With the 2023/24 Premier League campaign upon us, our pundits give their predictions for this season.
Owen Hargreaves
Champions
It will be Manchester City again. They're far too strong. Obviously the depth of the Premier League is improving, but I just think Man City are a little bit ahead with the quality of players that they have and Pep Guardiola at the helm.
Top four
Arsenal will be in there, Manchester United, and Liverpool will bounce back.
Golden Boot winner
Erling Haaland is just too good. With all the firepower behind him and Kevin De Bruyne back to his best, Haaland will break his [own] scoring record.
Signing of the season
Goalkeeper Andre Onana at Man Utd. People will be blown away by the way he plays, how good he is with his feet. He's a fantastic shot-stopper as well. He's got great size, great presence. He's been very successful in the leagues that he's played in and he's going to become a leader.
Surprise performer
Aston Villa. Under Unai Emery, they've been fantastic. Defensively they're one of the best teams in the league since he took over. They're going to improve offensively and will be hard to play against. They've added some fantastic players. Of the promoted clubs, Burnley will do the best and under Vincent Kompany they have played some fantastic football.
Clubs that could underperform
I fear for Chelsea the most. In terms of the loss of experienced players, it's [now] a relatively young team. They'll be good eventually, but losing that experience, they're a little bit light in midfield at the moment.
Looking forward to watching
Brighton & Hove Albion again. The football [Roberto] De Zerbi plays is just brilliant, the way they play from the back, the way the centre-backs just stand still and kind of wait, then pass forward and just go in transition. Kaoru Mitoma’s going to have another amazing season.
Player of the Season
This is a tough one as we have so many amazing players. Obviously, everybody says Haaland, but Mohamed Salah could be in there. I'm going to go with Haaland again, though. I just think his numbers will blow everybody away.
