My predictions for each PL Club 2024

Welcome back to my blog, and today I will be re-visiting a concept I dabbled in last year, which is attempting to predict one event that every Premier League (PL) Club will go through in 2023. While the results were astoundingly terrible, I feel that this year I have more experience and thus should be able to improve on my predictions this time. Without further ado, let’s get into the article.

Arsenal—The Gunners will reach the Champions League (CL) semi-finals and qualify for CL football again.

Last year, I predicted Arsenal to win the PL, but as we all know, that did not age too well. This year, however, I am sure that my somewhat outlandish prediction should age like fine wine. Arsenal are finally back in Europe’s elite competition, and I personally feel that they will do surprisingly well. I think they will make it to the semi-finals, where they will lose (again) to a dominant Bayern Munich. However, they will struggle to beat Aston Villa to a top 4 finish, leading to the Gunners finishing 5th but still qualifying for UCL football due to another qualifying spot being up for grabs in the PL for the 2024/25 CL season.

Aston Villa — Villa will win the Conference League and finish top 4

This prediction is quite straight-forward (in my humble opinion). Unai Emery is an European Cup specialist, and with Aston Villa doing extremely well this season, I feel they will be lifting the Conference League in May, beating someone like Frankfurt or Real betis in the final. They will also clinch an unprecedented 4th place finish, securing a spot in the new-look Champions League next season.

Bournemouth — The Cherries will be in a top 6 spot by New Year’s Eve

This is another prediction that could backfire spectacularly, but I think that Bournemouth are a club on the rise. They have an exceptional manager, as well as a talented and complete squad. The likes of Billing, Solanke, Tavernier and Kluivert should all impress this year, and will help drag the Cherries to a surprise top 6 spot by New Year’s Eve 2024.

Brentford — They will be bottom of the league by end of the year

This may come as a shock to some of you considering Brentford are hardly favourites for relegation, but I believe the Bees’ time in the top tier of English football is coming to an end. Thomas Frank’s side have now lost 5 in a row in the PL, and are struggling to recover their form from last season. The return of Ivan Toney should be a boost to the team, and will help keep them up this season (barely). However, I feel they will start next season off in terrible fashion, after selling Ivan Toney and signing an unsuitable replacement like Adam Armstrong or Cameron Archer. Loyalty towards Frank for his work so far will dissuade the owners from sacking him, which will then end up in the club being bottom of the league by the end of the year.

Brighton & Hove Albion — Roberto De Zerbi will leave for a bigger job

Brighton and RDZ are flying high this season, as they are currently 7th in the league and also in the Europa League knockouts after finishing first in their group. I expect the Seagulls to finish around 6th to 8th position and reach the Europa League final, which would be yet another successful campaign under RDZ. The Italian would then be tempted by a big managerial job like Bayern Munich or Newcastle, which would result in his departure.

Burnley — The club will be 16th-20th in the Championship by December

While I admire the way Kompany has stuck to his style of play in the PL despite undesirable results, the Clarets seem destined for relegation from the PL. The new Burnley owners would be far from pleased by this outcome, which would result in Kompany being sacked and replaced by someone totally unexpected like Frank Lampard or Graham Potter. This appointment will hardly inspire confidence in the players, and the Clarets will fail to recover the form which led to their Championship win last season, resulting in a dreadful 16th-20th position by Christmas.

Chelsea — Chelsea will have a new manager by next season

This prediction is also a fairly straightforward one — Chelsea under Pochettino are struggling, and the board will fail to see that their issues boil down to the fact that Chelsea sign players more often than they should. This repeated process of purging the club of deadwood and then replacing them with young, inexperienced players has led to their managers struggling to nail down a fixed starting 11, which is why they lack the ability to maintain any sort of decent form. Pochettino will continue to struggle with this, and lead the club to finish lower than the 12th they finished last season, leading to him being replaced either during the summer or during the first few games of the PL.

Crystal Palace — Olise, Eze and Franca will all leave in the summer

Predicting the Eagles’ three most talented players to leave in one window would be quite the shock to their fans, but hear me out. The Eagles have struggled to make any process in recent times; they continue to finish within the 11th-15th range in the PL every single season, failing to go beyond mid-table mediocrity and attempt to finish in the top-half. This lack of progress and continued mediocrity will lead to these three top talents decide simultaneously that their time with the club is up, and to pursue bigger things. Franca, in particular, has had a hard time getting game time at Palace and would want to move to another club where he can shine.

Everton — You will have a squad revamp through your new owner’s funding

Suggesting Everton are going to throw more money at marquee signings seems absurd after their infamous point deduction, but I think their new owners will keep them afloat (both in football and financially), allowing them to have a long overdue rebuild. Everton fans have gotten used to either chucking blasphemous amounts of money at overhyped flops, or buying short-term fixes (i.e. Andros Townsend) for nominal fees, but this summer will be different. Sean Dyche will make more youthful and talented signings, poaching players from relegated sides or smaller sides in Europe, and clear out some players who should have been gone years ago.

