Liverpool bottle it, Man City trophyless, stubborn Amorim: One prediction per Premier League club
We are well into the second half of the season, with Arsenal and Liverpool competing for the Premier League title and the three promoted teams expected to go straight back down.
There is more to Our League than titles and relegation though; we have made a prediction for each of the 20 clubs for the second half of the season. Some are outlandish and others are a bit of a cop-out.
Arsenal: Major, major trophy win
Yes, here is the Arsenal fan saying Arsenal are going to win the Champions League or Premier League. What a surprise.
It is time for people to stop taking aim at Mikel Arteta over those pesky little domestic cups because he has bigger fish to fry. Instead of winning a major trophy, Arsenal are on course for a major, major trophy in 2024/25.
Okay, the red-tinted glasses are off but our prediction still stands.
Aston Villa: Champions League quarter-finalists
The TL;DR is that Aston Villa will have too much for Club Brugge or Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Ninth in the Premier League is not good enough, neither is one win from six and Villa are under pressure to rise up the table. But their form in Europe has been impressive and their journey won’t end in the last 16.
Reaching the Champions League quarter-finals would be one hell of an achievement and while we do think going one further is a possibility, Unai Emery’s side have to knock out Barcelona or Liverpool to get there.
Bournemouth: Andoni Iraola snubs Actual Real Madrid
Real Madrid and Bournemouth conducting business of any kind is still a really bizarre concept, even if the Cherries are an established Premier League side after five seasons in the top flight between 2015 and 2020. An even more bizarre concept is the current Bournemouth manager turning down the chance to join Real Madrid in favour of staying on the south coast. Yet, here we are.
Iraola is doing such an impressive job at Bournemouth that he is reportedly a managerial target for the European champions, who could be replacing Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season.
It would be a gargantuan move for Iraola and as a Spaniard, it will surely be a dream come true to manage them or Barcelona. Also as a Spaniard, he knows how much pressure is on the Real Madrid manager, especially from the extremely demanding fanbase. He has a cushty number at the Vitalty, why leave that for the most demanding job in football? Or is that Man Utd?
Brentford: Thomas Frank steps down
Let’s be clear, there is literally nothing to suggest this will happen and out of every prediction, this is surely the least likely to come true. There is just a weird feeling in my tummy that Frank might fancy a break from it all before joining a bigger club, perhaps even abroad.
The Dane has been linked with plenty but has never come close to leaving Brentford.
Brighton: The most middling season ever
Brighton are currently 10th, their goal difference is zero, they have 10 draws, six defeats and nine wins.
Is there a chance they finish 10th with a zero goal difference, winning 13, drawing 12 and losing 13? Of course there is. It would be so boring that it would be noteworthy.
We will quietly be rooting for this over anything for the next three months.
Chelsea: Europa Conference League winners
I mean, obviously… right? We can take the easy way out for one of the 20 teams…
Crystal Palace: More thriving in their irrelevance
There has been nothing noteworthy about Crystal Palace this season. Sure, they won at Old Trafford, but who doesn’t these days?
Their poor start was a surprise after an electric finish to 2023/24, but that is probably the only time Palace put their heads above the parapet. Since then, they have been ticking along just fine, producing no scalps, dropping silly points, playing okay football and doing enough to avoid a relegation scrap while doing nowhere near enough to make a push for Europe – which quite a few people predicted last summer.
They will continue on the same track as they have been for months. It’s going to be sooo unnoteworthy.
Everton: More Moyeseh magic
Everton fans are happy and neutral fans all of a sudden want them to do well. It is unchartered territory for everyone involved and comes down to one man: David William Moyes.
There is no reason why Moyes can’t lift Everton up to a respectable finish, perhaps even in the top half. The Toffees are primed to end the Goodison Park and enter the Bramley-Moore Dock eras on incredibly positive notes, which was unthinkable a month ago.
Fulham: European heartache
This could end up being a historic season for Fulham, who should fancy their chances in the FA Cup, which would be the first major trophy in their 146-year history. They are also in a strong position to qualify for European football via their finish in the Premier League.
Marco Silva’s men are currently eighth, above Aston Villa, Brighton, Tottenham and Manchester United. They play very tidy football but consistency is a problem. Three matches unbeaten became a 4-1 home defeat to Wolves, draws against Arsenal and Liverpool were followed by a goalless draw at home to Southampton and then you have defeats to underperforming sides like Man United and West Ham before beating high-flying Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest. Fulham are an enigma.
Dropping silly points will likely cost the Cottagers in their bid for European football. They could make amends with an FA Cup win but Man United away is not ideal, no matter how crap they are. Fulham will become true contenders if they get past Ruben Amorim’s side but once again, we think they will come up short.
Ipswich: Relegated and managerless by June
Kieran McKenna’s work at Portman Road has been unbelievable. He has shown superb ability to get Ipswich up the divisions, though keeping them in the top flight appears to be a step too far.
That does not surprise anyone and there will be no criticism of the club or their manager, who could feasibly step down and take on a bigger job at the end of the season. Even if they are relegated, the Ipswich hierarchy will want to keep McKenna; he signed a contract until 2038 after interest from Chelsea and Brighton last summer.
Those two clubs are unlikely to come calling again but there will surely be better offers on the table than a gruelling promotion push in the Championship.
