this campaign.
Sheffield United
Last season finish: 9th
Predicted finish: 15th
Key Player: Rhian Brewster
Last season Chris Wilder’s side excelled at the back and surpassed all expectations, finishing just two points behind Arsenal in ninth. The Blades could have finished even higher had they not run out of steam after the restart – attributed by some to the lack of squad depth. Sheffield’s defensive performances were admirable with only 15 home goals conceded all season: a figure that is second to only Manchester City. Big performances from Dean Henderson between the sticks with Basham and Egan in front of him provided a very useful defensive spine.
At the time of writing, Sheffield currently sit on zero points after three league games resulting in their position at 19th in the table. Perhaps more troubling, The Blades have not scored a single goal in the process and are in need of a striker – a problem that has Chris Wilder is hoping new signing Rhian Brewster can fix. The 20-year-old was bought from Liverpool for an eye-watering £23.5 million. In addition, they have also signed Aaron Ramsdale from relegated Bournemouth to fill the void left by Dean Henderson as he returned to his parent club Manchester United. Brewster has very limited top flight football experience and is a huge gamble as the main striking option. Like so many before, Sheffield may fall victim to their success last year and fail to repeat the feat, but we see them still finishing safe of the drop.
Crystal Palace
Last Season Finish: 14th
Predicted Finish: 16th
Key Player: Wilf Zaha
Despite already claiming a 1-3 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the early part of the season, we are predicting Crystal Palace to be unlikely to reach their league position of last year.
Having finished their Covid-affected campaign in 14th last year, Palace were the second-lowest scorers in the league with just 31 goals in 38 matches, an average of just 0.82 goals per game, only worsened by rock-bottom Norwich. Not only was scoring a big issue last year, but Roy Hodgson has failed to add an out-and-out goalscorer going into this campaign. Michy Batshuayi has returned once again on-loan from Chelsea, whilst Palace’s big name grab in the off season was Eberiche Eze. Whilst he is a huge talent for the future and can certainly contribute already, having scored 14 and assisted 8 for QPR last season, Eze is unlikely on his own to rectify Palace’s scoring issues. And Christian Benteke, with just two goals last year, is unlikely to turn into a goal-machine overnight.
So, once again, the load seems as though it will fall on Wilf Zaha, who is key to anything Palace do. Zaha already has three goals this season, and is only one off of his tally from last year. If Roy Hodsgon’s side score, Zaha is usually involved, and it is integral that the Eagles keep him amidst rumours the Ivorian is becoming restless.
In previous seasons, Palace’s lack of scoring has been made up by a well-drilled and hardened defensive set up. Yet, going into 2020/21, Hodgson’s need to play Cheikhou Kouyate at centre-back shows desparation and depicts the realities of an ageing back line with Gary Cahill and Scott Dann 34 and 33 years of age respectively. Whilst Kouyate has so far held up in the opening games of the campaign, he will no doubt come with the drawbacks of playing a midfielder in the heart of the defense, especially next to perhaps the most uncomfortable-looking defender in the league in Mamadou Sakho.
The issue of age is actually a wider problem within the club; the oldest manager in the league has also assembled the oldest squad at an average age of 29.8 years of age. Palace even fielded the oldest ever starting XI in PL history at 30 years and 101 days against Everton in February. As the last 18 teams to field a 30+ starting XI have failed to win, this could be a bad omen for a rapidly ageing Palace squad. We think they will survive this year thanks to the excitement of Eze, Townsend and Zaha, but a sticky 16th could await Hodgson’s side.
West Ham United
Last Season Finish: 16th
Predicted Finish: 17th
Key Player: Declan Rice
Stagnant West Ham could be heading toward another torrid season on the brink of relegation. David Moyes’ men picked up just 39 points last campaign: one short of the magic 40 point total considered to guarantee safety in the league.
Despite injecting £108million into squad additions last year, with a sizeable chunk being used on Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals, West Ham fell six places on their previous season’s tenth placed finish. Haller scored just seven goals in the Premier League, having played in all but six games, and has occupied a place on the bench for the opening fixtures of the season. However, he does have a career goals per game record of 0.41, though the Hammers are still waiting for him to get going.
Whilst Haller and Fornals failed to fire in a team that were desparately looking at the drop zone below them, going forward was not the Irons problem. Moyes’ side scored 49 goals – a tally only bettered by Southampton before eighth placed Arsenal. West Ham’s problems were at the back as an ever-changing back four shipped 62 goals, contributing to their slip down the league. Considering the Hammers have failed to adequately add to their defensive situation so far in the transfer window, with just Tomas Soucek making his loan permanent and the addition of unknown right back Vladimir Coufal, the future does not look bright for Lukasz Fabianski who kept just five clean sheets in 2019/20.
