2023-2024 Premier League Predictions

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We are a little bit over a week before the new season of the Premier League begins, and I have never made a prediction post about the Premier League before.

A large part of that is due to the fact that the transfer window doesn’t end until almost a month after the season starts, so clubs can change dramatically.

So this might be totally and completely wrong.

But hey, who am I to shy away from being totally and completely wrong?

So from 20 to 1, here is how this season of the Premier League will play out.

20. Sheffield United

Sheffield is a decent squad, finishing 2nd in the Championship to gain automatic promotion, but so far have not invested in improving the squad.

Sure, they might like where they’re at, but I don’t think it will be enough.

19. Bournemouth

Last year, Bournemouth defied the odds by staying up when everyone and their mother picked them to go down.

Their response to that?

Firing former manager Gary O’Neil.

Getting rid of the man everyone proclaims did a remarkable job for no (at least announced publicly) good reason is a bold move heading into another year where you might be fighting relegation.

18. Everton

I mean, Everton can’t survive forever, right?

Back to back years just narrowly escaping the drop, and one of their two signings so far is Ashley Young.

You can’t keep flirting with disaster before it kills you.

17. Luton Town

Hell yeah. I’m backing Luton this year.

Maybe I’m way over my head and Luton finishes 20th, but I can’t help but admire their rise from non-league to the Premier League in such a short period of time.

That shows a great culture within the club and with management, and that is why I think they’re going to stay up against all odds.

Even if they don’t, I would be surprised if they didn’t end up right back soon after.

16. Nottingham Forest

Another team many expected to make the drop last year and staying up was Forest, and Forest, while not making as many signings as their absurd amount last year, now can build off that and have some stability to continue to grow.

Unfortunately, their growth will keep them in the exact same spot they were last year.

But hey, they’re still staying up!

15. Wolves

Wolves hasn’t done anything wrong this offseason, but they also haven’t done anything to build towards much excitement either.

15th may seem a little harsh, but there are some good squads ahead of them.

14. Burnley

One of which, due to great investments and a great manager, is Burnley.

Vincent Kompany, former Manchester City legend, has Burnley playing fantastic soccer while ownership has backed him up with smart, cost efficient signings to help the squad grow into the Premier League.

I’m expecting very big things in year one for Burnley.

13. West Ham

If you look at the starting 11 for West Ham, it’s actually pretty good! They should be a pretty consistent top 10 team!

The issue is, they have made absolutely no signings, may be selling their only good striker, and have a giant hole in their defensive midfield due to the sale of Declan Rice.

There’s still a month until the window closes, so I’m sure they’ll fix those holes, but it’ll take time for those signings to adjust, and that’s going to happen smack in the middle of the easy part of their schedule.

It’s been a poor offseason for the Hammers, and it’ll show in the standings with Europa League play hindering them as well.

12. Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace just seems destined to be 12th. For eternity.

11. Brentford

Since Brentford came into the Premier League with their analytically data driven methods, they’ve done nothing but impress.

But with star striker Ivan Toney’s lengthy ban for betting on games, it’s going to hurt over time.

They’ll still be fine, but it’ll be quite a down year after their success last season.

10. Chelsea

Sure, this may seem disrespectful for a club of their caliber, but really, really think about their squad for a second.

Their goalkeeper is nothing special whatsoever, their midfield has huge holes in it, and despite all of their signings being attacking players, they still don’t have a striker.

All while new coach Mauricio Pochettino tries to implement a new system.

It’s going to be rough, and I hope Chelsea’s new ownership has the patience to allow it.

9. Tottenham

Tottenham might be in worse shape than Chelsea is, especially since I’m attributing the fact that I think Spurs will find a deal with Bayern Munich for star striker Harry Kane.

But I trust Tottenham’s ownership will give new manager Ange Postecoglou time to grow in his new job and I don’t believe Chelsea will.

So Tottenham gets the nod.

It’s a bad season, but it’s not a bad process.

They’ll be back.

8. Fulham

Losing star striker Alexander Mitrovic to Saudi Arabia certainly doesn’t help things, but Marco Silva had a perfect backup plan in place, immediately bringing in Raul Jimenez from Wolves.

Throw in a great system from Silva, and Fulham should continue to build off a great 2022-2023 season.

7. Brighton

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Brighton lost Alexis MacCallister to Liverpool and might be losing Moises Caicedo to Chelsea.

Who cares?

Brighton has spent year after year losing players, and even their manager, to clubs coming to poach them, and they continue to sign quality replacements and never miss a step.

It’s one of the most well run clubs in the Premier League right now.

I have no reasons to believe they’ll slow it down now.

6. Aston Villa

Over the last half of the 2022-2023 season, do you know who the four best teams were?

First was obviously Manchester City. Manchester United and Arsenal came in at second and third.

Fourth? That was Aston Villa.

Unai Emery has done an absolutely spectacular job at Aston Villa, and they solidified their defense by adding Pau Torres as well.

Expectations are high for the Villans, and they have every right to be.

5. Manchester United

Alright.

This is a hot take.

I get it.

United finished 3rd last year in the first year under Erik Ten Hag, and improved at the goalkeeper position with Andre Onana, the midfield with Mason Mount, and are going to finally get an out and out striker with the rumored signing of Rasmus Hojlund.

But look, someone has to miss out on the Champions League spots between United, and who I picked to finish 4th.

I won’t lie. I flipped a coin.

4. Newcastle United

And Newcastle got the win.

These two, in my mind, are pretty interchangeable.

Newcastle is extremely well coached under Eddie Howe. Their squad was fantastic last year with some excellent signings from their new Saudi ownership, and they added in Harvey Barnes from Leicester and Sandro Tonali from AC Milan.

Like I said, Newcastle and Manchester United are interchangeable in my mind.

This time, Newcastle won the coin flip.

3. Liverpool

Let’s go through Jurgen Klopp’s time so far at Liverpool.

In 2017 and 2018, Klopp built up the squad with quality 4th place finishes.

In 2019, he took his reds to the final day with a chance to steal the title from Manchester City before falling just short.

In 2020, he won Liverpool their first ever Premier League title.

In 2021, the Reds took a step back and had a “down year'“, finishing 3rd, mainly due to injuries but ended the season red hot.

Which is why it wasn’t surprising that, in 2022, Liverpool once again took City to the final day of the season, almost winning another title before City snatched it away.

2023? A down year, mainly due to injures but a great end to the season.

This year, the squad has been bolstered and is actually healthy.

Don’t be surprised when you see big things from Liverpool this year.

2. Arsenal

Last year, it felt like the title was Arsenal’s to lose.

Obviously, they did end up losing it, but it didn’t feel that bad for Arsenal, because that club is so incredibly young.

Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard, Edward Nketiah are all under 25.

Not to mention the two big signings made this offseason, 24 year olds Kai Havertz and Declan Rice.

If they came so close last year, they should be in huge contention to win it all this year now that they are another year older.

By all accounts, they should be the favorites.

1. Manchester City

But nobody else is going to be the favorites while Manchester City is around.

The best striker in the Premier League? Erling Haaland for Manchester City.

Best midfielder? Kevin De Bruyne. Manchester City.

Best manager? That would be Pep Guardiola who is at Manchester City.

For me, the Premier League feels a lot like Formula 1 during any dominant era you pick from the 21st century.

Sure, someone MIGHT knock off the top dog like Renault ending Ferrari’s run or Red Bull ending the Mercedes dominance, but until it actually happens, I’m going to stick with what I know.

Manchester City is the top dog.

It’s up for the rest to knock them off the mountain top.