▪️ ARSENAL @Arsenal
Last season 5th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Quarter finals Europa League Runners-up
Last major trophy FA Cup 2017
Head coach Unai Emery (since May 2018)
Players In Nicolas Pepe, Gabriel Martinelli, Dani Ceballos*, William Saliba, Kieran Tierney, David Luiz
Players Out David Ospina, Aaron Ramsey, Petr Cech, Charlie Gilmour, Julio Pleguezuelo, Vontae Daley-Campbell, Xavier Amaechi, Krystian Bielik, William Saliba*, Danny Welbeck, Carl Jenkinson, Alex Iwobi
For the first time in several years, Arsenal have had arguably the best transfer window in the Premier League with several first-choice targets identified and signed. A rickety back-line, which conceded 51 goals in both of the last two seasons, will be helped by the arrival of David Luiz from Chelsea - although the Brazilian himself is no stranger to the occasional blunder. The surprising capture of the left-sided Kieran Tierney from his boyhood club Celtic will add some much-needed dynamism to the team - while Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos should provide the creative spark which goes badly missing when Mesut Özil is not on his game. Add in Nicholas Pepe who arrives from Lille for a club record £72m to augment the attacking talents of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette - and, altogether, Arsenal finally seem to have a line-up which will challenge more consistently for a place in the top four. In fairness to Unai Emery, the Gunners only just missed out on a place in the Champions League in his first full season following a late collapse in league form and a dreadful performance against Chelsea in the Europa League Final - but it would be fair to say the flurry of transfer market activity has raised expectations at the Emirates and another failure would not be looked upon kindly by some of the more vociferous sections of the support.
Prediction [3rd]▪️ ASTON VILLA @AVFCOfficial
Last season 5th in Championship (promoted via play-offs) FA Cup Third round League Cup Second round
Last major trophy League Cup 1996
Head coach Dean Smith (since October 2018)
Players In Wesley, Tyrone Mings, Matt Targett, Ezri Konsa, Bjorn Engels, Trezeguet, Tom Heaton, Anwar El Ghazi, Jota, Kortney Hause, Douglas Luiz, Marvelous Nakamba
Players Out Gary Gardner, Tommy Elphick, Mitchell Clark, Jordan Lyden
Within days or even hours, most playoff winners are brought back down to earth by promptly being installed as relegation favourities for the following season - but, then again, Aston Villa do not fit the profile of most playoff winners. Instead, Villa's 2-1 win over Derby County at Wembley in May can more accurately be considered as being the joyous end of three years of purgatory for the Birmingham club. An immediate return to the second tier already appears to be an unlikely outcome, given the level of investment which has been made this summer in a squad which, after all, only finished in the playoff spots because of a club record sequence of wins in the second half of last season. But, while the likes of Fulham in 2018-19 and, more distantly, Queens Park Rangers are both prime examples of big-spending promoted teams getting it horribly wrong, head coach Dean Smith and key player Jack Grealish both bleed claret-and-blue and so provide the sort of investment in a cause which no amount of money can buy.
Prediction [15th]
▪️ AFC BOURNEMOUTH @afcbournemouth
Last season 14th FA Cup Third round League Cup Quarter finals
Last major trophy None
Head coach Eddie Howe (since October 2012)
Players In Lloyd Kelly, Jack Stacey, Philip Billing, Arnaut Danjuma, Harry Wilson*
Players Out Tyrone Mings, Lys Mousset, Connor Mahoney, Marc Pugh
Bournemouth are probably the most Jekyll and Hyde side currently in the Premier League with a rapier-like attack, especially on the break, regularly undermined by the team being a soft-touch at the back. The Cherries conceded no fewer than 70 goals last season, enough to take many a side down - and Eddie Howe seemed to manage two completely different teams at home and on the road. At Dean Court, Bournemouth were generally competitive - but, through the middle of the season, they also lost a horrific nine successive away league matches. For now, a youthful and pacey Callum Wilson-led attack - for whom David Brooks also appears as a precocious talent - has kept Bournemouth out of trouble. But - while Howe's appreciation of youth is, in many ways, an admirable quality - the decision to rebuild the creaky defence by signing another raw youngster in Lloyd Kelly appears to be a highly optimistic way of seeking an improvement on that front.
