2021/22 Premier League Season Preview

Posted on August 11, 2021 by | 0 Comments

 

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The following is a 2021/22 Premier League season preview. Futures betting tips are provided at the bottom. This preview covers every club’s form and stats, key squad changes, positives, negatives, pre-season results, a survey of pundit predictions and futures odds. This article will be updated daily to incorporate the latest news as we approach the start of the season on August 13.

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Arsenal

Arsenal

  • Last six season finishes: 3, 2, 5, 6, 5, 8, 8
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 8th with 61 points and a 18-7-13 record (8-4-7 at home and 10-3-6 away)
    • Offence:: 55 goals scored (24 at home and 31 away) – league rank: 3
    • Defence:: 39 goals conceded (21 at home and 18 away) – league rank: 7
  • Stadium: Emirates Stadium (60,704)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Mikel Arteta. At the helm since 2019 and began his managerial career in 2019.
    • Captain: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
    • Key arrivals: Ben White (Brighton, £50m), Albert Sambi Lokonga (Anderlecht, £17.2m), Nuno Tavares (Benfica, £8m), Mika Biereth (Fulham)
    • Key departures: Joe Willock (Newcastle, £20m+), David Luiz (released), Dani Ceballos (loan ended), Leonie Maier (released), Martin Odegaard (loan ended), Mat Ryan (released), Matteo Guendouzi (Marseille, loan)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Hibernian 2-1 Arsenal
    • Rangers 2-2 Arsenal
    • Arsenal 4-1 Millwall
    • Arsenal 4-1 Watford
    • Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
    • Spurs 1-0 Arsenal
  • Positives:
    • Arsenal’s poor campaign last season was primarily due to their poor start in which they lost 8 of their first 14 games. Following that they went 14-5-5 and ended on a five-game winning streak. If you extrapolate that form out for a full season they would have finished 5th.
    • Can focus on their Premier League campaign given they won’t be involved in European football.
    • Had the 3rd best defensive record last season, with just 39 goals conceded. They have since boosted their defensive stocks with the signings of Ben White and Nuno Tavares.
    • Aren’t overly reliant on one player for goals. Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe each scored 10+ league goals last season.
    • The Arsenal squad has youth on its side. The average age of their starting line-up last season was the fifth-youngest in the division. Their three key signings in the transfer window are all under 24.
    • Signed the prolific Fulham U18 striker Mika Biereth for their U23 side, which is a testament to Arsenal’s ability to continue to attract talent despite their poor league results over the last two seasons.
    • Last season’s big signging Nicolas Pepe improved as the season wore on. Half of his 16 goals in all competitions came from April onwards and he scored 5 goals in the final three games.
  • Negatives:
    • The Kroenke family, who own Arsenal, are more unpopular than ever with the fans following the European Super League fiasco. The fans will be able to make their disdain heard now that they are back in the stands.
    • Had only the 9th highest scoring offence last season and were ranked 11th for expected goals and 12th for shots on target. Their lack of creativity in attack is highlighted by the fact that no Arsenal player contributed more than five assists in the league last season. Their top creator was Bukayo Saka with 38 chances created but that didn’t even place him among the top-40 most creative players in the league.
    • By his standards Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had an indifferent campaign last season after finally signing a big-money long-term deal.
    • Don’t have massive spending power at the moment, which will make breaching the top four extremely difficult.
    • Arsenal weren’t able to get Martin Odegaard back following a successful loan spell from Real Madrid last season.
  • Pundit table predictions: 7th1, 6th2, 6th3, 6th4, 6th5, 6th6, 5th7, 6th8, 8th9, 7th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 51.00
    • Top four finish: 5.50
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.14
    • Top six finish: 2.37
    • Top half finish: 1.20
    • Bottom half finish: 4.33
    • Relegated: 67.00
    • Not relegated: 1.001
    • Rock bottom: 501.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Aston Villa

Aston Villa

  • Last six season finishes: 17, 20, 13 (C), 4 (C), 5 (C), 17, 11
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 11th with 55 points and a 16-7-15 record (7-4-8 at home and 9-3-7 away)
    • Offence:: 55 goals scored (29 at home and 26 away) – league rank: 7
    • Defence:: 46 goals conceded (27 at home and 19 away) – league rank: 9
  • Stadium: Villa Park (42,682)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Dean Smith. At the helm since 2018 and began his managerial career in 2011.
    • Captain: Tyrone Mings
    • Key arrivals: Emiliano Buendia (Norwich, £33m), Danny Ings (Southampton, £25m), Leon Bailey (Bayer Leverkusen), Ashley Young (Inter Milan), Josh Feeney (Fleetwood Town), Finn Azaz (West Brom), Tim Iroegbunam (West Brom), Axel Tuanzebe (Man Utd, loan)
    • Key departures: Jack Grealish (Man City, £100m), Ahmed Elmohamady (released), Neil Taylor (released), Tom Heaton (Man Utd)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Walsall 0-4 Aston Villa
    • Stoke 2-0 Aston Villa
    • Bristol City 0-3 Aston Villa
  • Positives:
    • Have been proactive in this summer’s transfer window. They beat off interest from Arsenal to sign Norwich City midfielder Emiliano Buendia, which addresses the departure of Jack Grealish. Buendia was the Championship player of the year last season. In a surprise move, Aston Villa also signed striker Danny Ings who scored 46 goals in 100 appearances for Southampton.
    • Made some astute signings last season too. Ollie Watkins scored 14 goals in his top-flight debut season and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez kept 15 Premier League clean sheets.
    • The club’s two owners, who are both billionaires, combine to be the third-richest owners in the Premier League.
    • This squad should get better with time. Aston Villa fielded the second-youngest average starting XI at 25 years and 250 days last season.
    • Were positive in attack last season, finishing with the 5th most shots, the 5th most shots on target and the 7th most expected goals.
    • Aston Villa spent a third of last season without their now departed talisman Jack Grealish and they still managed a comfortable mid-table finish. They now have plenty of funds following Grealish’s £100m sale.
    • Wesley is back after being sidelined for 17 months with an ACL injury.
  • Negatives:
    • Despite the financial windfall, Aston Villa will have a hard time replacing Jack Grealish. With him, they won 54% of games and claimed 1.75 points per game. Without him, those figures dropped to 21% and 0.92 points per game. Villa won just 2 of the 12 league matches that Grealish missed through injury last season.
    • At the turn of 2021 Aston Villa were ranked 15th in the Premier League for shots faced, but they finished the season with the seventh-highest tally having faced more shots than any side since January 1.
    • Aston Villa were stronger all round in the 2020 portion compared to the 2021 portion of last season. They went 8-2-4 in 2020 compared to 8-5-11 in 2021.
  • Pundit table predictions: 11th1, 11th2, 10th3, 8th4, 11th5, 12th6, 11th7, 8th8, 8th9, 8th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 201.00
    • Top four finish: 26.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.01
    • Top six finish: 8.00
    • Top half finish: 2.25
    • Bottom half finish: 1.57
    • Relegated: 7.00
    • Not relegated: 1.10
    • Rock bottom: 81.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Brentford

