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Let us now look at the teams that will be qualifying for Europe in the Premier League this season. Fifth and sixth positions will qualify for the Europa League, whilst seventh place will qualify for the Europa Conference League. If Aston Villa go and win the Europa Conference League this season and also finish in these positions then we’ll also see eighth position qualifying for the Europa Conference League.
If you haven’t already read through my other predictions for the coming season then please check out my season’s bets as well as the previous parts to this article. Check out Premier League Predictions Part One, Premier League Predictions Part Two, and Premier League Predictions Part Three right now.
8th: Tottenham
With still no more news on Harry Kane and whether or not Bayern Munich will get their man, it’s hard to know what kind of season Tottenham will have. They finished 8th last season, just outside the European places. That was thanks largely to 3 losses in their final 5 matches. Tottenham scored bundles of goals last season with Kane being the second top goalscorer in the top flight. The problem was in defence and so far, in pre-season, it looks like the weakness is still very much there.
Spurs conceded a massive 63 goals last season. That’s nearly double what Manchester City conceded. It’s only five less than the relegated Leicester City and only five teams in the league conceded more. That shows you how important Kane staying or going will be to the London club.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have a very big squad and they have a lot of players going out on loan every season. In terms of transfer business, Tottenham have made the loan of Dejan Kulusevski a permanent one for around £26m. They’ve also signed Pedro Porro from Sporting for £34.5m. However, for that kind of money, you have to question where he will play. In pre-season, Porro has already looked poor at right-back.
James Maddison has also come in for £40m and 26-year-old goalkeeper Vicario has also been added. Maddison should be a good signing for Tottenham. He scored 10 goals for Leicester last season and also got 9 assists in what was a relegation season for his club. However, Maddison, like many other of Tottenham’s players, in my opinion, has a lack of grit about him.
I’m not sure Tottenham have enough desire to get stuck in and, in my opinion, I’ve not been impressed with the signings so far. Much will hinge on Kane but if they get a full season out of Son Heung-min and Richarlison then they could be like new signings and that alone could get them up and back into Europe.
Tottenham to Finish Outside the Top 6 @ 4/6 with William Hill promo code
7th: Aston Villa
It’s Aston Villa grabbing the Europa Conference League position (if they need it) as they are already competing in the event this season and could well do what West Ham did and get themselves a Europa League spot by lifting the trophy. It was a hard choice between 7th and 6th because I think they’ll have a similar type of season and they could interchange depending on future signings and players leaving.
Unai Emery’s men had a strong performance last season and finished in 7th and I think they’ll repeat it. However, it will be a successful campaign as I also think they’ll lift the Europa Conference trophy. Emery does love a European cup run after all!
The Villans relied heavily on the goals of Ollie Watkins and I think he will once again have a strong season. He scored 15 goals last season. More than double of second-placed Danny Ings, who has since joined West Ham. Jacob Ramsey also had a good season for Villa, scoring 6 goals and getting 7 assists. Whilst Emery has most definitely got the best out of Tyrone Mings since bringing him back into the team. Mings boasted the most interceptions and the most clearances for Villa last season.
Much like the other teams in Europe, Aston Villa have to make sure their squad depth is right for both Europa Conference League and Premier League football. I think they’ve made some absolutely cracking signings in Youri Tielemans and Moussa Diaby whilst Pau Torres will also shore up the defence. Whilst Emery must find the best position for Diaby, it’s encouraging to see that he has already scored his first goals for Villa in pre-season.
Premier League Top Scorer: Ollie Watkins e/w @ 33/1 with BetVictor promo code (Paying top 4 places at 1/4 odds)
6th: Newcastle
I have Newcastle finishing 6th, dropping 2 places from last season’s incredible performance. I have no doubts in my mind that Champions League football will mean a drop-off in Newcastle’s league form and I also feel that, much like some other teams last season, Newcastle profited from a poor Premier League season where many teams vastly under-performed.
I feel like Newcastle really went with momentum last season with the takeover and players really working hard to show their worth in a world where the owners could practically buy whomever they wanted. Callum Wilson performed wonders last season with 18 goals whilst Miguel Almiron also bagged 11 and Alexander Isak scored 10. I think Kieran Trippier is a real key player for Newcastle too. He managed 7 assists last season and he’s also right up there in terms of passes in the Premier League. In midfield, Bruno Guimaraes also had a solid season for Newcastle.
In terms of transfers, the Magpies have signed Sandro Tonali for £55m and Harvey Barnes for £38m. They’ve also let Chris Wood join Nottingham Forest after becoming surplus to requirements.
I feel like Newcastle will need Wilson to perform close to what he achieved last season for Newcastle to hit the levels of what some people expect from them. I’ve seen a few people saying that they’re a bet for the title but, in my opinion, they’re not even close to the top 3 as of right now. I think a good season for them will be a qualification into the knock-out stages of the Champions League and a top 6 league position to guarantee Europe once more.
Of course, they’ll want to get Champions League football again. I’m not sure they get to those heights quite yet. This is why I’ve avoided picking them as potential title winners in my Premier League outright betting tips article.
Newcastle Top Scorer: Callum Wilson @ 10/11 with Bet365 bonus code
5th: Chelsea
I think Chelsea will be the biggest jump of any team this season and I think they’ll get back into Europe too. Whilst I’m sure they’d rather be in Europe this season, perhaps it’s a good omen that they can focus 100% on the Premier League. They had an absolute stinker of a season last time out and you’d be hard-pressed to see that happen again. They can only go one way, surely?
Initially, with Chelsea, I thought that they’d not really improve much and scoring goals will once again be a big issue for them. However, the transfer business they have done has been exceptional. In fact, I think it’s been the best transfer business out of all 20 teams so far.
Chelsea have signed Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig for nearly £52m and Nicolas Jackson from Villareal for just under £26m. The pair have already shown a real partnership in pre-season as Chelsea won the Premier League Summer Series. More recently, Chelsea have also signed Angelo from Santos and Lesley Ugochukwu from Rennes. Chelsea have also released many players and got a huge amount of money off their salary books.
If Nkunku and Jackson can continue their partnership and Mykhailo Mudryk can fully blossom then Chelsea have every chance of making the top 5. Perhaps even the top 4. I think we’ll see goals aplenty for Chelsea. The complete opposite of what we saw last season.
Chelsea to Finish Top 4 @ 5/4 with Bet365
Do you agree with my picks here and in the previous parts? Head on over to our popular Premier League forum to tell us your 1-20 predictions.
All odds are accurate at the time of writing.