Prediction [16th]
▪️ BRIGHTON AND HOVE ALBION @OfficialBHAFC
Last season 17th FA Cup Semi finals League Cup Second round
Last major trophy None
Head coach Graham Potter (since May 2019)
Players In Leandro Trossard, Adam Webster, Matt Clarke, Taylor Richards, Lewis Freestone, Romaric Yapi, Lea Le Garrec, Aaron Mooy*
Players Out Bruno, Ales Mateju, Will Collar, Markus Suttner
There have been worse seasons than that which Brighton and Hove Albion endured during 2018-19. After all, the Seagulls did the double over their rivals Crystal Palace - and reached the semi finals of the FA Cup for the first time since 1983, and only the second time ever. Brighton even could be said to have performed creditably at Wembley against the domestic juggernaut of Manchester City in losing just 1-0 - but, once the glitz of the cup run faded away, the awful form in the Premier League from January onwards came into much sharper focus. Less than 24 hours after the season was over, chairman Tony Bloom decided Chris Hughton could not possibly survive such a close call after the south coast club staggered over the safety line with just 35 goals and 36 points. Meanwhile, on the playing front, bad apple Anthony Knockaert has been shipped out on loan to Fulham. The departure of the Frenchman, however, leaves new coach Graham Potter with a staggering lack of creativity in his squad and much of the goalscoring weight still rests on the shoulders of Glenn Murray who turns 36 in September.
Prediction [19th]
▪️ BURNLEY @BurnleyOfficial
Last season 15th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Third round Europa League Playoff round
Last major trophy First Division 1959-1960
Head coach Sean Dyche (since October 2012)
Players In Jay Rodriguez, Erik Pieters, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Joel Senior, Ryan Cooney, Danny Drinkwater*
Players Out Peter Crouch, Jon Walters, Stephen Ward, Anders Lindegaard, Tom Heaton
Burnley survived in the Premier League last season despite taking the fewest shots and conceding the most attempts - although, at Christmas, things had looked pretty bleak. The Clarets were in the bottom three having taken just 12 points from the first 19 games, and having conceded a whopping 41 goals, two more than had been shipped in the whole of the excellent 2017-18 campaign. The poor form culminated in a 5-1 humbling at home to Everton on Boxing Day - but the turn of the year coincided in a sharp improvement as Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes both found their shooting boots, and in fact both finished on double figures for league goals. Undoubtedly, Wood and Barnes will be expected to pick up most of the slack again - but the pair will be boosted this season by the return of Burnley-born Jay Rodriguez to Turf Moor after seven years away. Put simply, Sean Dyche's men appear to have too much goal threat to be caught up in the worst of the relegation battle - especially since the back end of last season showed the team appears to have learned to defend properly again.
Prediction [13th]
▪️ CHELSEA @ChelseaFC
Last season 3rd FA Cup Fifth round League Cup Runners-up Europa League Winners
Last major trophy Europa League 2019
Head coach Frank Lampard (since July 2019)
Players In Mateo Kovacic
Players Out Eden Hazard, Alvaro Morata, Ola Aina, Tomas Kalas, Jay Dasilva, Gary Cahill, Fankaty Dabo, Rob Green, Kasey Palmer, Kyle Scott, Todd Kane, Danny Drinkwater*, David Luiz
Bizarrely taking their lead from Manchester United in appointing a club legend as head coach, Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has arguably walked into an even more difficult situation than his Old Trafford counterpart Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. After all, the Blues have been slapped with a complete transfer ban this summer - enforced by FIFA for breaking rules over the signing of foreign under-18 players - although this has still not prevented them from welcoming Christian Pulisic and Mateo Kovacic after prior arrangements had been made. Instead, the biggest consequence of the ban has been the departure of Eden Hazard to Real Madrid for £90m. The Belgian recognised that, given the restrictions in the market, Chelsea - short of champions Manchester City by 26 points last season - were not about to improve on that position and, indeed, he explicitly bade farewell after scoring a brace at the Europa League final which the Blues won 4-0 against Arsenal. That was the 13th trophy of the Roman Abrahomovic era - but, with the Russian also struggling to get a visa to return to London, it could yet be the last roar of this particular Roman empire, regardless of Lampard's hopes.