Brentford

  • Last six season finishes: 5 (C), 9 (C), 10 (C), 9 (C), 11 (C), 3 (C), 3 (C)
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 3rd in the Championship with 87 points and a 24-15-7 record (12-9-2 at home and 12-6-5 away)
    • Offence:: 79 goals scored (39 at home and 40 away) – league rank: 4
    • Defence:: 42 goals conceded (20 at home and 22 away) – league rank: 2
  • Stadium: Brentford Community Stadium (17,250)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Thomas Frank. At the helm since 2018 and began his managerial career in 2008.
    • Captain: Pontus Jansson
    • Key arrivals: Kristoffer Ajer (Celtic, £12m), Nathan Young-Coombes (Rangers), Dom Jefferies (Salisbury), Daniel Oyegoke (Arsenal), Jude Russell (Crystal Palace), Frank Onyeka (Midtjylland), Matthew Cox (AFC Wimbledon), Myles Peart-Harris (Chelsea), Yoane Wissa (Lorient)
    • Key departures: Jared Thompson (released), Kane O’Connor (released), Aubrel Koutsimouka (released), Julien Carre (released), Henrik Dalsgaard (Midtjylland), Luke Daniels (released), Emiliano Marcondes (released)
  • Pre-season results:
    • AFC Wimbledon 0-1 Brentford
    • Boreham Wood 0-2 Brentford
    • Cambridge United 1-3 Brentford
    • Watford 1-3 Brentford
    • Man Utd 2-2 Brentford
    • Brentford 0-1 West Ham
    • Brentford 2-1 Valencia
  • Positives:
    • Owner Matthew Benham is a life-long Brentford fan and he is highly regarded in the field of sports analytics. Benham has implemented a bespoke ‘Moneyball’ approach to player selection, which has worked wonders. Some of the most successful acquisitions and subsequent sales are: $3.8 million paid for Said Benrahma before selling him for $40 million, $2.3 million paid for Ollie Watkins before selling him for $36 million and $2.1 million paid for Neal Maupay before selling him for $26 million. Brentford have achieved promotion despite these high-profile sales.
    • Have retained the services of striker Ivan Toney who led the Championship with 31 league goals last season.
    • Had the best offensive record in the Championship last season.
    • Reached the semi-finals of the League Cup last season, defeating Southampton, West Brom, Fulham and Newcastle to get there.
  • Negatives:
    • Five of the last seven teams that were promoted to the Premier League via the playoffs were relegated the following season.
    • Manager Thomas Frank has no Premier League experience.
    • Josh Dasilva will miss the start of the season with a hip injury.
    • Only had the 4th best defensive record in the Championship last season.
    • Would be severely impacted if Ivan Toney got injured.
  • Pundit table predictions: 18th1, 18th2, 17th3, 20th4, 17th5, 17th6, 19th7, 16th8, 17th9, 19th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 501.00
    • Top four finish: 101.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.001
    • Top six finish: 34.00
    • Top half finish: 9.00
    • Bottom half finish: 1.071
    • Relegated: 2.10
    • Not relegated: 1.66
    • Rock bottom: 6.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Brighton

Brighton

  • Last six season finishes: 20 (C), 3 (C), 2 (C), 15, 17, 15, 16
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 16th with 41 points and a 9-14-15 record (4-9-6 at home and 5-5-9 away)
    • Offence:: 40 goals scored (22 at home and 18 away) – league rank: 7
    • Defence:: 46 goals conceded (22 at home and 24 away) – league rank: 12
  • Stadium: Falmer Stadium (31,800)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Graham Potter. At the helm since 2019 and began his managerial career in 2010.
    • Captain: Lewis Dunk
    • Key arrivals: Enock Mwepu (RB Salzburg, £18m), Jeremy Sarmiento (Benfica), Gary Dicker (Kilmarnock), Kjell Scherpen (Ajax)
    • Key departures: Ben White (Arsenal, £50m), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Feyenoord, £3.9m), Mat Ryan (Real Sociedad), Davy Propper (PSV), Jose Izquierdo (released)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Rangers 0-0 Brighton
    • Luton 1-3 Brighton
    • Brighton 0-2 Getafe
  • Positives:
    • Were stronger in the second half of last season, picking up 7 wins in the last 20 games, compared to 2 in the first 18.
    • Brighton’s 41 points tally last season equalled their highest tally in four seasons in the Premier League.
    • Have received a lot of plaudits for their style of play under manager Graham Potter. If they could sort out their accuracy in the final third they would improve markedly. To highlight this fact, Brighton scored 11.7 fewer goals than expected goals last season, which was the biggest gap in the league. They were ranked 7th for shots but only 14th for shots on target and 15th for goals scored.
    • Had the joint-fewest number of defeats of any side in the bottom half of the table last season.
    • Finished with the 7th best defensive record last season.
    • Have a boosted transfer budget following the £50m sale of Ben White.
  • Negatives:
    • Had a poor record of closing out games last season. They dropped more points (25) from winning positions than any other side.
    • Striker Danny Welbeck is injury-prone. He is already due to miss the first three games of the season.
    • Defender Ben White has departed for Arsenal and midfielder Yves Bissouma might yet depart for a bigger club.
    • Have been relatively quiet with incoming players in the transfer window. The side lacks squad depth.
    • Fullback Tariq Lamptey will miss the start of the season with injury.
  • Pundit table predictions: 12th1, 12th2, 12th3, 13th4, 10th5, 11th6, 12th7, 15th8, 19th9, 16th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 201.00
    • Top four finish: 26.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.01
    • Top six finish: 10.00
    • Top half finish: 2.50
    • Bottom half finish: 1.50
    • Relegated: 7.00
    • Not relegated: 1.10
    • Rock bottom: 26.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Burnley

Burnley

  • Last six season finishes: 19, 1 (C), 16, 7, 15, 10, 17
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 17th with 39 points and a 10-9-19 record (4-6-9 at home and 6-3-10 away)
    • Offence:: 33 goals scored (14 at home and 19 away) – league rank: 15
    • Defence:: 55 goals conceded (27 at home and 28 away) – league rank: 16
  • Stadium: Turf Moor (21,944)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Sean Dyche. At the helm since 2012 and began his managerial career in 2011.
    • Captain: Ben Mee
    • Key arrivals: Nathan Collins (Stoke, £12m), Mark Helm (Man Utd), Jacob Bedeau (Scunthorpe), Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace, free)
    • Key departures: Ben Gibson (Norwich), Jimmy Dunne (QPR)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Burnley 2-1 Morecambe
    • Burnley 4-0 Salford City
    • Oldham 0-2 Burnley
    • Blackpool 0-1 Burnley
    • Tranmere 1-2 Burnley
    • Burnley 1-0 Newcastle
    • Burnley 0-2 Cadiz
  • Positives:
    • Finished 11 points above the relegation zone last season despite suffering a bad run of injuries.
    • Manager Sean Dyche is excellent at working with the limited resources made available to him. Burnley have managed to retain the services of Dyche despite interest from Crystal Palace during the summer.
    • Striker Chris Wood has reached double figures for league goals in each of his four seasons with Burnley.
  • Negatives:
    • Their tally of 39 points last season was their lowest in the five seasons since promotion.
    • Finished last season with a run of seven defeats in nine games. They finished the season on a ten-game winless run at home (0-4-6), with their last home victory coming back in January. Burnley lost each of their final four home fixtures.
    • Lack squad depth. They rely too heavily on the health of the likes of striker Chris Wood and goalkeeper Nick Pope. Burnley lost all six games that their first-choice keeper missed last season.
    • Have limited resources compared to the rest of the league.
    • Scored the fewest goals of any side to survive relegation last season.
    • Have an ageing squad. Only Crystal Palace fielded players with an older average age than Burnley’s 28.8 last season.
  • Pundit table predictions: 15th1, 16th2, 15th3, 15th4, 13th5, 18th6, 16th7, 18th8, 18th9, 18th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 351.00
    • Top four finish: 67.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.001
    • Top six finish: 21.00
    • Top half finish: 6.00
    • Bottom half finish: 1.12
    • Relegated: 3.50
    • Not relegated: 1.28
    • Rock bottom: 7.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Chelsea

