Among the joys of a new season is predicting how things will unfold.
Who will win the title? Which teams will go down? Who will prove the best signing? Who will be top scorer?
These are the predictions upon which your fantasy team will win or fail and if picked wisely will make you appear like some sort of football oracle for the next nine months. If wrong, just hope everyone forgets.
Because that’s the thing with predictions – they can go either way and may quickly need reassessing. And after just three games of the Premier League season, a few are already in need of amendment…
The pressure at Manchester United will be too much for Romelu Lukaku
Perhaps it was the fact Manchester United targeted Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata before turning to Lukaku. Maybe it was the huge price-tag. It could be that people just want to see Manchester United fail. Whatever the reason many said the £75million signing wasn’t quite right for the Red Devils. But three goals in three Premier League games has silenced the doubters.
Chelsea will have another ‘Mourinho season’
Before the season started there were a few warning signs that all might not be well at Chelsea. Antonio Conte appeared frustrated at the lack of new signings and then the reigning champions lost the Community Shield to Arsenal. But things really became alarming when they lost 3-2 to Burnley on the opening weekend of the season. It seemed this was to be another ‘Mourinho season’ when Chelsea went from champs to chumps as they did in 2015/16. But then they beat Spurs at Wembley, comfortably won against Everton, Alvaro Morata scored a couple of goals and a few new faces arrived at the club. Chelsea are most definitely in the hunt.
Arsene Wenger’s new contract will silence the Arsenal boo boys
How misleading that Community Shield result now feels. When Arsenal beat Chelsea on penalties it felt like this might finally be their season, a view enhanced by their lack of Champions League football that would allow them to concentrate on the Premier League. At least Arsene Wenger would be able to get on with the job without the distraction of his expiring contract. But despite signing a two-year deal over the summer defeats to Stoke and Liverpool have seen the anger among sections of support rise back to the surface with as much vitriol as last season.
Harry Kane’s inability to score in August is a freak stat
We were all reminded at the start of the season that Kane doesn’t score in August but it was just one of those freak coincidental stats, right? Surely the Tottenham striker doesn’t have an actual aversion to scoring in a particular month? Well, it seems as though he genuinely does. His three Premier League matches this season took his barren run to 13 games. That was despite 24 shots (nine more than any other player) and twice hitting the woodwork.
Frank de Boer is a shrewd appointment
When Crystal Palace announced Frank de Boer as their new manager it seemed a shrewd appointment. After all this was an ex-Barcelona player of the very highest quality and a serial winner as manager of Ajax. But after three straight defeats – including at home to Huddersfield and Swansea – he already looks a dead man walking.
No-one will be able to stop Man City’s attack
Manchester City’s already lethal attack was reinforced over the summer with the arrival of Bernardo Silva. Surely no team would be able to hold them back? But it took an 82nd minute strike from Raheem Sterling to salvage a 1-1 draw with Everton and then the same player popped up in the 97th minute to score a winner against Bournemouth. Pep Guardiola’s side have not exactly been steamrollering their opponents so far.
Huddersfield are relegation certainties
Before the season started the popular prediction for the teams to go down were the three sides that had just come up from the Championship. Of Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield it was the latter, who came up via the play-offs, who were favoured to be at the very bottom. But after three matches they have already acquired seven points, sit third in the table and are yet to even concede a goal (something only Manchester United can also claim).
Liverpool are reliant on Philippe Coutinho
When Barcelona were circling Coutinho there was a sense that if the Brazilian left he would take any chances of Liverpool competing for trophies with him. Last season he contributed 13 goals and seven assists – clearly a major influence. But Liverpool’s start to the season without him has shown there is much more to Jurgen Klopp’s side than Coutinho. Notably Sadio Mane and summer signing Mohamed Salah have looked incredibly dangerous. The fact that Coutinho remains at Anfield, and can now be reintegrated into a squad that just thrashed Arsenal 4-0, suggests Liverpool are genuine contenders.
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