English Premier League Predictions (2021-2022)
Last year I predicted who was going to win the English Premier League. This year I am back to give you my predictions for the 2021-2022 EPL season. For starters the three teams that have moved up to the EPL this season are Brentford, Norwich City and Watford. The three teams that got relegated were Fulham, Sheffield United, and West Bromwich. Today I am going to give my predictions on how I see the table finishing out at the end of the last matchday. With that being said here are my predictions for the 2021-2022 EPL table and the leaders in each stat this season. Also make sure to check out the Yellow Card Podcast, links will be below for the latest episode.
Golden Boot Award
Contenders: Mo Salah, Jamie Vardy, Timo Werner
I think these three forwards will be in the running for the Golden Boot award in the Premier League this season. Vardy and Salah have won the award before and Timo Werner is a young talented striker on Chelsea. I think each has a shot at getting at least 20 goals in 2021-2022 and there can only be one golden boot winner for the Premier League.
Winner: Mo Salah
Golden Glove Award
Contenders: Alisson, Ederson, Edouard Mendy
All three of my contenders are on teams that finished within the top four in the 2020/2021 season. I think we will see a big bounce back year from Alisson this year for Liverpool. Ederson has been one of the top goaltenders in the league for the past four seasons. Mendy is going to be the starting goaltender for Chelsea, and if he keeps up the pace he was at last year this award could easily be his. Now for my friends that know me, I know what you are thinking. I can tell you though that what you are thinking is not the choice I am making.
Winner: Edouard Mendy
Manager Of The Season
Contenders: Jurgen Klopp, Mikel Arteta, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Jurgen Klopp won the award in 2019/2020 and with his Liverpool squad fully healthy I can see him being in the running. Mikel Arteta is another name I like due to the fact that Arsenal has one goal and one goal only this season. That goal is to get back to playing in the top European Competition. They are not in the Champions League or the Europa League this season. I think Arteta has a chance to get Arsenal back on track in 2021/2022. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is here because Manchester United has a young talented squad this season. They could be really great this year, but they are going to need their A game from Solskjaer.
Winner: Mikel Arteta
2021/2022 Premier League Table
League Winner
1.) Chelsea
The 2021/2022 EPL Champions will be none other than Chelsea. We are all excited in the beginning of the year last year due to all the moves that they made. After a year of developing chemistry, I believe that they will win their first league title since the 2016/2017 season. They won the Champions League last year and I truly believe that they are the team to beat this year. I still see them rumored with having the potential to acquire Romelu Lukaku, which would just be another weapon on this team. Watch out because if its anything like last season, I just called the 2021/2022 English Premier League Champion.
Champions League Bound
2.) Manchester United
This team will go as far as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will allow them to go. Manchester United is talented from top to bottom and got some huge additions this summer. They brought in Jadon Sancho to play along side some of their offensive weapons up front. Then you added Raphael Varane a fantastic center back which was a position you desperately needed to make a move in. United did all of the right things in the summer transfer window, now lets see if Ole can help get them over the hump of second place.
3.) Liverpool
Liverpool was hit with a plethora of injuries to their defense last season. Still managed to finish in third place in the league though. I do see the Liverpool team being better than they were a season ago, but besides signing Konate they didn’t do much in the transfer window. I think Alisson Becker will be much sharper and the defense will be better overall. Third place is like the worst case scenario for Liverpool to finish in my opinion. At the end of the day though with the teams that are ahead of you, I don’t hate the position for Liverpool, but this team when healthy still is a contender to win the English Premier League again.
4.) Manchester City
This season Manchester City looks even more lethal than a season ago. One thing that I am keeping an eye on though for Manchester City is the Champions League. It is the only thing that Pep Guardiola hasn’t won with the club yet. That is the focal point for Manchester City this year in my opinion. They added Jack Grealish, so you have to think they are going all out correct? Well I do think that, but I truly believe that they will be focusing on raising the Champions League Trophy more than winning their 4th English Premier League title in the last five seasons.
Europa League Bound
5.) Arsenal
Arsenal has nothing to worry about besides the English Premier League in 2021/2022. I think this is going to be a big time plus for them this year. They will end up just missing on Champions League for the 2022/2023 campaign. They will however head back to the Europa League in the 2022/2023 campaign though. Arteta better have this team in line to make a run this year, because if not he could easily be getting the pink slip. Look for Arsenal to be a team that could potentially sneak into the top four. As long as Arteta continues to focus on just the English Premier League.