Chelsea

  • Last six season finishes: 1, 10, 1, 5, 3, 4, 4
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 4th with 67 points and a 19-10-9 record (9-6-4 at home and 10-4-5 away)
    • Offence:: 58 goals scored (31 at home and 27 away) – league rank: 2
    • Defence:: 36 goals conceded (18 at home and 18 away) – league rank: 5
  • Stadium: Stamford Bridge (40,834)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Thomas Tuchel. At the helm since 2021 and began his managerial career in 2007.
    • Captain: César Azpilicueta
    • Key arrivals: Romelu Lukaku (Inter Milan, £97.5m), Marcus Bettinelli (Fulham)
    • Key departures: Willy Caballero (released), Pierre Ekwah Elimby (West Ham), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Charlie Wiggett (Newcastle), Billy Gilmour (Norwich, loan), Victor Moses (Spartak Moscow), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Lewis Bate (Leeds), Myles Peart-Harris (Brentford), Dynel Simeu (Southampton), Conor Gallagher (Crystal Palace, loan), Tino Livramento (Southampton), Armando Broja (Southampton, loan)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Chelsea 6-1 Peterborough
    • AFC Bournemouth 1-2 Chelsea
    • Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea
    • Chelsea 2-2 Spurs
  • Positives:
    • Improved from 9th to 4th in the league following Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as manager in January. Chelsea went from picking up 1.53 points per game under Lampard to 2.00 with Tuchel. This betters Man Utd’s 2nd place finish at 1.95 points per game. Under Tuchel Chelsea’s win percentage rose from 41% to 58% while their loss percentage dropped from 32% to 16%. Goals conceded dropped from 1.28 goals per game to 0.68. Their only backward stat was their goals scored dropped from 1.74 per game to 1.32. Under Tuchel Chelsea beat Man City in the league, FA Cup semi-final, and Champions League final. The 13 league goals conceded was by far the best defensive record of all 20 teams since Tuchel took the job. Tuchel has since extended his contract until 2024.
    • Have signed striker Romelu Lukaku for from Inter Milan. Lukaku scored 47 goals in 72 Serie A appearances over two seasons for the Italian club. His arrival addresses Chelsea’s offensive issues from last season.
  • Negatives:
    • The £200m spending spree last summer failed to achieve the desired results. Timo Werner in particular underwhelmed in his first season with the club.
    • No player scored more than seven goals last season. With only 58 goals scored, Chelsea finished with just the 8th best offensive record.
    • Have been relatively quiet so far in this summer’s transfer window. Chelsea’s pursuit of Erling Haaland looks less likely to succeed now that Bayern Munich have expressed their interest.
  • Pundit table predictions: 2nd1, 3rd2, 2nd3, 2nd4, 3rd5, 2nd6, 3rd7, 4th8, 2nd9, 3rd10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 6.00
    • Top four finish: 1.25
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 3.75
    • Top six finish: 1.062
    • Top half finish: 1.004
    • Bottom half finish: 41.00
    • Relegated: 1001.00
    • Not relegated: N/A
    • Rock bottom: 2501.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace

  • Last six season finishes: 10, 15, 14, 11, 12, 14, 14
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 14th with 44 points and a 12-8-18 record (6-5-8 at home and 6-3-10 away)
    • Offence:: 41 goals scored (20 at home and 21 away) – league rank: 18
    • Defence:: 66 goals conceded (32 at home and 34 away) – league rank: 17
  • Stadium: Selhurst Park (25,486)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Patrick Vieira. At the helm since 2021 and began his managerial career in 2016.
    • Captain: Luka Milivojević
    • Key arrivals: Joachim Andersen (Lyon, £20m), Marc Guehi (Chelsea, £18m), Michael Olise (Reading, £8), Remi Matthews (Sunderland, free), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea, loan), Nathaniel Clyne (free), Jacob Montes (Georgetown Uni.)
    • Key departures: Wayne Hennessey (Burnley, free), Andros Townsend (Everton, free), Mamadou Sakho (Montpellier, free), Patrick van Aanholt (Galatasaray, free), Gary Cahill (released), James McCarthy (Celtic, free), Scott Dann (released)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Walsall 0-1 Palace
    • Stevenage 1-0 Palace
    • Ipswich 0-1 Palace
    • Palace 2-2 Charlton
    • Reading 1-3 Crystal Palace
    • Crystal Palace 3-1 Watford
  • Positives:
    • Striker Christian Benteke has resigned for two more years after finding some old form last season, scoring 10 goals.
    • Have been proactive in the transfer market, bringing in five quality additions. They’ve opted for youth to address their ageing squad. The signings include France Under-18 international Michael Olise (the Championship’s young player of the year), Denmark international Joachim Andersen and England U21 international Marc Guehi.
    • Wilfried Zaha appears to be content to stay under new manager Patrick Vieira. He showed excellent form in pre-season and scored a career-best 11 Premier League goals last season.
    • In a boost to their development program, one year after their youth academy received Category 1 status, the Palace Under-23 side won promotion to Premier League 2 Division 1 last season. Their Under-18 side only missed out on winning the U18 Premier League South based on goal difference. Viera has since brought in the well-regarded Saïd Aïgoun from PSG as the new development coach.
  • Negatives:
    • New manager Patrick Vieira inherited a squad that required a huge overhaul. Their averaging starting player last season was over 29.5 years old, which was comfortably the oldest in the league. Fifteen players were out of contract at the end of June and Michy Batshuayi returned after his loan spell from Chelsea. Palace have since undergone a major transition with ten senior players departing. It might take time for the new-look squad to gel.
    • Their two young signings from last summer, Ebere Eze and Nathan Ferguson both picked up serious Achilles injuries in training late last season. This will see them miss most, possibly all, of this campaign.
    • Were heavily reliant on just a few players for goals last season. Wilfried Zaha and Christian Benteke both hit double figures but the third highest scorer was Eberechi Eze with just four, and he’s out for most of this season.
    • Had the third worst defensive record last season. They only kept two clean sheets away from home. Palace finished with the most goals conceded and the worst goal difference of any team to survive relegation.
    • Had a difficult summer finding a new manager. Advanced talks with Nuno Espirito Santo fell through before forme Lucien Favre pulled out at the last minute.
    • Finished last season with 6 defeats in their last 8 games.
    • Lost out to Southampton in their pursuit of Blackburn striker Adam Armstrong.
  • Pundit table predictions: 17th1, 17th2, 20th3, 14th4, 18th5, 13th6, 18th7, 13th8, 16th9, 15th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 251.00
    • Top four finish: 67.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.001
    • Top six finish: 21.00
    • Top half finish: 6.00
    • Bottom half finish: 1.12
    • Relegated: 2.75
    • Not relegated: 1.40
    • Rock bottom: 9.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Everton

Everton

  • Last six season finishes: 11, 11, 7, 8, 8, 12, 10
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 10th with 59 points and a 17-8-13 record (6-4-9 at home and 11-4-4 away)
    • Offence:: 47 goals scored (24 at home and 23 away) – league rank: 10
    • Defence:: 48 goals conceded (28 at home and 20 away) – league rank: 11
  • Stadium: Goodison Park (39,414)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Rafael Benítez. At the helm since 2021 and began his managerial career in 1993.
    • Captain: Séamus Coleman
    • Key arrivals: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace), Asmir Begovic (AFC Bournemouth), Demarai Gray (Leverkusen)
    • Key departures: Theo Walcott (Southampton), Joshua King (Watford), Yannick Bolasie (released), Muhamed Besic (released)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Everton 3-0 Accrington Stanley
    • Everton 1-0 Blackburn
    • Everton 1-1 Millonarios
    • Everton 1-0 Pumas
    • Man Utd 4-0 Everton
  • Positives:
    • Don’t have the added burden of European football this season.
    • Should improve on their poor home form from last season now that fans will be back in attendance.
    • Boasted the 4th best away record last season with a 11-4-4 record.