If things are going to be looking up for the Hammers, Declan Rice may have to make the switch to a central defender for this campaign. Mark Noble is flexible enough to cover Rice’s position in midfield, whilst the England international may have to lend his expertise in sorting out a West Ham’s centre-back pairing that has seen Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna and Fabian Balbuena perform inadequately in the last 12 months.
We are predicting a seventeenth-placed finish for a Hammers side that has barely improved and still waiting for a viable back-four going into the season. We would not be surprised if West Ham’s time in the Premier League came under fire from the teams around them this year. Irons fans will have a lot more to complain about than the London Stadium this season.
Aston Villa
Last Season Finish: 17th
Predicted Finish: 18th
Key Player: Jack Grealish
Whilst Aston Villa escaped the drop last year by just one point, we predict they’ll fall just short this time out. Despite their smart additions, their defense may let them down in a year where the lower half of the table has improved significantly.
Villa looked down and out at the beginning of the 2020, but a few timely wins and the poor form of Watford gave them a route to safety. Villa kept just seven clean sheets last year, and also saw their own net bulge on 67 occasions – the second-most in the division behind Norwich City. If Dean Smith is to keep his side up this year, he will need to cut this tally by 10 or 15.
However, Villa will never be a defensive-minded side. Their signings during pre-season, picking up Championship top-scorer Ollie Watkins, Bertrand Traore and Ross Barkley on loan from Chelsea, show their attacking plans for the 2020/21 season. As tempting as it is to pick the exciting Ollie Watkins as Villa’s key man, you just cannot look past Jack Grealish. At times he has put the side on his shoulders, scoring the Villa goal in their crucial final game of the season last year against West Ham, and really is the catalyst for Villa’s tempo and attacking intent. But Grealish’s game is not just built on his own play but also his effect on those around him. The Villa captain is involved in everything they do, and if they are to stay up this campaign, he will need to be present in every minute of every game.
We predict, though perhaps with less confidence than we’d like, that Villa might be the ones to face the drop this year. They will need to outscore their opponents rather than keep them out, which will be tricky against some good defenses around them.
West Bromich Albion
Last Season Finish: 2nd (Championship)
Predicted Finish: 19th
Key Player: Grady Diangana
After achieving automatic promotion in an impressive season for the Baggies – keeping up with the rampant Leeds throughout – West Brom have made some very acute additions in the transfer market. West Brom have acquired the services of Callum Robinson, Matheus Pereira and the explosive Grady Diangana, whom Mark Noble publicly spoke out at the West Ham board for letting the creative player go. The ability of Robinson was evident against Chelsea, as he netted twice in their strong first-half performance.
With the charismatic Slaven Bilic at the helm, West Brom have both the manager and the personal to be able to keep them up, if they can get a string of results going their way. But will they? Well we don’t think so. Although the Baggies have signed veteran Branislav Ivanovic who may play more of a coaching role than consistntly playing, the squads around them have far more depth and excitement than Bilic’s men. We predict them to finish 19th in a very busy lower half of the table.
Fulham
Last Season Finish: Play-off Winners (from fourth)
Predicted Finish: 20th
Key Player: Tim Ream
The less said about Fulham so far this season the better. Cottagers fans will already be fearing the worst for their team as Scott Parker’s men open the season rock bottom of the table.
Fulham were a surprise candidate for promotion last year. Whilst they were relegated the previous season from England’s top division, managerial changes and the realities of coaching a very new and inexperienced squad left fans thinking a transition year was in order. In the end, Fulham finished just two points off an automatic spot in fourth, before going on to beat Brentford in the play-off final.
However, what does stand out is is Fulham’s goals conceded last year. Parker’s men shipped a distinctly average 48 goals, and whilst this is perhaps not an impresive total, it certainly does not fit with Fulham’s dire defense so far this campaign. Ten goals have been conceded in their first three fixtures against Arsenal, Leeds and Aston Villa, with the latter two fixtures matches that Fulham need to be picking up points in if they are to stay up. That is why I have picked Tim Ream as a key man this year. Whilst Alexsander Mitrovic is hands-down Fulham’s best player, the experienced Ream could be crucial in solving the Lilywhites’ defensive issues if they are not going to improve further in the transfer window.
Whilst we do think that Fulham will score a few goals here and there this campaign – Mitrovic, Ivan Cavaleiro and Ademola Lookman are too good not to – it would have been better for Fulham to have another year in the Championship to get the rebuild going. Another year as a yo-yo team will not help Fulham in the long-run, as we expect them to go straight back down again this year.
Article Writers:
Sam – Leeds, Burnley, Palace, West Ham, Villa, Fulham
Andy – Brighton, Southampton, Sheffield United, West Brom.
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