2020/2021 Predictions (Premier League)
As soon as the 2019/20 season has ended, we are bracing for the start of the 2020/2021 Premier League season. Last year proved that anything can happen in football and around the world, and anyone who tries to predict the outcome of the season is a fool.
So, allow me to play the fool and make 5 predictions to expect from this fresh start season. Will Liverpool go back-to-back with their championships? Will Arteta become Guardiola with hair? Will Ole survive until the end of this week? Let’s have a look into our crystal (palace) ball and see what will be. Que sera as they say.
Enjoy!
Back 2 Back
My first prediction for the 2020/2021 Premier League season is not particularly a wild guess, but I believe Liverpool will be retaining the league title for the coming season.
After a truly dominant 2019/2020 campaign, Liverpool appeared to drop-off towards the end of the season, post-break, with some poor performances and results considering the first 30 dominant games in the season. However, I believe that this change in performances may be more beneficial long-term across this coming season, as not only will Klopp be demanding a significant improvement, but the steadier end to the season will allow for a mini pre-season and a little relaxing break that other clubs around them were not able to enjoy. While Manchester City, Manchester United, Leicester, Chelsea and Tottenham all had to keep fighting till the very end and beyond for some European matches, Liverpool knew that once that title was technically theirs, they could relax, ease off and begin preparations for a fresh campaign.
Because of the determination the players and particularly Klopp showed towards winning the first title last season, I believe they will surely pick up their dominant form in an exhaustive upcoming season where players will fatigue, injuries will occur and clubs will not financially be able to boost squads. Liverpool meanwhile will easily saunter to another title, and possibly even a double/treble with domestic and European tournaments up for grabs.
Bye Bye Pep
Following on from my prediction of an easy league title win for Liverpool, I will follow this up with a more bold prediction that we will be seeing the end of Pep Guardiola, possibly for a few years.
This coming season, I predict that Manchester City will struggle to reclaim the form of previous seasons, which will also follow them into Europe as they struggle once again to make a real dent on the trophy that has eluded them in recent years. Because of the busy schedule, limited break and transfer issues/failures that City have in their squad, I truly think they will struggle to be the dominant side that we have come to expect. Whilst I think this will still lead them to a top-4 finish and possibly a domestic trophy, it won’t be anywhere near what is expected, and Pep may decide that he is done with the City project. This could possibly lead to another sabbatical in a similar vein to his break between Barca and Bayern. With Barcelona in destruction mode, PSG struggling to make the breakthrough and Italian sides not challenging for European dominance over recent years, Peps options are truly endless should he decide to make a change.
Overall, I think he will make this season possibly his last and it will be City’s failure to capture the big-eared European trophy that brings him to the end of the road.
Ole In, Ole Out, Ole Shake It All About
Predicting how Manchester United will fare this season is a near impossible task. They could genuinely finish anywhere between 1st-15th and I think it wouldn’t be too surprising. On paper they could have one of the strongest squads in the league, however it is impossible to know if it’s a 2008 prime Barcelona, or 2020 Burnley side that will show up each game.
Because of this uncertainty, I am predicting that the entire season will be flip-flopping between chants of Ole In and Ole Out. This will override United’s entire season as the fans are split, the media are split and the red side of Manchester manage a fairly adequate campaign. Towards the end of the season, when all trophies are out of the question, and United are once again battling till the end to get a 4th placed finish, the club will need to decide whether to pull the trigger on a change in management, with the Champions League spot either saving or sacking Ole once again.
Overall, get ready for more mediocrity, more disagreements, more Sky pundit criticism and general exasperation as the world class talents of Paul Pogba and co. rely on Bruno to drag United to a battle for 4th.
All Leeds Aren’t We
It’s been a long 16 year wait for Leeds fans, but finally, with their magnificent mad-man Marcelo Bielsa leading the White Rose side back to the big time, the wait is over and Leeds are back in the top-flight. What awaits them is truly anyone’s guess, however I am predicting that with the increased global exposure of the playing style that Bielsa engrained into the players in the Championship, Leeds United will win the hearts of football fans across the globe.
With the high-intensity, high pressing and attacking football that led them to the Championship title last season, they really were a delightful team to watch week-in week-out. While some clubs may panic in the top-flight against tougher opponents, causing them to retreat into a more compact defensive unit, I simply cannot imagine Bielsa allowing that to occur.
My prediction for Leeds United this season is not only to win the hearts of many with their style of football, but also to finish up in the European places. If they are able to get fans back into Elland Road, the atmosphere will be absolutely electric, and the dominant, attacking and entertaining style of football that they have become accustomed to, will surely take opponents by surprise. Additionally, given their immaculate fitness expectations, they could be mentally and physically prepared for the busy schedule and short pre-season break. This prediction could honestly go either way, but whatever happens, Leeds fans need to brace themselves for an exciting 2020/2021 season.
Mourinho Madness
The Tottenham Hotspur All or Nothing documentary has begun to highlight the era of Mourinho at Spurs and the intensity, expectation and absolute madness of his methods for all viewers. I truly believe we will see some next-level craziness from the special one over the coming season.
During his relatively recent spell and Manchester United, we began to see the possible end of the mystique of Mourinho, as despite doing a decent job with notable highlights of the Europa League win, famous victories over rivals and the domestic cup wins, there were clear flaws to the style of football being played, the atmosphere created at the club, disagreements over transfers and public criticisms between players, staff and the board.
Going into Tottenham was not only a surprise, given his history with Chelsea, and recent sacking from United, but also because Tottenham never felt like a ‘Mourinho’ type of club. They have an owner who is careful with money to say the least, they have failed to pick up any trophies which is unlike a Mourinho side, they don’t play particularly defensive football, having some of the best attackers in the league and importantly because of the legacy of Poch living on for some time. However, despite all of this, we have had some time to adjust, and so have his players. As a result, he will expect big things from the squad this season, both in the league and in all cup competition. With finances being tight, a absolutely packed schedule, and the further impact of VAR and contentious refereeing, we are destined to see some peak Jose quotes.
On the pitch, I think Spurs will have a decent season, possibly picking up either an FA Cup, or League Cup win. They will go fairly far into the Europa League before coming unstuck around the quarters/semi’s, and then probably finish around 4th/5th in the league. Whilst that isn’t the most outrageous prediction I could be making, it really is just based around some mad Mourinho moments.
I’m predicting we will see something reminiscent of Phil Brown’s on-field half-time team talk, circa 2008, possibly an infamous quote akin to the “special one” comparison, and maybe even an incident as bold as Redknapp bringing a fan on as a sub during a pre-season game. All of those would be notable moments, yet completely realistic and unsurprising given what we have come to expect from the Spurs boss.
Whatever he gets up to this season, it will surely be entertaining. And we can only hope that the Amazon cameras are still following him every step of the way.
League Table Prediction:
1. Liverpool
2. Chelsea
3. Manchester City
4. Manchester United
5. Tottenham Hotspur
6. Leicester City
7. Everton
8. Wolves
9. Leeds United
10. Arsenal
11. Crystal Palace
12. Southampton
13. Sheffield United
14. Newcastle United
15. West Ham United
16. Brighton & Hove Albion
17. Aston Villa
18. Burnley
19. WBA
20. Fulham