Next weekend marks the start of the Most Important Sporting Competition In The Whole World, possibly excepting the World Cup: the English Premier League. Every year I predict who will finish where, and every year I forget what my prediction was. (My predictions are, apparently, eminently forgettable.) So this year, I'm writing it down. Here:
1. Arsenal
Yes, things will finally come together for the Gunners, and things will fall apart for their main rivals.
2. Man Utd
Close, but no cigar.
3. Chelsea
The wife's favourite team will have more than its share of problems, and their manager's verbal antics will lose a lot of their ability to distract.
4. City
They'll just barely squeak into the last UCL position, after another tumultuous season of melodrama on the sideline.
5. Spurs
Sure, why not?
6. Liverpool
My favourite team has really not inspired me to believe they can get back into Europe. Their signings, as much as their inability to retain the top people they've had (Suarez, Sterling...) reflect their diminishing status in the world of European football.
7. Saints
And this time, they won't start off surprisingly high in the standings and then fade; they'll just putter along slightly above mid-table.
8. who cares?
