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PREMIER LEAGUE 2015/16: Who will finish where and why - part 2
Yahoo Sport looks forward to the new Premier League campaign and predicts which teams will succeed and which teams will struggle
Brendan Rodgers and Manuel Pellegrini go into the new season with the axe hovering over them.
Liverpool boss Rodgers has invested heavily in strikers in a bid to fill the Luis Suarez-shaped hole while Pellegrini – for all his bullish chat about him being certain Manchester City will win the Premier League – will be very aware that estate agents will soon be emailing Manchester properties to Pep Guardiola in downtown Munich.
Rodgers simply has to make the top four this time and get back in the Champions League while Pellegrini will make one final effort to convince people that City really are a big club and not just a rich one by doing well in Europe.
The bookies believe both men will not see the season out – and both need a good starts.
Yahoo Sport presents part two of its Premier League preview.
It concludes tomorrow with part three featuring Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham, Watford, West Brom and Swansea.
PREMIER LEAGUE 2015/16: Who will finish where and why - part 1
DONE DEALS: Premier League completed transfers summer 2015
LIVERPOOL
Life without Luis Suarez was cold and grey for the Reds as the striker they offloaded won a treble with Barcelona while his old mates limped to sixth place in the Premier League.
The forward line lacked teeth: Mario Balotelli never clicked, Rickie Lambert was never given a chance, Daniel Sturridge was never fit – so manager Brendan Rodgers will be hoping new hitmen Christian Benteke and Danny Ings along with Brazilian attacker Roberto Firmino can fire them back into the Champions League.
And how he needs Sturridge to recover. He is a genuine goalscorer – 40 goals in 66 Liverpool appearances proves that.
At least the Europa League has a Champions League spot for the winners so this season Liverpool can take it more seriously than they did last year when it was a mere consolation for being ousted from the Champions League by Basel.
With the spectre of Steven Gerrard no longer looming over him, Rodgers can be his own man – but this is a huge season for him.
He will need skipper Jordan Henderson to be at his best and work well with new signing James Milner in midfield
The class is there at Anfield but the belief and consistency isn’t.
Last season: 6th
Predicted finish 2015-16: 6th
MANCHESTER CITY
City might have finished runners-up in their defence of the title but apart from a brief moment when they drew level with Chelsea on New Year’s Day, they were always chasing shadows.
The fact they were using on-loan veteran Frank Lampard so much does not augur well for improvement, either.
Manuel Pellegrini was a cert for the sack it seemed but he kept his job, spent hugely on Raheem Sterling, wisely on Fabian Delph and bemusingly on Patrick Roberts – all English players after offloading English duo Scott Sinclair and Micah Richards.
Yaya Toure is past his best, James Milner has gone and David Silva lacks the rapier-like thrusts of yesteryear. The engine and fuel injection are wearing out.
A reliance on Wilfried Bony for goals might also prove to be a worry.
And City will never be judged a good team – or even a big club – while they continue to flounder in the Champions League.
Their form in the group matches consistently borders on the catastrophic and even though they made the round of 16 last season, nobody expected them to challenge Barcelona seriously, which they didn’t.
Last season: 2nd
Predicted finish 2015-16: 3rd
MANCHESTER UNITED
As United prepare to welcome European football back to the Theatre of Dreams, manager Louis van Gaal has been busy “shuffling his pack”, getting rid of some of the jokers.
The Dutchman was distracted by the World Cup last year – but now he is fully focused on ending a two-season trophy drought.
Morgan Schneiderlin’s class has never been in doubt and snapping up Germany World Cup-winning skipper Bastian Schweinsteiger was a masterstroke.
Allowing Robin van Persie, Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao to go also freed up plenty of cash to fund the next generation – the best of which could prove to be Italy full back Mattio Darmian from Torino.
With Darmian, Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind competing for full back slots, at least the defence looks solid.
Everyone wanted , but the Holland winger chose United – whether he will find the step-up from the rather ordinary Dutch League too much remains to be seen.