Prediction [7th]
▪️ CRYSTAL PALACE @CPFC
Last season 12th FA Cup Quarter finals League Cup Fourth round
Last major trophy None
Head coach Roy Hodgson (since September 2017)
Players In Stephen Henderson, Jordan Ayew, Gary Cahill, James McCarthy, Victor Camarasa*
Players Out Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Levi Lumeka, Ollie O'Dwyer
Losing one of your quality players will usually be considered to be unfortunate - but losing two would have been quite disastrous for a club like Crystal Palace. And yet, it almost happened - with left-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka long gone to Manchester United for £50m, Wilfried Zaha stunned the Selhurst Park hierarchy by submitting a transfer request on the eve of the closure of the window. Ultimately, the move to Everton or elsewhere fell through - and now both a potentially disgruntled Zaha and the Eagles will have to pick up the pieces from where they left off. In that regard, it is a good job that Palace have an experienced man at the helm in Roy Hodgson. The Croydon-born septuagenarian has seen most things in the game, both good and bad - and he certainly will not allow his feathers to be ruffled by something like this. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied this summer at the south London club has been far from ideal, and this campaign - which is an unprecedented seventh in a row in the top flight - could be one of the toughest yet.
Prediction [17th]
▪️ EVERTON @Everton
Last season 8th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Third round
Last major trophy FA Cup 1995
Head coach Marco Silva (since May 2018)
Players In Moise Kean, Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph, Jonas Lossl, Alex Iwobi, Djibril Sidibe*
Players Out Nikola Vlasic, Ademola Lookman, Idrissa Gueye, Phil Jagielka, Brendan Galloway, Antonee Robinson, Joe Williams, James McCarthy, Muhamed Besic*
From the sublime to the ridiculous, Everton under Marco Silva were impossible to predict from week-to-week last season. There was no greater example of this than the matches either side of Christmas when the Toffees went from losing 6-2 at home against Tottenham Hotspur to beating Burnley 5-1 away. Similarly, on an individual level, there was a startling difference between England's number one Jordan Pickford playing the clown in defeat to Newcastle United at St James Park before he then kept seven clean sheets out of the last nine games as Everton forlornly chased the European places. Silva's men eventually finished just three points short of Wolverhampton Wanderers in seventh - but, as several upper midtable have noticed, this summer appears to represent a better opportunity than usual to break into the top six. As such, Everton have invested heavily in the likes of Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph and Djibril Sidibe on loan - but, while Moise Kean is an outstanding signing, Alex Iwobi - at £34m from Arsenal - appears to be an over-priced gamble only taken after having failed to land Wilfried Zaha from Crystal Palace.
