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The start of the 2023/24 Premier League season is just around the corner and tomorrow we head into August with a return to top-flight football in England just a couple of weeks away. I’ve given you my Premier League outright betting tips for this coming season but I’d like to now give you my 1-20 placings for this coming season.
It’s my early prediction of how each team will fare in the 2023/24 campaign. Of course, there will be some more transfers from now until the start of the season and through until transfer deadline day but we’ll go with what we know as of right now. Let’s kick things off with the relegation scrap. Here are my Premier League football tips for positions 20th to 17th.
20th: Luton Town
Sorry Luton fans, I have you finishing bottom this season. Luton came up after winning the Championship play-offs. They beat Sunderland in the semi-finals and then Coventry in the final sealing their Premier League debut with a 6-5 penalty shoot-out victory. It’s an incredible achievement for a team like Luton who have a stadium capacity of just over 10,000. It’s easily the smallest ground in the Premier League and whilst that could be seen as a positive for home matches, I think it also limits them in doing things that the like of Brighton have done in the past and cementing themselves in the English top flight.
I think the Hatters will struggle for goals this season. Whilst Burnley and Sheffield United went up after scoring 87 and 73 goals respectively, Luton scored just 57 times in the second tier and they still conceded more than Burnley and the same as Sheffield United. They’ve brought into the club Mads Andersen, a big centre-back from Barnsley for £3.5m. They’ve also signed midfielder Tahith Chong from Birmingham for £4.7m and wingback Ryan Giles from Wolves for £5.9m. They are solid transfers for Rob Edwards and it’s made his side stronger but I still think that those players lack what they need this season.
Luton to Finish Bottom @ 11/8 with Bet365 bonus code
19th: Sheffield United
Not too original so far, I know. I think Sheffield United will also struggle. Largely because they’ve just not got the money to compete in this league, much like Luton. It seems like you do need a good £40m to £50m at least to find yourself the players to stay in this league and Sheffield United have bought just central midfielder Anis Slimane from Brondby for £2.7m and forward Benie Traore, a £4.6m purchase from Hacken. I’ve heard rumours of Kyle Walker going to the Blades but I just can’t see that happening and I think it would actually harm United with the wages he would be on.
Paul Heckingbottom’s team won promotion by finishing 2nd in the Championship last season. They scored 73 goals and conceded 39 goals. They were 10 points away from the title winners Burnley which is impressive given how dominant the Clarets were last year. They also got to the semi-finals of the FA Cup. Along the way, they beat Tottenham in the 5th round and were soundly beaten by Manchester City 3-0 in the last four. On the whole, it was a great season for the Yorkshire club but I cannot see them getting enough points to stay up.
Sheffield United to be Relegated @ 8/11 with BetVictor promo code
18th: Everton
A really tough decision for the final relegation place. It really is a toss-up for me between Wolves and Everton as to which one goes down. I’ve gone with Everton because of their lack of goals. They’ve not really strengthened too much this season with just Arnaut Danjuma coming in and a smart signing of Ashley Young on a free transfer. Danjuma may get them a few goals this season but, ultimately, they’re waiting on a return to fitness of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
If we look at the pre-season so far for Everton, the last four matches have been 1-0 wins over Wigan and Stoke, a 0-0 draw with Bolton, and a 1-1 draw with Tranmere. Whilst pre-season friendly matches are not going to make a difference in the new season, they do provide some scope into how attacking a team is going to be and I feel like the Toffees will once again be relying on home form.
Sean Dyche’s men finished 17th last season but the ‘last 10 games’ form had them 2nd from bottom ahead of only Chelsea. They scored just 34 goals in 38 matches (only Wolves were lower) and they conceded 57 goals. With no Southampton, Leeds, or Leicester around this season, Everton will have to make a fast start for them to stay up, in my opinion.
Everton to be Relegated @ 3/1 with William Hill promo code
17th: Wolves
Wolves come in at 17th place for me. It was very close to me having them as the final relegated team. In fact, I change my mind twice. It’s that close. It would not surprise me at all if we were to see Wolves go down after a poor season. Wolves had just 1 win in their first 9 matches last season and after half-way (19 games) they were 2nd from bottom with just 3 wins. So, for Wolves to go from there, to 13th position was quite an achievement. However, they’ve weakened in my opinion, so far.
Adama Traore, Joao Moutinho and Diego Costa have been released. Conor Coady and Nathan Collins have been sold from the defence. Ruben Neves, a huge player for them last season, has also been sold and they’ve signed just Boubacar Traore for £11m and Matheus Cunha for a staggering £50m, who was on loan last season. Although £50m seems expensive for a player that scored just 2 goals in 20 last season and 1 assist. I think Julen Lopetegui’s team will struggle and are a decent bet alongside Everton to be in that dreaded bottom 4 once again come the end of the season.
Wolves to be Relegated @ 13/4 with Unibet
The Premier League Predictions 2023/24 – Part Two takes a look at which teams we think will finish in places 16th to 13th.
All odds are accurate at the time of writing.