Van Gaal will talk about winning the Premier League but his team lacks the credentials this season. But if this team clicks and sticks around, 2016-17 could be their year.
Last season: 4th
Predicted finish 2015-16: 4th
NEWCASTLE
Out with a Geordie and in with a Yorkshireman – Steve McClaren has a real job on his hands at the Sports Clobber Dome after home-grown John Carver picked up the pieces post Pardew and kept them up before being sacked.
Perhaps it is a project McClaren will relish because he enjoyed his best days as a manager while at nearby Middlesbrough, taking an unfashionable club to a European final and winning the League Cup for the only time in the club’s history.
Newcastle are anything but unfashionable but they have been unsuccessful for decades despite close-run things under Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson.
But no domestic honours since 1955 and nothing at all since 1969 – the Fairs Cup – when The Beatles were all still under 30.
The fact that 50,000 fans turn up every week will keep the spotlight on McClaren & Co but the lack of a real marquee signing points towards Newcastle treading water this season rather than challenging even for a cup.
There have been big-money signings too: Big striker cost £13m and has the potential to become the next Tyneside hero while Holland midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum could be £14m well spent as he has a good goals per game ratio from his time in the Dutch League.
The goals of Papiss Cisse should be enough to keep them up but anything resembling that one point from 10 matches spell at the back end of last season will have the hordes baying for something new – as long as it’s not Dennis Wise.
Last season: 15th
Predicted finish 2015-16: 14th
NORWICH
Promoted via the play-offs, Norwich are always going to be the bookies’ favourites to go back whence they came.
But canny manager Alex Neil masterminded play-off victories over Ipswich and Middlesbrough and they will have enough defensive nous and goals to finish above at least four other teams.
In Cameron Jerome, Lewis Grabban, Gary Hooper and Bradley Johnson they have enough fire power to pierce most defences while the likes of England keeper John Ruddy, Alexander Tettey, Martin Olsson, Russell Martin and Steven Whittaker have enough experience at international level to squeeze the life out of misfiring attacks and harvest enough points to survive.
Last season: N/A
Predicted finish 2015-16: 16th
SOUTHAMPTON
Having apparently sold all their best players before the start of last season in the wake of manager Mauricio Pochettino’s departure to Spurs, the Saints were expected to be the Premier League whipping boys.
Derby fans were looking forward to having their horror season of 2007-8 wiped from the record. But Ronald Koeman was having none of that – and while local bitter rivals Portsmouth languished in the fourth tier, Southampton chalked up their best-ever Premier League finish.
At one stage it looked like Champions League football might be on the menu at St Marys but in the end, seventh place was enough to clinch a Europa League spot.
The summer exits have again been unkind to Koeman with Morgan Schneiderlin leaving for Manchester United, Toby Alderweireld opting to join Spurs after a season-long loan with Koeman and Nathaniel Clyne signing for Liverpool.
Big gaps to plug – but last season Koeman unearthed diamonds like Graziano Pelle, Sadio Mane and Dusan Tadic so who is to say new signings Juanami, and Cuco Martina won’t have the same effect?
And Koeman should have a fully-fit Jay Rodriguez back after missing the whole of last season with a knee injury, which will be as good as a new signing.
Last season: 7th
Predicted finish 2015-16: 9th
STOKE CITY
When Tony Pulis left Stoke two years ago after seven seasons in charge, many thought the club would implode.
Instead, Mark Hughes has guided the Potters to successive ninth place finishes – the club’s best in the Premier League – and the ex-Barcelona striker continues to attract Catalans.
The latest two - Moha El Ouriachi and Ibrahim Afellay– join Bojan and Marc Muniesa at the Britannia Stadium – along with Glen Johnson and Shay Given who will add huge experience in defence.
There are no genuine superstars at Stoke but they are incredibly hard to beat. The days of the long throw-in are well and truly over and last season they won at Manchester City and Spurs – and also put six goals past Liverpool.
Expect them to challenge for Europe this season as teams struggle “to do it against Stoke on a cold Tuesday in November.”
Last season: 9th
Predicted finish 2015-16: 7th