      • New manager Rafael Benitez his highly accomplished and has good Premier League experience.

    • Last season’s campaign was the first time in five years that Everton finished with a superior result to the season before.
    • The club is owned by an ambitious British-Iranian billionaire who has already invested £500m into the club since buying it five years ago.
  • Negatives:
    • The highly regarded manager Carlo Ancelotti stunned the club by leaving for Real Madrid at the end of last season. His departure left Everton searching for a fifth permanent manager in five years.
    • Were overly reliant on Dominic Calvert-Lewin for goals last season. Only four sides created fewer goal scoring chances than Everton did.
    • The appointment of new manager Rafael Benitez is seen by many as contentious given his previous connections to Liverpool and his previous “small club” jibe against Everton. He will be under pressure to start well to stymie any fan discontent.
    • Despite parting ways with some high-earning players, Everton is still at risk of breaching FFP regulations. They are also burdened by the £500m+ planned expenditure on the new stadium.
    • Limped over the line last season with 3 wins in the last 12 games.
    • Were thrashed 4-0 by Man Utd in pre-season.
  • Pundit table predictions: 8th1, 8th2, 9th3, 10th4, 9th5, 9th6, 8th7, 11th8, 11th9, 10th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 101.00
    • Top four finish: 11.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.05
    • Top six finish: 5.00
    • Top half finish: 1.61
    • Bottom half finish: 2.20
    • Relegated: 26.00
    • Not relegated: 1.01
    • Rock bottom: 101.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Leeds

Leeds

  • Last six season finishes: 15 (C), 13 (C), 7 (C), 13 (C), 3 (C), 1 (C), 9
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 9th with 59 points and a 18-5-15 record (8-5-6 at home and 10-0-9 away)
    • Offence:: 62 goals scored (28 at home and 34 away) – league rank: 14
    • Defence:: 54 goals conceded (21 at home and 33 away) – league rank: 10
  • Stadium: Elland Road (37,792)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Marcelo Bielsa. At the helm since 2018 and began his managerial career in 1990.
    • Captain: Liam Cooper
    • Key arrivals: Junior Firpo (Barcelona, £13m), Jack Harrison (Man City, £11m), Amari Miller (Birmingham), Sean McGurk (Wigan), Lewis Bate (Chelsea), Kristoffer Klaesson (Valerenga)
    • Key departures: Ezgjan Alioski (Al-Ahli, free), Gaetano Berardi (released), Ouasim Bouy (released), Barry Douglas (released), Cole Gibbon (released), Niklas Haugland (released), Eunan O’Kane (released), Matthew Turner (released)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Guiseley 2-3 Leeds
    • Blackburn 1-1 Leeds
    • Fleetwood 2-1 Leeds
    • Leeds 2-3 Real Betis
    • Ajax 4-0 Leeds
    • Villarreal 2-2 Leeds
  • Positives:
    • Enjoyed a highly successful first campaign since promotion. Leeds became only the second promoted team to win 10 Premier League away games, the first to do so since Nottingham Forest in 1994-95.
    • Finished last season strongly, picking up 23 points (7-2-1) from their final ten games and conceding just 8 goals in their final 11 fixtures. Leeds finished on a four-game winning streak.
    • Striker Patrick Bamford scored 17 league goals last season, which was the joint 4th most in the league.
    • In a boost to their development program, Leeds’ Under-23 side won promotion to Premier League 2 Division 1 last season.
    • Marcelo Bielsa is a well-regarded manager who has enabled Leeds to play positive, entertaining football whilst also being successful.
    • Signed Jack Harrison after a string of successful loan spells. He scored eight goals and registered eight assists last season.
    • Leeds boasted the 6th best offence last season.
    • Their home form was the 7th best in the league last season and they will be boosted by the returns of fans to make Elland Road intimidating once again.
  • Negatives:
    • Will have to avoid the second-season syndrome. Sheffield United finished 9th in their first Premier League season in 2019/20, only to finish 20th and 16 points adrift of safety a year later.
    • Ezgjan Alioski has departed after turning down a new contract.
    • Conceded 23 goals from set-pieces last season, more than any other side. Leeds finished with just the 14th best defensive record.
    • Manager Marcelo Bielsa has a habit of only signing one-year contracts. He is at the time of writing still out of contract and last year he waited until 24 hours before the season start before signing.
    • Were reliant on the fitness of Kalvin Phillips last season. At 24 games into last season their win rate was 50% with him and 17% without him.
    • Have a relatively small squad by Premier League standards so injuries hurt them more than most.
  • Pundit table predictions: 9th1, 9th2, 8th3, 11th4, 12th5, 8th6, 9th7, 9th8, 9th9, 11th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 126.00
    • Top four finish: 13.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.04
    • Top six finish: 5.50
    • Top half finish: 1.66
    • Bottom half finish: 2.10
    • Relegated: 11.00
    • Not relegated: 1.05
    • Rock bottom: 67.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Leicester City

Leicester City

  • Last six season finishes: 14, 1, 12, 9, 9, 5, 5
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 5th with 66 points and a 20-6-12 record (9-1-9 at home and 11-5-3 away)
    • Offence:: 68 goals scored (34 at home and 34 away) – league rank: 11
    • Defence:: 50 goals conceded (30 at home and 20 away) – league rank: 6
  • Stadium: King Power Stadium (32,312)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Brendan Rodgers. At the helm since 2019 and began his managerial career in 2008.
    • Captain: Kasper Schmeichel
    • Key arrivals: Patson Daka (RB Salzburg, £22m), Boubakary Soumare (Lille), Ryan Bertrand (unattached)
    • Key departures: Christian Fuchs (Charlotte), Matty James (released), Wes Morgan (retired), Josh Knight (Peterborough)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Burton Albion 0-0 Leicester
    • Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Leicester
    • QPR 3-3 Leicester
    • Leicester 3-2 Villarreal
    • Leicester 1-0 Man City (Community Shield)
  • Positives:
    • Beat Man City in the Community Shield.
    • The signing of Patson Daka should reduce their reliance on Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho for goals. Daka scored 61 times in his last 87 outings and was named the Austrian Bundesliga’s player of the season after scoring 27 goals in 28 appearances last season.
    • Kelechi Iheanacho enters this season on the back of his best scoring season for Leicester City.
    • Have not had any key players lured away during the summer.
    • Have shown staying power by achieving back-to-back 5th placed finishes after finishing 9th or below in the previous three campaigns.
  • Negatives:
    • For the second straight year, Leicester finished last season in indifferent form following a strong start. Having only lost 6 of their first 25 Premier League games of the 2020-21 season (15-4-6), Leicester lost six of their final 13 matches (5-2 -6).
    • Centre-back Wesley Fofana, signed last year for £30m, broke his leg in pre-season and will not return until 2022, while fellow defender Jonny Evans is not expected to be fit until mid-September.
    • Jamie Vardy turned 34 in January. While he was still Leicester’s top scorer last season, Vardy’s 15-goal haul was his second-lowest in the Premier League.
    • Since winning the Premier League in 2016, they have sold a vital player in four of their five summers – N’Golo Kante (2016), Riyad Mahrez (2017), Harry Maguire (2019) and Ben Chilwell (2020).
  • Pundit table predictions: 6th1, 5th2, 5th3, 5th4, 5th5, 5th6, 7th7, 5th8, 6th9, 5th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 51.00
    • Top four finish: 5.50
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.14
    • Top six finish: 2.10
    • Top half finish: 1.18
    • Bottom half finish: 4.50
    • Relegated: 67.00
    • Not relegated: 1.001
    • Rock bottom: 501.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Liverpool

