English Premier League:
The three most entertaining stories of the off-season are coming to their conclusion rather soon. It’s amusing how all three of them come from the media gauntlet that is the English Press. Will Wayne Rooney join Chelsea? Will Gareth Bale head over to Spain? Will Luis Suarez find a dentist in London? I honestly think all three will stay with their current clubs for one more season, but I won’t be surprised when they all make moves in 2014. Wayne should have a little more negotiating power when his contract winds down to its last 12 months. Bale probably needs Real Madrid to move out one of their expensive midfielders before the price tag is finally met (Ozil, Di Maria, Modric)? Suarez won’t be sold to London it appears, but Monaco might realize they need just a little more firepower to tackle the best teams in Europe. Well, as I’m sure you are getting tired of these three dilemmas, it should be time to make some guesses.
Champion: Chelsea – Won’t be as easy as last year was for Manchester United, but their midfield could be the world’s best.
Top 4: Chelsea, Manchester United, Tottenham, Manchester City – Mancini was really good, and I don’t think they got that much better. Spurs only 3rd if Bale stays, but it’s a deep and talented squad. United looks the same, but the continuity should be enough to get them 2nd. It’s a hungry group.
Rest of Europe: F.A. Cup winner: Chelsea; League Cup winner: Everton; 5th and 6th place spots: Arsenal, Liverpool. - Chelsea was listed at 14/1 to do the domestic league and cup titles, and I seriously would consider taking that bet. Arsenal and Liverpool have the resources to move into those places if they happen to be a bit lower by Christmas, and I think Roberto Martinez’s magic continues in the other cup this time.
Safe mid-table clubs: Southampton, Everton, Swansea City, West Ham, Aston Villa, Norwich City. No one here should be threatened by relegation. Maybe the Hammers, but they look good for a top half position.
Nervous mid-table clubs: Newcastle, Fulham, Stoke City, West Bromwich, Crystal Palace. I think West Brom and Newcastle should have it wrapped up before the final weekends, but neither club really showed ambition to stay mid-table. Stoke, Palace and Fulham all may have to sweat for a little while.
Relegation teams: Cardiff City, Hull City, Sunderland. Cardiff and Sunderland definitely have the financial wherewithal to stay up in the league, but I think both managers are probably a little above their heads to stay around. I don’t think Cardiff fires Mackay, unless they are Derby poor near the end of the season. Sunderland spent, and if Jozy scores a ton, they will be safe. I bet he doesn’t. Hull is managed by Steve Bruce which is a plus, but with the extremely small squad they have, any injury crisis probably knocks them back down for a year.
Promoted teams from the Championship: Bolton, Leeds United, Charlton Athletic
Spain: Barcelona, Real Madrid....um... hmm.
France: PSG, Lyon, Monaco, Marseille
Germany: Dortmund, Bayern Munich, VFL Wolfsburg, FC Schalke
Italy: Juventus, Napoli, Fiorentina, Milan
Europa League: Fiorentina v Tottenham
Champions League: Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
5 new stars to watch for:
GK – Simon Mignolet. Could push Liverpool to that 4th spot.
CB – Alvaro Dominiguez. Borussia Monchengladbach are on an up tick, and he’s one of the reasons why.
CM – Paul Pogba. Juventus won’t be able to leave him out soon.
CAM – Jonas Hofmann. Should seamlessly step into Mario Gotze’s shoes for Dortmund.
ST – Diego Costa. Should get the 25 goals that Falcao used to get for Atletico Madrid.
I can't see Dortmund overtaking Bayern. But I do see Chelsea dominating the EPL and FA Cup. Your new stars to watch are interesting too. I hadn't thought of any of these as rising stars too much, but then again, when was the last time a center forward did bad at Atletico Madrid?
ReplyDeleteDortmund will have to win about 10% more of their bundesliga games, but without the deep European run, I think they can do so. Whether 9-12 more points will be enough to win... well obviously I think it will, but I can see why no one else does. This is assuming Bayern wins Europe again. If they are out early, they should win the league. Yeah, I think all 5 guys should put up similar to the same production as the players in their roles previously. Come to think of it, I have no idea why anyone hasn't made a play for Marchisio since I don't believe he will earn his spot back anyway. He'd fit in well at United, Arsenal, Atletico or any # of top sides. Juventus will be fun to watch. A dark horse to win Europe.
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