6.) Leicester City
Brendan Rodgers has to be kicking himself over how the past two seasons have ended for them. Leicester City has been a top four team for the majority of the season in the last two seasons, only to lose it on the last matchday of the year. Also with names like James Maddison and Youri Tielemens potentially being on the move, it looks like Leicester contending for the Champions League might be out of the question. Kasper Schemichel is good enough to help keep this team in the top six, but they could easily be the team that takes the biggest drop in 2021/2022.
Contenders
7.) Leeds
Leeds was a tough team to play against last season. Biesla’s club added Junior Firpo from Barcelona and got a long term deal done with Jack Harrison. This Leeds team is going to continue to be dangerous in 2021/2022. We will see a big step forward from their 21 year old goaltender Illan Meslier. Patrick Bamford will be in the top five in goals scored, and we will see this team be one of the best defensive teams in all of the English Premier League in 2021/2022.
8.) West Ham United
West Ham was one of the more surprising stories in 2020/2021. I think West Ham will continue to be a solid overall team. Declan Rice is going to be the reason why West Ham’s defense will be stellar. They will add during the Winter transfer window, and will compete for a Europa League spot yet again. Also they have to focus on Europa League as well this year which is a big reason why I have them at 8th in the table.
9.) Tottenham
There are so many question marks with Tottenham this season. Who is staying? Who is going? Is Harry Kane going to play with Tottenham this season? Too many question marks for my liking, as I see them contending, but they will get in their own way all season long. Distractions off the pitch will cost this team until they figure out what they are doing with Harry Kane.
Middle Of The Pack
10.) Aston Villa
Even though they lost Jack Grealish, you bring in a guy like Danny Ings which could be one of the best low key moves from the transfer window. Villa will be solid, but I think they will lead the middle of the pack. The addition of Leon Bailey will help, but I do think they will take a step back with no Jack Grealish.
11.) Everton
The Rafa Benitez experiment is underway for Everton. Everton loses Carlo Ancelotti to Real Madrid, and I think that will be a huge loss for them this season. Losing guys like Theo Walcott and Bernard will hurt a little, but bringing back Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison right now is a big win for Everton. They will be a middle of the pack team, and hopefully Jordan Pickford can pickup where he left off in the 2020 Euros for Everton.
12.) Wolverhampton
Wolves are bringing in Benefica’s manager this season. I have hopes for them and hope that Raul Jimenez will be back to his form. The biggest hill that they will have to climb in 2021/2022 is trying to fill the void of their former starting goaltender Rui Patricio. Patricio is heading to Roma and Wolves need a immediate replacement. Jon Ruddy or Andreas Sondergaard isn’t it. Also we will hear about the potential move of Adama Traoe leaving the team all season long. This team isn’t as good as they have been in years past that is why I have them at number 12 in the table.
13.) Newcastle
Newcastle always played everyone tough for the most part last season. With guys like Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin on the squad, this team should be at least a middle of the pack team. Not really sold on them being higher than 13, but I can see this team being a pest in opposing teams side this year.
14.) Norwich City
The last time we saw this team in the English Premier League, they had one of their worst seasons ever. Norwich City will be a whole lot better than they were their last time that they were in the English Premier League. I think they have some serious potential to be a cinderella team this year. However, I have them at fourteen because I truly think that they are a better team than the teams below them.
Still Alive For 2022/2023
15.) Burnley
16.) Southampton
17.) Crystal Palace
Burnley is solid defensively and having Pope as their goaltender will single handedly keep them up in the English Premier League. Southampton losing Danny Ings is a big loss, but I think this team is still good enough to stay up in the EPL. Crystal Palace is on the verge in my opinion of getting relegated. They need to move Wilfred Zaha as soon as possible. He is too talented to be getting wasted at Crystal Palace. These three teams are still apart of the 2022/2023 EPL Table just barely though.
Relegation
18.) Brighton
19.) Watford
20.) Brentford
It will finally be the time that we see Brighton relegate to the EFL. I have been thinking that this was going to happen the last couple of seasons and I do think that this will be the year that they get relegated. Watford and Brentford go back down in my opinion, not sold 100 percent on either of those teams continuing to stay up in the English Premier League after this season.
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