Liverpool

  • Last six season finishes: 6, 8, 4, 4, 2, 1, 3
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 3rd with 69 points and a 20-9-9 record (10-3-6 at home and 10-6-3 away)
    • Offence:: 68 goals scored (29 at home and 39 away) – league rank: 4
    • Defence:: 42 goals conceded (20 at home and 22 away) – league rank: 3
  • Stadium: Anfield (53,394)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Jürgen Klopp. At the helm since 2015 and began his managerial career in 2001.
    • Captain: Jordan Henderson
    • Key arrivals: Ibrahima Konate (RB Leipzig, £36m)
    • Key departures: Georginio Wijnaldum (PSG, free), Remi Savage (Newcastle)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Wacker Innsbruck 1-1 Liverpool
    • Stuttgart 1-1 Liverpool
    • Mainz 0-1 Liverpool
    • Hertha Berlin 4-3 Liverpool
    • Bologna 0-2 Liverpool
    • Bologna 0-1 Liverpool
    • Liverpool 1-1 Athletic Club
    • Liverpool 3-1 CA Osasuna
  • Positives:
    • Qualified for the Champions League despite a horror run with injuries last season. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez suffered season-ending injuries, while captain Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara, Joel Matip and Diogo Jota picked up long-term injuries. By the end of the season Liverpool had named 16 different centre-back pairings.
    • Liverpool’s defence has been boosted by the signing of Ibrahima Konaté and the returns of Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.
    • Liverpool stormed home to finish with five consecutive wins and a ten-game unbeaten streak last season.
    • They boast the best front three in the Premier League in Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané.
    • Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fabinho and Alisson have signed new long-term deals.
    • Will benefit from the return of fans and their famous rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone”.
  • Negatives:
    • Gini Wijnaldum departed on a free transfer after he opted not to sign a contract extension.
    • While a lot has been said about the contribution of Liverpool’s defensive injuries do their regression last season, their goals per game dropped to 1.79 compared to 2.24 the season before.
    • Defender Andy Robertson picked up ankle injury in pre-season.
    • Have been relatively quiet in the transfer market whilst their rivals have made or are still attempting headline signings.
    • Captain Jordan Henderson is involved in a contract dispute.
  • Pundit table predictions: 2nd1, 4th2, 3rd3, 4th4, 2nd5, 4th6, 2nd7, 2nd8, 4th9, 2nd10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 6.00
    • Top four finish: 1.25
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 3.75
    • Top six finish: 1.062
    • Top half finish: 1.004
    • Bottom half finish: 41.00
    • Relegated: 1001.00
    • Not relegated: N/A
    • Rock bottom: 2501.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Manchester City

Manchester City

  • Last six season finishes: 2, 4, 3, 1, 1, 2, 1
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 1st with 86 points and a 27-5-6 record (13-2-4 at home and 14-3-2 away)
    • Offence:: 83 goals scored (43 at home and 40 away) – league rank: 1
    • Defence:: 32 goals conceded (17 at home and 15 away) – league rank: 1
  • Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium (55,017)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Pep Guardiola. At the helm since 2016 and began his managerial career in 2007.
    • Captain: Fernandinho
    • Key arrivals: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa, £100m), Scott Carson (Derby, free)
    • Key departures: Sergio Aguero (Barcelona, free), Eric Garcia (Barcelona, free), Louie Moulden (Wolves, free), Jack Harrison (Leeds)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Man City 2-0 Preston
    • Man City 4-0 Barnsley
    • Man City 4-1 Blackpool
    • Leicester 1-0 Man City (Community Shield)
  • Positives:
    • Had the best defensive record last season, conceding just 0.8 goals per game. They also conceded the fewest shots per game and the fewest shots on target last season. Man City’s goal difference was 51, with Man Utd next best but a long way behind at 29.
    • Won the EPL title in three of the last four seasons and finished 2nd in the other.
    • Boast one of the best managers in the world in Pep Guardiola, who was named manager of the year last season.
    • Have further bolstered an already incredibly strong squad by signing Jack Grealish from Aston Villa for a British record £100m.
    • Managed a high level of consistency last season, achieving a streak of 21 successive wins in all competitions.
    • While Sergio Aguero has departed, he spent much of last season out injured and is set to miss the first 10 weeks of Barcelona’s season.
    • Have plenty of talent brewing in the youth ranks. City won both the Under-18 Premier League North and the Under-23 Premier League 2 Division 1 titles last season. The emergence of the likes of Phil Foden shows their ability to bring them through to the senior ranks despite their incredible first team squad depth.
    • Man City’s goals were spread between a league-high 16 players last season. Their offence scored ten more goals than the next best team.
    • Won the league last season by 12 points despite sitting 8th after Matchday 16. From December 19 onward Man City went 22-0-4.
    • Fernandinho has extended his stay at City for another season.
    • John Stones has signed a new five year deal.
    • Man City has by far the richest owner in the league.
  • Negatives:
    • Will be without Phil Foden (four weeks) and Kevin De Bruyne (unknown) at the start of the season.
    • Bernardo Silva has stated his desire to leave the club.
    • World-class striker Sergio Aguero has departed. To highlight his potency, he came on with 25 minutes to go in his final game for City and scored twice. Aguero scored 184 league goals for City, a Premier League record for a player at a single club.
    • The season’s preparations haven’t been ideal with a number of key players not involved in pre-season.
    • Saw a notable drop-off in goals scored last season. Their league 83 league goals was well below the 102, 95 and 106 tallies in the three previous campaigns.
    • Only once in the last 12 years as a team successfully defended their Premier League title.
    • Might be tempted to put more emphasis on winning the Champions League, the one title they have failed to achieve.
    • The one issue with their current squad is their reliance on fielding a false 9 and there’s no guarantee that they will be able to sign Harry Kane.
  • Pundit table predictions: 1st1, 1st2, 1st3, 1st4, 1st5, 1st6, 1st7, 1st8, 1st9, 1st10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 1.66
    • Top four finish: 1.062
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 10.00
    • Top six finish: 1.01
    • Top half finish: 1.001
    • Bottom half finish: 101.00
    • Relegated: 2001.00
    • Not relegated: N/A
    • Rock bottom: 4501.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Manchester United

Manchester United

  • Last six season finishes: 4, 5, 6, 2, 6, 3, 2
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 2nd with 74 points and a 21-11-6 record (9-4-6 at home and 12-7-0 away)
    • Offence:: 73 goals scored (38 at home and 35 away) – league rank: 5
    • Defence:: 44 goals conceded (28 at home and 16 away) – league rank: 2
  • Stadium: Old Trafford (74,140)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjær. At the helm since 2019 and began his managerial career in 2011.
    • Captain: Harry Maguire
    • Key arrivals: Jadon Sancho (Dortmund, £73m), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid, £34m), Tom Heaton (Aston Villa, free)
    • Key departures: Joel Pereira, Sergio Romero, Axel Tuanzebe (Aston Villa, loan)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Derby 1-2 Man Utd
    • QPR 4-2 Man Utd
    • Man Utd 2-2 Brentford
    • Man Utd 4-0 Everton
  • Positives:
    • Finished a respectable second in the Premier League last season whilst managing a deep Europa League run.
    • Have retained the services of world class midfielder Bruno Fernandes along with veteran striker Edinson Cavani, who enjoyed a productive first season with the club.
    • Boast promising emerging talent in the likes of Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood.
    • Went undefeated away from home last season with a 12-7-0 record, which was the first time in club’s history that they had achieved this. United only picked up two fewer away points than Man City.
    • Won a league-high 31 points from losing positions last season, 11 more than any other team.
    • Have added 21-year-old winger Jadon Sancho to the squad. Since the start of the 2018-19 season, only seven players have more combined goals and assists than the England international. Of those players, only Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (43) has created more goals than Sancho (41) in that time.
    • Have made moves to address their defence with the £34m signing of Raphael Varane from Real Madrid.
    • Have improved on their previous league position in each of the past two seasons.
  • Negatives:
    • Had only the 5th best defensive record last season.
    • Suffered six home defeats and only managed the 6th best home record last season. They conceded 28 home goals, which was the most in a single league campaign since 1962-63.
    • The owners are deeply unpopular with the fans, which wasn’t helped with the failed European Super League launch. Having fans back in the stadium may bring this to a head.
    • Striker Marcus Rashford is set to miss first two months of season after electing to have surgery on a shoulder injury.
    • Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer doesn’t have the same experience and reputation as the managers of City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
  • Pundit table predictions: 4th1, 2nd2, 4th3, 3rd4, 4th5, 3rd6, 4th7, 3rd8, 3rd9, 4th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 9.00
    • Top four finish: 1.28
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 3.50
    • Top six finish: 1.071
    • Top half finish: 1.005
    • Bottom half finish: 34.00
    • Relegated: 1001.00
    • Not relegated: N/A
    • Rock bottom: 2501.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Newcastle