Prediction [8th]
▪️ LEICESTER CITY @LCFC
Last season 9th FA Cup Third round League Cup Quarter finals
Last major trophy Premier League 2015-16
Head coach Brendan Rodgers (since February 2019)
Players In Youri Tielemans, Ayoze Perez, James Justin, Vontae Daley-Campbell, George Hirst, Ali Reghba, Mitchell Clark, Dennis Praet
Players Out Harry Maguire, Shinji Okazaki, Elliott Moore
There are high hopes of better times ahead for Leicester City at the King Power Stadium this season following an undoubtedly difficult period last year. The death of chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha last October overshadowed a campaign which then fizzled out badly amid a series of defeats through January and February including a FA Cup third round exit to Newport County. That run of form prompted a mid-season managerial change for the third year in a row, one for each season since the Foxes famously won the Premier League under Claudio Ranieri in 2015-16 - but former Liverpool and Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers enjoys far greater support than Craig Shakespeare or Claude Puel ever seemed to receive. For a start, the Northern Irishman has been backed in the transfer market with the arrivals of Youri Tielemens and Ayoze Perez from Monaco and Newcastle United respectively, and the pair should spruce up an attack which has lacked a certain something since Riyad Mahrez moved to Manchester City last summer. In the three years since their incredible title triumph, Leicester have finished in 12th, 9th and 9th - respectable, for sure - but with some of the teams above them now faltering, this is a chance of breaking back into the top six which the east Midlanders must not pass up
Prediction [6th]
▪️ LIVERPOOL @LFC
Last season 2nd FA Cup Third round League Cup Third round Champions League Winners
Last major trophy Champions League 2019
Head coach Jürgen Klopp (since October 2015)
Players In Sepp van den Berg, Harvey Elliott, Adrian
Players Out Danny Ings, Alberto Moreno, Rafael Camacho, Simon Mignolet, Harry Wilson*
A sixth European Cup more than softened the blow of having come so close to a first league title since 1990 as, on a balmy night in Madrid, Jürgen Klopp joined Bob Paisley, Joe Fagan and Rafael Benitez in the pantheon of Liverpool managerial legends to have lifted Ol' Big Ears. Nevertheless, failure to win the Premier League by a single point will no doubt still sting especially as the Reds really could not have done much more. Liverpool lost once in the league all season and last tasted defeat at Anfield back in April 2017. Meanwhile, the Reds' total of 97 points would have been enough - and, in many cases, more than enough - to win the title in 116 of the previous 119 years. As such, it is pretty difficult to pinpoint specific areas in which the team can improve - the defence, now magnificently marshalled by Virgil Van Dijk, helped Liverpool keep a clean sheet in more than half of their league games last season, while Sadio Mane shared 44 goals evenly with Mo Salah. Content with the squad as it stands, it has been a quiet summer on the transfer front for Klopp - but, with Manchester City splashing the cash again, it seems inevitable that Pep Guardiola's men will, once again, stand in the way of Liverpool ending their 30-year title drought.
Prediction [2nd]
▪️ MANCHESTER CITY @ManCity
Last season Champions FA Cup Winners League Cup Winners Champions League Quarter finals
Last major trophy FA Cup 2019
Head coach Pep Guardiola (since July 2016)
Players In Rodri, Angelino, Joao Cancelo, Pedro Porro, Zack Steffan, Scott Carson*
Players Out Fabian Delph, Taylor Richards, Vincent Kompany, Douglas Luiz, Danilo, Tom Dele-Bashiru, Patrick Roberts*
Only four teams - Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United - have ever won a hat-trick of English league titles but, having spent nearly another £150m on their squad, this summer, Manchester City appear well-placed to join this rather exclusive club. After all, Pep Guardiola's treble-winners have already bucked a trend by becoming the first side in a decade to defend their crown. Of course, the Champions League remains the holy grail for Abu Dhabi-based owner Sheikh Mansour - but, following several false starts in the competition between their first appearance in 2011 and 2017, it has only really been two strange half-hours in successive years against Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur which have cost the Citizens a shot at European glory. The emotional return of Vincent Kompany to his boyhood club Anderlecht will be keenly felt around the Etihad but perhaps not as keenly as if the Belgian had decided to leave a couple of years ago. Frankly, nowadays, Man City are so strong that, if you offered the choice to Guardiola between the Champions League and another Premier League title, the Spaniard would simply opt for both.