Fulham — You will finally replace Mitrovic with a quality striker

Fulham’s struggles in front of goal have been well documented this season, as they lack a reliable striker to link-up with their other talented attackers and score goals himself. Raul Jimenez has been blowing hot and cold, while their other options are quite mediocre. This lack of goals is what is holding back the Cottagers from qualifying for Europe, but this issue will be solved in the summer. The Cottagers will make a massive, big money signing who will actually thrive and succeed at Fulham next season. Someone like Brian Brobbey or Elye Wahi, who are young, talented and big names in the transfer market.

Liverpool — You will win the PL, FA Cup and Europa League

The Scousers have been in red-hot form this season, and look unstoppable at this moment. I think they will have a hugely successful season, winning a ‘treble’ of sorts through winning the FA Cup, Europa League and the PL. Many are doubtful if Liverpool can remain in the summit of the PL, but I think Jurgen Klopp’s men will have a tight three-way title race with Tottenham and Manchester City, and will finish just one point ahead of the Citizens. This would be bittersweet revenge for Liverpool, considering they have finished just one point behind champions City twice in the last 5 years.

Luton Town — The Hatters will stay up by 1 point

Rob Edwards has done quite well with Luton this year, despite his resources being quite limited and their squad being quite thin. The Englishman’s side have not been as terrible as many thought they would be, as they’ve played attractive football while also getting the odd result here and there to keep them in contention of staying up. Therefore, I am going completely rogue and saying they will somehow escape the drop by 1 measly point. Everton will struggle to get back in form and their 10 point deduction will prove costly as they will end up just 1 point away from safety, thus keeping Luton in the league for one more year.

Manchester City — City go trophyless

Techincally, Man City have won the Super Cup and Club World Cup this season, but I believe they will not win any other competitions this season. I think that they will rally a typical winning streak from February to May, but it will not be enough to catch up to Liverpool. As for the CL, they will be knocked out by Real Madrid or Bayern in what would be a dismal showing and another trademark City collapse in the CL.

Manchester United — Yet another stop gap striker will be signed

This is a depressing yet highly likely prediction. Manchester United and desperate last-ditch striker signings are a match made in heaven, with Odion Igahlo, Edinson Cavani and Wout Weghorst some of the recent last-minute, temporary arrivals who have walked into United sides in recent years. I believe yet another striker will be signed in either January or the summer, where ETH will have to beg the board for reinforcements before finally getting someone like Mehdi Taremi, Mauro Icardi or Paulo Dybala to supplement the attack. However, like always, they will either flop terribly or have short-lived success in an United shirt.

Newcastle United — The Magpies will finish 7th

This prediction is quite the U-turn from me, especially since I was adamant that Champions League football would return to St. James Park in the 2024/25 season. However, Newcastle’s form has plateaued tremendously in the past few months, and I think by the time they rally together and make a last minute attempt to get CL football, they will only manage a fairly disappointing 7th position finish.

Nottingham Forest — Nottingham Forest will finish/be in the top half

Call me crazy, but I think this Forest project might be getting somewhere this year. I was not a huge fan of Cooper being sacked in favour of Saudi League reject Nuno Santos, but I think he has been quite decent so far. He seems to know how to get the best of this Forest side, which is why I feel the Portuguese and his side will unexpectedly do well this year and either finish 2023/24 in the top 10, or be in the top 10 by Boxing day next season.

Sheffield United — Sunderland 2.0

I think Sheffield United will be facing a year from hell this year. They will definitely finish rock bottom of the league, and will then be rock bottom of the Championship by Christmas 2024. This will surely mean two consecutive relegations, just like Sunderland had to undergo two consecutive relegations in 2016–2018. A sad ending for a club that had the potential to do so well just a few years ago

Tottenham Hotspur — Ange will lead you to CL Football next season

This could be mildly surprising, but I doubt it will be unexpected come the end of the season. I think Tottenham’s January reinforcements will boost the squad and motivate them to go on a winning streak. Their rich run of form will surpass any other top 4 competitors and allow them to finish in the top 4 and qualify for the CL again.

West Ham United — another top 10 finish where you narrowly miss out on European football

The Hammers will finish in the top 10 yet again, but they will hardly be satisfied as they will be beaten to the European football spots by Manchester United and Newcastle United, finishing around 8th-10th and missing out on another European campaign.

Wolves — Gary O’Neil will be replaced by a big name like Gareth Southgate or Rudi Garcia

This may a bit shocking for the avid Gary O’Neil fans who are admirers of his work at Bournemouth, but I feel he will fail to impress both the Wolves fans and owners with a mediocre finish in the PL this season. He will fail to get his targets in during the transfer window, and his team will slump into the relegation zone by October, leading to his sacking. He will then be replaced by a shock big name like Rudi Garcia or even Gareth Southgate. Southgate will be out of a job after Euro 2024, and he has stated he might be open to managing a football club rather than renewing his FA Contract. Wolves might be the perfect choice for him, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he picks a club of their calibre to be his first job back in club football.

That’s all for this article, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know I have been quite inconsistent with the release of articles, but do be patient and let me know what else you would like me to cover so I can generate some cool article ideas. Till next time, adios!