Newcastle

  • Last six season finishes: 15, 18, 1 (C), 10, 13, 13, 12
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 12th with 45 points and a 12-9-17 record (6-5-8 at home and 6-4-9 away)
    • Offence:: 46 goals scored (26 at home and 20 away) – league rank: 16
    • Defence:: 62 goals conceded (33 at home and 29 away) – league rank: 13
  • Stadium: St James’ Park (52,305)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Steve Bruce. At the helm since 2019 and began his managerial career in 1998.
    • Captain: Jamaal Lascelles
    • Key arrivals: Joe Willock (Arsenal, £20m+), Charlie Wiggett (Chelsea), Remi Savage (Liverpool), Cameron Ferguson (Tranmere)
    • Key departures: Lewis Cass (Port Vale), Florian Lejeune (Alaves), Elias Sorensen (Esbjerg fB), Yoshinori Muto (released)
  • Pre-season results:
    • York City 1-0 Newcastle
    • Doncaster 2-3 Newcastle
    • Rotherham 1-1 Newcastle
    • Burton 0-2 Newcastle
    • Burnley 1-0 Newcastle
    • Newcastle 3-0 Norwich
  • Positives:
    • Finished last season strongly. Newcastle won five of their final eight Premier League games, having won just two of the 19 before that. From April onward Newcastle scored 18 league goals, which was the 4th most in the league.
    • Have signed Joe Willock after a highly successful loan spell from Arsenal last season. The midfielder scored 7 goals in 10 starts for Newcastle, including in six successive games at the end of last season. Since his debut for Newcastle in February, only two players scored more league goals than Willock.
    • Finished 12th despite an injury-plagued season for key players Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson. If the two can stay healthy then Newcastle should thrive. Wilson scored 12 goals in 26 games in the last campaign, which gave him one of the best conversion rates in front of goal in the league.
    • Have been consistent since promotion, finishing no worse than 13th in the last four seasons.
  • Negatives:
    • Were heavily reliant on the fitness of Allan Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson last season. At one stage their win ratio was 37% with Saint-Maximin and 15% without. At one stage Newcastle had not won any of their nine matches that Wilson had missed.
    • Owner Mike Ashley remains unpopular with the fans and there is little takeover talk at the moment. Manager Steve Bruce isn’t popular either and this could all come to a head with the return of fans to the stadium.
    • Were ranked last for final-third passes completed last season.
  • Pundit table predictions: 15th1, 15th2, 16th3, 17th4, 15th5, 16th6, 15th7, 17th8, 13th9, 14th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 501.00
    • Top four finish: 81.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.001
    • Top six finish: 26.00
    • Top half finish: 7.00
    • Bottom half finish: 1.10
    • Relegated: 26.00
    • Not relegated: 1.25
    • Rock bottom: 7.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Norwich

Norwich

  • Last six season finishes: 3 (C), 19, 8 (C), 14 (C), 1 (C), 20, 1 (C)
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 1st in the Championship with 97 points and a 29-10-7 record (14-6-3 at home and 15-4-4 away)
    • Offence:: 75 goals scored (39 at home and 36 away) – league rank: 2
    • Defence:: 36 goals conceded (15 at home and 21 away) – league rank: 1
  • Stadium: Carrow Road (27,244)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Daniel Farke. At the helm since 2017 and began his managerial career in 2009.
    • Captain: Grant Hanley
    • Key arrivals: Christos Tzolis (PAOK, £8.8m), Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen, £8m), Ben Gibson (Burnley), Dimitris Giannoulis (PAOK, €12m), Kenny Coker (Southend), Milot Rashica (Werder Bremen, £8m), Angus Gunn (Southampton), Flynn Clarke (Peterborough), Billy Gilmour (Chelsea, loan), Pierre Lees-Melou (Nice, £5m), Liam Gibbs (Ipswich)
    • Key departures: Emiliano Buendia (Aston Villa, £33m), Alex Tettey, Mario Vrancic
  • Pre-season results:
    • King’s Lynn Town 1-3 Norwich
    • Norwich 1-0 Lincoln City
    • Norwich 2-0 Huddersfield Town
    • Norwich 5-0 Gillingham
    • Newcastle 3-0 Norwich
  • Positives:
    • Manager Daniel Farke will have learned valuable lessons from their previous failed EPL campaign.
    • Signed Ben Gibson and Dimitris Giannoulis on permanent deals after successful loan spells last season.
    • Were an offensive juggernaut in the Championship last season. They managed 716 shots, the most in the division and almost 200 more than second-placed Watford. Norwich led the Championship with a 82.8% passing rate.
    • Picked up a sizeable £33m transfer fee for the sale of midfielder Emiliano Buendia to Aston Villa.
    • Of the last seven teams to be promoted as the winner of the Championship, only one was relegated the following year.
    • At the time of writing they have kept hold of Arsenal target Max Aarons and Aston Villa target Todd Cantwell.
    • Norwich conceded 21 fewer goals (36 vs. 57) in the Championship last season than they did in their previous title-winning campaign in 2018/19.
    • Have spent more than £35m in this transfer window, compared to £7m when they were last promoted two seasons ago.
  • Negatives:
    • Norwich City star Emiliano Buendia, generally regarded as their best player last year, has departed.
    • Striker Teemu Pukki started well but lost his form in the remainder of his previous season in the Premier League.
    • Were beaten 3-0 by Newcastle in pre-season.
    • Their 2019/20 Premier League campaign was a disaster. Norwich finished dead last and ended the season with 10 consecutive defeats by an aggregate scoreline of 24 goals to 1.
    • According to Wikipedia, Norwich have by far the least wealthy owners in the league out of the 18 for whom data is available.
  • Pundit table predictions: 20th1, 19th2, 18th3, 19th4, 19th5, 14th6, 17th7, 20th8, 15th9, 17th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 1001.00
    • Top four finish: 126.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.001
    • Top six finish: 41.00
    • Top half finish: 11.00
    • Bottom half finish: 1.05
    • Relegated: 1.90
    • Not relegated: 1.80
    • Rock bottom: 3.75
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Southampton