Prediction [Champions]
▪️ MANCHESTER UNITED @ManUtd
Last season 6th FA Cup Quarter finals League Cup Third round Champions League Quarter finals
Last major trophy Europa League 2017
Head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjær (since December 2018)
Players In Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James
Players Out Ander Herrera, Dean Henderson*, Romelu Lukaku
"Ole's at the wheel," crowed the Old Trafford faithful to the tune of Waterfall by the Stone Roses as club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjær led Manchester United to 14 wins in his first 17 games. That fine sequence was enough to convince the Red Devils' hierachy to give a three-year contract to the Norwegian - but things quickly turned sour and, in end-of-season failures against relegated Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City, the performance levels were back to being as bad as at any time since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. Notably, that 2012-13 season was the last time that Man United won the Premier League - and, in fact, three of the six campaigns since have ended without a trophy of any description. In the latest bid to arrest the slide, Solksjaer has turned to British talent in the form of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, signed for £45m from Crystal Palace - as well as Daniel James from Swansea City, and Harry Maguire, recruited for an eye-watering £80m from Leicester City. However, the additions enter a dressing which seems, from the outside at least, far from harmonious with star player Paul Pogba suggesting he wants a new challenge. The Frenchman, nonetheless, remains at Old Trafford for now - but, considering previous boss Jose Mourinho was unable to deal with him, there appears to be no chance that the out-of-his-depth Solksjaer has enough authority among the squad as a whole to bring about a different outcome.
Prediction [5th]
▪️ NEWCASTLE UNITED @NUFC
Last season 13th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Second round
Last major trophy UEFA (Fairs) Cup 1969
Head coach Steve Bruce (since July 2019)
Players In Joelinton, Allan Saint-Maximin, Jetro Willems*, Emil Krafth, Andy Carroll, Kyle Scott, Jake Turner
Players Out Ayoze Perez, Joselu
It has been a customarily tumultuous summer on Tyneside with the inevitable departure of the much-loved Rafa Benitez exasperated by the talk of a takeover by an Arab Sheikh which rapidly and devastatingly fell firmly into the category of fake news. Instead, current owner Mike Ashley does not look like going anywhere soon having brought Geordie native Steve Bruce to the club as his head coach and chief patsy. Through necessity more than anything else, Ashley has at least loosened the purse strings a little with Joelinton arriving for a club record fee of £40m from Bundesliga outfit TSG Hoffenheim. But there is already big pressure on the young Brazilian on account that he will be mainly responsible for filling the void left by the team's two top scorers from last season, Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon, who are now plying the trade at Leicester City and in China respectively. Furthermore, it remains to be seen if a defensive unit - which undoubtedly benefited from the tactical acumen of Benitez - will be anywhere near as effective under Bruce.
Prediction [14th]
▪️ NORWICH CITY @NorwichCityFC
Last season 1st in the Championship (promoted) FA Cup Third round League Cup Fourth round
Last major trophy League Cup 1985
Head coach Daniel Farke (since May 2017)
Players In Sam Byram, Ibrahim Amadou, Aidan Fitzpatrick, Daniel Adshead, Rocky Bushiri, Archie Mair, Rob Nizet, Josip Drmic, Charlie Gilmour, Patrick Roberts*, Ralf Fahrmann*, Reece McAlear
Players Out Marcel Franke, Nelson Oliveira, Tristan Abrahams
Never-say-die Norwich City enjoyed a wholly unexpected title-winning season in 2018-19, just 12 months after having finished in an extremely modest 14th position in the Championship. Finnish striker Teemu Pukki - signed in the close season on a free from Danish club Brondby - proved to be a complete revelation, hitting 29 league goals, as the Canaries flew up to yet another promotion to the top flight on the back of a seemingly unending series of crucial late strikes. Norwich - in fact - scored 31 of their 93 league goals beyond the 75-minute mark - but, while Daniel Farke's men deserve credit for their efforts, it really should not be the case that Premier League teams are going to tire quite as badly or be quite as generous as that. A tiny budget, which sporting director Stuart Webber has already declared as the smallest in top-flight history, will have done little to allay fears, in particular regard to a defence which conceded 57 goals last season - and, by next May, the Norfolk club could easily end up holding an unenviable record for the most Premier League relegations with five.