Leicester: Relegated and managerless by May
While Ipswich might end up managerless because their boss can walk for a better job, Leicester will probably finish the campaign managerless after sacking theirs.
Ruud van Nistelrooy likely saw the Leicester job as a free hit with relegation inevitable but no matter who you manage, a relegation never looks good on your CV and if Steve Cooper’s dismissal was a shock, the Dutchman’s will not be.
It has been a chastening campaign for all three promoted clubs and they are all bound to make a swift return to the Championship. With Wolves likely to stretch their points advantage over the bottom three, we can see the Foxes’ relegation being confirmed at the end of April, with four games left.
Liverpool: From quad hopes to winning one trophy
Arne Slot’s first season at Liverpool has exceeded everyone’s expectations. Replacing Jurgen Klopp was supposed to be close to impossible but it has been a seamless transition, with the Reds favourites for the Premier League title, winners of the Champions League league phase and in the Carabao Cup final, where they will face Newcastle.
We would be stunned if they finish the season trophyless and unsurprisingly fancy them to win the Carabobbins but quite easily could not; on their day, the Magpies are a pretty handy side.
Hopes of a quadruple were sensationally dashed in the FA Cup at Plymouth and with Premier League title rivals Arsenal breathing down their neck, there is some uncertainty and nerves creeping in, which has been evident from the Reds’ recent performances.
Like with Arsenal, we have no clue which trophy it will be, but we reckon Liverpool will finish 2024/25 with only one piece of silverware. It will be squeaky bum time for us if they beat Newcastle.
Man City: Trophyless
The Premier League champions are out of the Champions League, lost in the Carabao Cup fourth round, have a strong chance of winning the FA Cup and are nowhere near league leaders Liverpool. Their only chance of silverware rests in the FA Cup and giant killers Plymouth in the last 16 is a very favourable tie.
Simply put, we don’t think they will win that competition, even though Liverpool and Arsenal are out. If they don’t, it will only be the second time Pep Guardiola has won diddly squat in a season.
Man Utd: Rubbish performances as Ruben Amorim persists
On one hand, fair play to Amorim for standing strong and persisting with his preferred formation, seeking to cut the deadweight who cannot play in his 3-4-2-1 when the season ends. On the other hand, it’s clearly not working and he really should adapt if he wants to avoid finishing 16th or lower.
He has come this far so Amorim is not going to change his formation, which means Man United are unlikely to improve, creating the strong possibility they mess up their Europa League and FA Cup chances and do indeed finish in the Premier League’s bottom five.
READ: Ruben Amorim needs way more than ‘two or three transfer windows’ to fix Man Utd
Newcastle: 2024/25’s nearly men
Having been coy about Liverpool, we are pretty much putting our neck on the line and saying they will bottle the Premier League and fail to win the Champions League here.
Newcastle are going to come agonisingly close to Champions League qualification through the league, will finish as runners-up in the Carabao Cup and won’t win the FA Cup. Sorry lads, but the trophy drought will continue. This random Scottish bloke has spoken.
Nottingham Forest: Champions League qualification and Wembley
What a bloody season it has been Nottingham Forest. They are currently third in the Premier League and in the last 16 of the FA Cup, where they will host Ipswich and, barring a draw against Man City, or possibly even Newcastle and revenge-bent Brighton, away from home in the last eight, they are pretty much guaranteed a semi-final at Wembley.
The race for Champions League football is tight and Forest could feasibly finish seventh, the place currently occupied by Newcastle. It really is anyone’s game from third down to Brighton in tenth. Forest have enough about them to finish in the top five though, which should be enough for a spot in Europe’s premier competition.
Southampton: Humiliated, but not Derby humiliated
Call us crazy, but we think Southampton will get relegated. We actually called them matching Derby’s humiliating 11-point haul from 2007/08 but we think they will get 12, maybe even 13 if they are feeling particularly adventurous.
Tottenham: Strong finish with healthy squad
For all the Ange sack talk, he simply refuses to lose his job, for which we have an incredible amount of respect. As he gets closer to the light at the end of the tunnel, Postecoglou is welcoming back more players every week, with Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson coming off the bench against Man United on Sunday, a game that saw James Maddison start and score on his comeback.
Tottenham have won back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time since September, when they funnily enough beat Brentford and the Red Devils. The 2-0 and 1-0 victories are also the first time they have won back-to-back league games to nil since October 2023 v Fulham and Luton.
With momentum shifting and less football to worry about, Spurs are set up for a decent finish to the season with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke among those still to return. Winning the Europa League would go down pretty well, we reckon.
West Ham: Drama of some kind, you’d think
Will Graham Potter walk months after joining? Maybe a dodgy takeover? Something to do with the sporting director nobody seems to get along with? West Ham are as unpredictable as they come and we are sitting on the fence, anticipating something really very stupid.
Wolves: Comfortably avoid relegation
Relegation battles are probably more enjoyable than title races – for neutrals anyway. Well, those meddling kids over at Molineux are going to deny us one, with this season’s ‘battle’ even more boring than the one in 2023/24, when all three promoted teams also went straight back down.
Wolves are better than Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton and will pick up points at a rate that will have all three relegation spots confirmed with games to spare.