Southampton

  • Last six season finishes: 7, 6, 8, 17, 16, 11, 15
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 15th with 43 points and a 12-7-19 record (8-3-8 at home and 4-4-11 away)
    • Offence:: 47 goals scored (28 at home and 19 away) – league rank: 19
    • Defence:: 68 goals conceded (25 at home and 43 away) – league rank: 15
  • Stadium: St Mary’s Stadium (32,384)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Ralph Hasenhüttl. At the helm since 2018 and began his managerial career in 2007.
    • Captain: James Ward-Prowse
    • Key arrivals: Adam Armstrong (Blackburn, £15-£20m), Theo Walcott (Everton), Romain Perraud (Brest, £10m), Dynel Simeu (Chelsea), Tino Livramento (Chelsea), Armando Broja (Chelsea, loan)
    • Key departures: Danny Ings (Aston Villa, £25m), Ryan Bertrand (Leicester), Josh Sims (released), Jake Hesketh (released), Angus Gunn (Norwich), Mario Lemina (Nice)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Southampton 1-1 Fulham
    • Cardiff 0-4 Southampton
    • Swansea 1-3 Southampton
    • Southampton 1-0 Levante
    • Southampton 1-3 Athletic Club
  • Positives:
    • Finished 15th last season despite being ravaged by injuries. They had 10 players out at one stage.
    • Danny Ings had a year left on his contract so Southampton were able to pick up £25m for his sale.
    • Beat out interest from Norwich, Watford and Crystal Palace to sign Adam Armstrong . Armstrong was the second top scorer in the Championship last season with 28 goals.
    • Beat out Brighton to sign Tino Livramento.
  • Negatives:
    • Parted ways with striker in Danny Ings after he rejected a new contract. Ings scored 46 goals in 100 appearances for Southampton.
    • First choice left back Ryan Bertrand has departed.
    • Finished last season poorly. Only the relegated Fulham collected fewer points in the 2021 calendar year than Southampton. Southampton lost 10 of their 11 Premier League away games in 2021, conceding 33 goals in these 10 defeats, while scoring just 7.
    • Were defensively poor last season. Southampton conceded more Premier League goals in 2020-21 (68) than they had in any other season in the competition. They finished with the second worst defensive record in the league.
  • Pundit table predictions: 14th1, 14th2, 14th3, 18th4, 16th5, 19th6, 14th7, 14th8, 14th9, 13th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 201.00
    • Top four finish: 41.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.004
    • Top six finish: 15.00
    • Top half finish: 4.00
    • Bottom half finish: 1.22
    • Relegated: 4.33
    • Not relegated: 1.20
    • Rock bottom: 21.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Tottenham

Tottenham

  • Last six season finishes: 5, 3, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 7th with 62 points and a 18-8-12 record (10-3-6 at home and 8-5-6 away)
    • Offence:: 68 goals scored (35 at home and 33 away) – league rank: 6
    • Defence:: 45 goals conceded (20 at home and 25 away) – league rank: 4
  • Stadium: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (62,303)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Nuno Espírito Santo. At the helm since 2021 and began his managerial career in 2012.
    • Captain: Hugo Lloris
    • Key arrivals: Pierluigi Gollini (Atalanta, loan), Bryan Gil (Sevilla), Cristian Romero (Atalanta, £42.5m)
    • Key departures: Danny Rose (Watford, free), Paulo Gazzaniga (released), Juan Foyth (Villarreal), Erik Lamela (Sevilla), Toby Alderweireld (Al-Duhail), Joe Hart (Celtic)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Leyton Orient 1-1 Spurs
    • Colchester 0-3 Spurs
    • MK Dons 1-3 Spurs
    • Chelsea 2-2 Spurs
    • Spurs 1-0 Arsenal
  • Positives:
    • Have bolstered their defence with the £42.5m signing of Cristian Romero. He was voted the best defender in Serie A last season. His signing counters the departure of Toby Alderweireld.
    • Tottenham have appointed former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager on a two-year contract. Nuno left Wolves in May after four impressive seasons, during which time he took the club from the Championship to a Europa League quarter-final.
  • Negatives:
    • At the time of writing the Harry Kane saga is still unresolved, with the striker having yet to re-join training after making it clear his desire to leave. Kane was involved in a career-best 37 goals last season through scoring 23 goals and providing 14 assists. He won last season’s top-flight Golden Boot for the third time last season.
    • Gareth Bale returned to Real Madrid following a loan spell in which he scored 11 league goals in just 20 appearances.
    • Tottenham brought in Nuno Espirito Santo as the new manager only after a number of other candidates fell through.
    • Only qualified for the newly formed Europa Conference League, the third tier of European club football.
    • Son Heung-min scored an impressive 17 goals last season, but many came playing alongside Harry Kane, who provided numerous assists. It remains to be seen whether Son can be as productive if Kane doesn’t stay.
    • Have finished lower on the table than the season before in each of the previous four seasons.
  • Pundit table predictions: 5th1, 7th2, 7th3, 9th4, 7th5, 7th6, 6th7, 7th8, 5th9, 6th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 41.00
    • Top four finish: 5.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.16
    • Top six finish: 1.80
    • Top half finish: 1.16
    • Bottom half finish: 5.00
    • Relegated: 151.00
    • Not relegated: 1.001
    • Rock bottom: 501.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Watford

Watford

  • Last six season finishes: 2 (C), 13, 17, 14, 11, 19, 2 (C)
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 2nd in the Championship with 91 points and a 27-10-9 record (19-2-2 at home and 8-8-7 away)
    • Offence:: 63 goals scored (44 at home and 19 away) – league rank: 1
    • Defence:: 30 goals conceded (12 at home and 18 away) – league rank: 3
  • Stadium: Vicarage Road (22,200)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Xisco Muñoz. At the helm since 2020 and began his managerial career in 2017.
    • Captain: Troy Deeney
    • Key arrivals: Imran Louza (Nantes, £8.6m), Joshua King (Everton), Kwadwo Baah (Rochdale), Mattie Pollock (Grimsby), Ashley Fletcher (Middlesbrough), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Emmanuel Dennis (Club Brugge), Dapo Mebude (Rangers), Peter Etebo (Stoke City), Vincent Angelini (Free), Josh O’Brien (Seattle Sounders), James Morris (Southampton), Juraj Kucka (Parma Calcio)
    • Key departures: Achraf Lazaar (released), Carlos Sanchez (released), Jerome Sinclair (released), Mamadou M’Baye (released)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Watford 3-2 Millwall
    • Watford 4-1 Colchester
    • Watford 1-3 Brentford
    • Watford 0-0 West Brom
    • Stevenage 1-1 Watford
    • Arsenal 4-1 Watford
    • Watford 4-0 Doncaster
    • Crystal Palace 3-1 Watford
  • Positives:
    • Have strengthened in midfield with the signing of Imran Louza.
    • Have retained the services of key winger Ismaïla Sarr.
    • Manager Xisco Munoz has the full backing of the club after guiding them to promotion following his arrival in late December.
    • The Hornets had a squad that arguably should not have been relegated from the Premier League in the first place, and they have lost very little in terms of key personnel.
    • Boasted the best defence in the Championship last season. Watford kept a clean sheet in half of their league games and conceded six fewer goals than the next best defensive side, Norwich.
  • Negatives:
    • Four of the last seven teams to be promoted as the 2nd placed finisher in the Championship were relegated the following season.
    • The club has gone through 12 permanent managers since August 2011.
    • Striker Troy Deeney is now 33 years old. His best form was back in 2013/14.
    • Craig Dawson has departed to West Ham after spending last season on loan to the Hammers.
  • Pundit table predictions: 19th1, 20th2, 19th3, 16th4, 20th5, 20th6, 20th7, 19th8, 20th9, 20th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 501.00
    • Top four finish: 101.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.001
    • Top six finish: 34.00
    • Top half finish: 9.00
    • Bottom half finish: 1.071
    • Relegated: 2.00
    • Not relegated: 1.72
    • Rock bottom: 4.33
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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West Ham

