Premier League Predictions 2016/17 (Part 1/4)

With the new football league season kicking off last weekend, the build up to the 2016/17 Premier League season has somehow heightened even further. The most expensive league in the world gets underway with Champions Leicester City travelling to the KCOM stadium to face newly-promoted Hull City, after The Foxes stunned the world with their title-winning campaign and The Tigers came through a tense Play-off final with Sheffield Wednesday back in May.

And after predicting the way England’s second division would play out in my previous blog's just a week ago, attentions have turned to the top tier with less than 48 hours to go until kick-off, and specifically the division's bottom five.


20th - Hull City

They may have enjoyed an immediate return back to the Premier League last term, but Hull have endured a turbulent summer that has seen manager Steve Bruce leave the club alongside the man who scored the decisive goal in that Play-off final, Mohamed Diamé, who is now a Newcastle United player.

Hull had their home record to thank for their third-place last season, winning 15 of their 23 matches and losing just one, and the club will rely on their form at the KCOM Stadium if they are to survive their first season back in the top division of English football.

Hull City are back in the Premier League after winning the 2015/16 Championship play-off final.

However, Bruce’s departure has badly affected transfer busy over the summer months, with former Peterborough player Jonathan Edwards and AFC Wimbledon’s Will Mannion the only two new faces at the club so far this term.

And with just 20 days left to acquire new players, caretaker boss Dave Whelan may live to regret the club’s decision to let Diamé, attacker Sone Aluko, and, of course, former manager Bruce all leave East Yorkshire.

Placing The Tigers in 20th was the easiest decision of the lot ahead of the new campaign.

19th – Burnley

Sean Dyche’s Burnley are back in the Premier League after just a season in England’s second tier, and my goodness do they deserve to be here.

It would be inaccurate to suggest that Dyche was not given the opportunity to spend money as the club targeted an immediate return to the Premier League. However, the 45 year-old completed his signings shrewdly, bringing in Brentford’s Andre Gray – who invariably finished as Championship top scorer with 25 goals – to replace the Liverpool-bound Danny Ings, and central defender James Tarkowski to fill the void left by Jason Shackell’s departure.

But perhaps the most important capture of the lot was the extravagant Joey Barton, and it is the midfielder’s summer exit that is one of the key reasons why Burnley feature so lowdown in my predictions.

Iceland star Jóhann Berg Guðmundsson will be a good addition, but the club have not replaced Barton sufficiently, and their squad again looks a little too light for the demands of the Premier League, just as it proved to be two years ago.

18th – Middlesbrough

You can spend money at any level of the game, but doing so does not guarantee success and Middlesbrough may be about to find that out this year.

Aitor Karanka promises to be a wonderful manager after learning a great deal from his former boss and the new Manchester United coach José Mourinho. The Spaniard has also assembled a strong squad over the summer, with the likes of Negredo joining on loan, Viktor Fischer signing from Ajax for a bargain £3.8 million, and midfielder Marten de Roon also coming through the doors for a substantial £11.75 million.

Nevertheless, Middlesbrough’s rivals have also splashed the cash throughout pre-season, and although Karanka’s defence served him well in the Championship, that campaign will by no means have provided his players with the kind of test that they will encounter this time out.

Of the three relegated sides, Middlesbrough would appear to be the best equipped for the rigors of Premier League football.

Aitor Karanka will look to guide Middlesbrough away from the Premier League drop zone.

17th – Sunderland

Sunderland’s most important signing this summer will be David Moyes. The former Everton and Manchester United manager has been brought in to replace Sam Allardyce – who has left the club to fulfil his dream job with England – and it is the 53 year-old’s acquisition that will keep The Black Cats in the division once again.

A number of players have left the Stadium of Light since the 2015/16 season came to a close, but Italian winger Emmanuel Giaccherini is the only of those names who is departing anywhere close to the peak of his powers, and as a result the departures have barely weakened a squad that is short in depth as opposed to quality.

Similarly to Middlesbrough, it could be Sunderland’s defensive deficiencies that drag them towards the drop this season. The addition of Paddy McNair and Donald Love – who both worked with the new boss at Manchester United - will provide more options for Moyes to work with this year, but both players remain in the early stages of their careers and it would be dangerous to rely on the pair to carry Sunderland to safety.

16th – West Brom

If Moyes is the man to keep Sunderland in the topflight this year, then Tony Pulis is the reason why West Brom will also be preparing for another Premier League campaign in 12 months’ time.

Pulis was never one to entertain as a player and few supporters will be raving about the quality of football that West Brom play this season. Nevertheless, the Welshman knows how to win football matches, and his side boasted the best defensive record outside of the top six last season.

With the league’s bigger clubs spending huge sums throughout the transfer window, The Baggies have seen several deals fall through in the same period, with former QPR winger Matt Phillips the only new name at The Hawthorns so far.

Stéphane Sessègnon has left the club and is currently unattached, while fellow attacker Victor Anichebe has also exited, as he drops down a division to join Championship side Rotherham United.

Young striker Jonathan Leko could be the one to watch this term, with the 17 year-old pushing Saido Berahino and José Salomón Rondón for a place in the first team. 

Matt Phillips is the only new addition to the West Brom squad so far this summer.