Prediction [20th]
▪️ SHEFFIELD UNITED @SheffieldUnited
Last season 2nd in the Championship (promoted) FA Cup Third round League Cup First round
Last major trophy FA Cup 1925
Head coach Chris Wilder (since May 2016)
Players In Lys Mousset, Callum Robinson, Luke Freeman, Phil Jagielka, Ravel Morrison, Ben Osborn, Oli McBurnie, Dean Henderson*, Muhamed Besic*, Michael Verrips
Players Out Ched Evans, Caolan Lavery
Sheffield United last played Premier League football in May 2007 when Tony Blair was in the twilight of his own premiership in Downing Street. In the intervening years, the Blades dropped to the third tier for six long seasons before boyhood supporter Chris Wilder led the team to the 2016-17 League One title. Following a campaign of consolodation in 2017-18, Wilder worked his magic again as his men held off Leeds United to secure a return to the elite as Championship runners-up - but, of course, this rapid rise makes it difficult to see Sheff United staying in the top flight for more than a year - and, indeed, the Blades are outright favourites for the drop with most, if not all, of the major bookmakers. Nevertheless, this Yorkshire outfit is a steely proposition and Wilder is an extremely wily and capable coach whose CV speaks for itself. It must also be considered, though, if this is simply too much too soon for a club which, not long ago, was lining up against the likes of Rochdale and Southend United.
Prediction [18th]
▪️ SOUTHAMPTON @SouthamptonFC
Last season 16th FA Cup Third round League Cup Fourth round
Last major trophy FA Cup 1976
Head coach Ralph Hasenhüttl (since December 2018)
Players In Danny Ings, Che Adams, Moussa Djenepo
Players Out Matt Targett, Jordy Clasie, Steven Davis, Charlie Austin
New manager bounces are a well-known phenomenon in football - but rarely can an appointment have gone so well as that of Ralph Hasenhüttl at Southampton. At the start of last December, the Austrian took over a Saints side in dire straits after Mark Hughes had led it down a blind alley and collected a meagre total of eight points from 13 games. Relegation was staring the south coast club in the face but a springtime resurgence ensured another year in the top flight - although, for the second season in a row, the Saints failed to reach the 40-point mark. Certainly, those heady four consecutive top-eight finishes under Mauricio Pochettino, Ronald Koeman and Claude Puel seem like a world away now - but, while no one really expects Hasenhüttl to take Southampton back into the top half, a more comfortable season in mid-table would rightly be seen as progress.
Prediction [11th]▪️ TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR @SpursOfficial
Last season 4th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Semi finals Champions League Runners-up
Last major trophy League Cup 2008
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino (since May 2014)
Players In Tanguy Ndombele, Ryan Sessegnon, Giovani Lo Celso*, Jack Clarke, Kion Etete
Players Out Kieran Trippier, Vincent Janssen, Jack Clarke*
For Tottenham Hotspur, the story constantly seems to be a case of what might have been. Without a trophy in over 4,000 days since the League Cup triumph in 2008 - as the Audi Cup win in pre-season certainly does not count - Spurs have again opted to settle for potential with their deadline day signing of teenager Ryan Sessegnon and loan of Giovani Lo Celso, rather than make a big statement by securing the services of Paulo Dybala from Juventus. Instead, even another outstanding season from talisman Harry Kane will probably still only be enough for third place - and Kane himself has struggled for fitness at various stages of the past three seasons, missing a startling 31 matches in total over that period. At least, this term, Spurs will not have the added distraction caused by a protracted move into a new ground - and, indeed, the focus must surely now be on turning their stadium into an impregnable fortress. But, while that may well be achieved , frustratingly for Mauricio Pochettino, it also feels inevitable there will be a team or two who get in the way of glory somewhere along the line.