West Ham

  • Last six season finishes: 12, 7, 11, 13, 10, 16, 6
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 6th with 65 points and a 19-8-11 record (10-4-5 at home and 9-4-6 away)
    • Offence:: 62 goals scored (32 at home and 30 away) – league rank: 9
    • Defence:: 47 goals conceded (22 at home and 25 away) – league rank: 8
  • Stadium: London Stadium (60,000)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: David Moyes. At the helm since 2019 and began his managerial career in 1998.
    • Captain: Mark Noble
    • Key arrivals: Alphonse Areola (PSG, loan), Thierry Nevers (Reading), Pierre Ekwah Elimby (Chelsea), Armstrong Oko-Flex (Celtic, free), Craig Dawson (Watford – after being out on loan last season)
    • Key departures: Oladapo Afolayan (Bolton), Fabian Balbuena (released), Craig Dawson (West Ham – after being on loan last season)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Dundee 2-2 West Ham
    • Leyton Orient 0-0 West Ham
    • Northampton 1-2 West Ham
    • Reading 0-3 West Ham
    • Celtic 2-6 West Ham
    • Brentford 0-1 West Ham
    • West Ham 2-0 Atalanta
  • Positives:
    • Were the biggest improvers last season. They qualified for the Europa League a year after narrowly avoiding relegation. Their turnaround from 16th to 6th had a lot to do with the managerial appointment of David Moyes, who has agreed a new three-year contract.
    • Have been able to retain the services of Declan Rice, Vladimír Coufal and Tomas Soucek.
    • Only Manchester City picked up more points at home than West Ham last season.
  • Negatives:
    • Have the added distraction of Europa League football this season.
    • At the time of writing West Ham have been unable to sign Jesse Lingard from Manchester United. He joined them on loan in January and lifted the club by scoring nine goals in 16 appearances.
    • Are one of the few clubs that may not benefit from the returns of fans to stadiums. West Ham fans can make life difficult for the players if they’re not happy.
    • There are rumours that Declan Rice has turned down new contract offers and Vladimír Coufal is unhappy with the terms on offer in his negotiations.
    • Michail Antonio is injury prone.
  • Pundit table predictions: 10th1, 10th2, 11th3, 7th4, 8th5, 10th6, 10th7, 10th8, 10th9, 9th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 151.00
    • Top four finish: 13.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.04
    • Top six finish: 6.00
    • Top half finish: 1.72
    • Bottom half finish: 2.00
    • Relegated: 10.00
    • Not relegated: 1.062
    • Rock bottom: 51.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton

  • Last six season finishes: 7 (C), 14 (C), 15 (C), 1 (C) , 7, 7, 13
  • Last season:
    • Placing:: 13th with 45 points and a 12-9-17 record (7-4-8 at home and 5-5-9 away)
    • Offence:: 36 goals scored (21 at home and 15 away) – league rank: 12
    • Defence:: 52 goals conceded (25 at home and 27 away) – league rank: 13
  • Stadium: Molineux Stadium (32,050)
  • Squad:
    • Manager: Bruno Lage. At the helm since 2021 and began his managerial career in 2018.
    • Captain: Conor Coady
    • Key arrivals: Yerson Mosquera (Atletico Nacional), Louie Moulden (Man City), Francisco Trincao (Barcelona), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Angers), Jose Sa (Olympiacos), Bendeguz Bolla (Fehervar)
    • Key departures: Ruben Vinagre (Sporting Lisbon), Rui Patricio (Roma, loan)
  • Pre-season results:
    • Crewe 1-0 Wolves
    • Real Betis 0-1 Wolves
    • Wolves 2-3 Las Palmas
    • Stoke 1-1 Wolves
    • Coventry 1-2 Wolves
    • Wolves 0-1 Celta Vigo
  • Positives:
    • Finished 13th despite an injury-ravaged 2020/21 campaign. Injuries were major contributor for their drop in form compared to the season before. The biggest injury was to striker Raul Jimenez, who is now healthy again.
    • Fabio Silva, their key signing last year, is still a teenager and has shown plenty of upside potential.
    • Were quick to appoint former Benfica boss Bruno Lage as the new manager, which has given him virtually a full summer to prepare for this campaign. Lage was previously an assistant manager at Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea so he has experience in English football.
  • Negatives:
    • Manager Nuno Espirito Santo left the club at the end of last season by mutual agreement. The new manager has huge boots to fill given he took Wolves from the Championship all the way to the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
    • Wolverhampton suffered badly from last summer’s sale of Diogo Jota and Matt Doherty after they supplied 23 goals for the season before.
    • The season-ending injury to forward Raul Jimenez exposed Wolves’ lack of depth in attacking players.
    • Pedro Neto will miss the opening few months of the campaign due to injury.
  • Pundit table predictions: 13th1, 13th2, 13th3, 12th4, 14th5, 15th6, 13th7, 12th8, 12th9, 12th10
  • bet365 futures odds:
    • Title winner: 201.00
    • Top four finish: 26.00
    • Fail to finish in the top four: 1.01
    • Top six finish: 11.00
    • Top half finish: 3.00
    • Bottom half finish: 1.36
    • Relegated: 6.00
    • Not relegated: 1.12
    • Rock bottom: 21.00
    • Click here to compare the latest futures odds


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Futures Betting Tips

My expectation is that Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool will make up the top three. If I had to pick a league winner it would be City.

I would consider backing Manchester City to win the league at 1.72 (Unibet), but I would prefer to get confirmation that Harry Kane will join them. The only issue in their current squad is their reliance on fielding a false 9. Kane is an out-and-out striker who would make their already formidable squad simply terrifying.

Arsenal to finish in the top six at 2.37 (bet365)

Arsenal had the 5th best form line once they got over their dreadful start to last season. Nicolas Pepe got better and better as the season wore on.

Leeds to finish in the top half of the table at 1.66 (bet365)

Leeds finished last season strongly, picking up 23 points (7-2-1) from their final ten games and conceding just 8 goals in their final 11 fixtures. They finished on a four-game winning streak and will relish having the intimidation factor back with fans returning to Elland Road.

Everton to finish in the bottom half of the table at 2.20 (bet365)

Everton finished 12th and 10th in the last two seasons and they have rolled the dice with a contentious choice of new manager. Only four sides created fewer goal scoring chances than Everton did last season and they limped over the line to finish the season. Their pre-season thrashing at the hands of Man Utd doesn’t inspire confidence.

Aston Villa to finish in the top half of the table at 2.25 (bet365)

Yes, Grealish has departed, but Aston Villa have been heavily active in the transfer window with the signings of Emiliano Buendia, Danny Ings and Leon Bailey. They will no longer have to sweat on the fitness of one player and while they aren’t known for it like Man City and Chelsea, Aston Villa’s owners are incredibly rich and willing to spend.

Relegation:

My list of relegation-threatened sides consists of Brentford, Brighton, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Newcastle, Norwich, Southampton, Watford and Wolverhampton. All of these sides would be come vulnerable if key players became injured. Of the above, Brentford, Burnley, Crystal Palace, Norwich, Southampton and Watford look to be the most at risk.

For those looking for higher odds speculative bets, with bet365 you can select all three relegated teams. Some come notable combos are:

Burnley, Crystal Palace and Norwich at 29.00
Burnley, Crystal Palace and Watford at 34.00
Burnley, Norwich and Watford at 17.00 – my favourite pick
Crystal Palace, Norwich and Watford at 17.00

The highest odds combo that stands a realistic chance is Burnley, Crystal Palace and Southampton at 81.00.

Compare EPL match odds
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Notes

Table prediction sources:

Transfers sourced from:
https://www.premierleague.com/transfers/summer

Pre-season fixtures sourced from:
https://www.premierleague.com/news/2161724

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