Life at the Bottom

I've looked at the top half and teams I predict to have successful and settled seasons.  Now I will look at the bottom half and teams I predict to struggle and battle for survival in the annual Premier League relegation scrap.  This year I think 6 teams will be in the mix of possible relegation this year, obviously only three will suffer the agonising drop.  Who will it be?

Relegation Victims

This year I think it'll be swift returns to the Championship for Leicester and Burnley, whilst following them will be Southampton.  I think Leicester will struggle the most out of the three sides.  Leicester were excellent in the Championship and swept aside almost everyone to win the title.  However, they do not posses many top players who can assert themselves in the top flight.  They are a very good Championship team, yet I think the Premier League is possibly one step too far.  They have some talented players in Antony Knockaert, Chris Wood and Liam Moore along with Premier League experience from Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Mark Albrighton.  Leonardo Ulloa will add more firepower upfront but is he capable in England's top division.  Burnley are a tougher one.  They have a upcoming, young manager in Sean Dyche and a battling, determined team spirit.  On the other hand, they may not have the quality and know-how to escape the drop as shown in their last campaign.  Albeit they are a better side now, I'm not sure they will have the consistency.  If they retain Danny Ings it can boost their chances of survival but their team, like Leicester, is a good Championship side but will the Premier League be one step too far?  As for Southampton, it's been a sad sight to the vast exile of the side.  Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Luke Shaw, Rickie Lambert and Calum Chambers have all departed already along with manager Mauricio Pocchetino.  Morgan Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez have also been lined up by Spurs as potential signings.  Ronald Koeman has come in and the signs have been unconvincing.  Graziano Pelle arrived from Holland and Ryan Bertrand on loan from Chelsea.  Yet, with more possible exits and a lot of gaps to fill, Southampton need to get busy or risk falling through the trap door.

That leaves three sides who will cling on to Premier League existence, West Brom, Hull and Aston Villa.  West Brom are under the management of Alan Irvine who's highest role arguably, was assistant to David Moyes at Everton.  Irvine had a spell in charge at Preston which didn't last long so his hiring is a risk.  West Bro narrowly survived last season and still look under threat this coming season.  If Irvine has a bad start, don't be surprised if the fans turn on him, especially if club record signing Ideye Brown doesn't settle and start scoring goals.  Their is stars in this side like Stephane Sessegnon, Morgan Amalfitano and James Morrison which if managed properly can lift the side out of trouble, but Irvine will have a big task in his first top flight job.  Hull are a good side who surprised many last season with their mid-table finish and cup final appearance.  However, they will be in the Europa League this year which as shown with other clubs can hinder their league form, like Newcastle and Swansea.  But, with a front two of Nikica Jelavic and Shane Long they should be fine.  Then there's Aston Villa.  With Roy Keane added to the coaching staff there will be more fight and discipline around Villa Park.  However, the same problem will still come to fruition.  When star man Christian Benteke is missing, Villa are not the same fast, attacking and confident side as seen in the past.  The Belgian is their main source of goals and without him they struggled to find a consistent goal scorer to fill his space.  Andi Weimann and Gabby Agbonlahor chip in with a few a season but not often enough.  Villa though should be fine as in previous years if the Darren Bent of old is given another chance and Ron Vlaar is retained. 

Cup Winners

The FA Cup and Capital One Cup are also up for grabs this season and this time, anyone of the Football League's 92 teams can win it, or Non-League in the FA Cup.  This year I think Arsenal can seriously put up a good defence of their FA Cup but as you've seen, these competitions are impossible to predict most of the time.  Manchester City will defend the Capital One Cup and probably enter as favourites but this year I see two new winners of these trophies. 

FA Cup-  Manchester United
Capital One Cup-  Chelsea

So, I've done my predictions and will wait to see if I'm right come May 2015.

1)  Chelsea                                                      2)  Manchester City                                           3)  Arsenal
4)  Manchester United                                     5)  Liverpool                                                       6)  Everton                                                           7)  Spurs                                                             8)  Newcastle United                                         9)  Swansea City                                           10)  West Ham United   
11)  Stoke City
12)  Sunderland
13)  Crystal Palace
14)  QPR                         
15)  Aston Villa
16)  Hull City
17)  Southampton
18)  Burnley
19)  West Brom
20)  Leicester City