Prediction [4th]
▪️ WATFORD @WatfordFC
Last season 11th FA Cup Runners-up League Cup Third round
Last major trophy None
Head coach Javi Gracia (since January 2018)
Players In Craig Dawson, Danny Welbeck, Bayli Spencer-Adams, Tom Dele-Bashiru, Ismaila Sarr
Players Out Obbi Oulare, Dodi Lukebakio
Caned 6-0 by Manchester City in the FA Cup Final at Wembley, Watford could nonetheless still reflect positively over the summer on a more than satisfactory fourth consecutive top flight campaign, finishing 11th having actually spent most of the season flirting with the final European place. In Javi Gracia, the Hornets have also found a manager willing to stick around for longer than five minutes - although it feels as if the Spaniard will be more than a little disappointed the Pozzo family has not rewarded his long service by releasing funds for a few more signings during this pre-season. Vitally, though, the tireless Troy Deeney and the mercurial Gerard Deulofeu both remain at Vicarage Road - and, if some tweaks can be made tactically to improve an often shaky back line, Watford look well-placed for another season of relative calm in the middle of the table.
Prediction [10th]
▪️ WEST HAM UNITED @WestHamUtd
Last season 10th FA Cup Fourth round League Cup Fourth round
Last major trophy FA Cup 1980
Head coach Manuel Pellegrini (since May 2018)
Players In Sebastien Haller, Pablo Fornals, Roberto, Goncalo Cardoso, Albian Ajeti, David Martin
Players Out Marko Arnautovic, Lucas Perez, Pedro Obiang, Sam Byram, Edimilson Fernandes, Marcus Browne, Josh Pask, Adrian, Reece Oxford, Andy Carroll
Finishing positions of 11th, 13th and 10th in the last three seasons are hardly what owners David Sullivan and David Gold would have envisaged having made the taxpayer-funded move from the Boleyn Ground into the Olympic Stadium. Now called the London Stadium, West Ham United appear now to have dealt with some of the early teething problems surrounding security at the venue - but, for the average supporter, the sizeable perimeter around the pitch makes it difficult still to class it as a venue for football. On the pitch, Sebastien Haller and Pablo Fornals provide experienced head coach Manuel Pellegrini with yet more options in attack - but there has been surprisingly little work done to fix a leaky defence which has conceded more than 50 goals in six of the seven seasons completed since the Hammers regained their top-flight status in 2012. It should be good fun watching West Ham this season then - just perhaps not always in the way which the Londoners intend it.
Prediction [12th]▪️ WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS @Wolves
Last season 7th FA Cup Semi finals League Cup Third round
Last major trophy League Cup 1980
Head coach Nuno Espírito Santo (since May 2017)
Players In Raul Jimenez, Patrick Cutrone, Leander Dendoncker, Hong, Raphael Nya, Tsun Dai, Renat Dadashov, Jesus Vallejo*
Players Out Kortney Hause, Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Pedro Goncalves, Joao Dias, Ryan Leak, Jack Ruddy
Big-spending Wolverhampton Wanderers were never just going to settle for consolidation on their return to the top flight last season - and so it proved as the Old Gold bloodied a few of the noses of the big boys on their way to recording the best-place finish for a promoted team since Ipswich Town achieved fifth place in 2000-01. It actually could have been even better except for a horrible collapse in the second half of an extremely winnable FA Cup semi final against Watford - and this, along with the seventh-placed finish, has meant Wolves commenced their competitive campaign this year on 25 July in the Europa League qualifiers against Northern Irish outfit Crusaders. In fairness, progress - up until the time of writing - has been serene and a relatively small first-team squad has been bulked up by a much-needed investment of more than £80m on four players. Only 17 outfield players were fielded by Wolves last season - and it might be considered that the men from Molineux enjoyed more than their fair share of the rub of the green particularly when it came down to serious injuries among their first-choice players. Extra games and extra competition from midtable make it unlikely a best-of-the-rest position can be repeated - nevertheless, Nuno Espírito Santo has easily enough quality to call upon to aim for another good cup run and top-half finish.
Prediction [9th]
Transfer notes
*refers to loan deal
Note released players and loan players not included on Players Out list (unless player loaned to another Premier League team)
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