The Premier League is back! And I’m pretty sure I’m not the
only one excited to welcome back the most glamorous football league on the
planet after a three months break.
The 2015-16 season starts this weekend as the race to
dethrone Jose Mourinho’s side begins.
Manchester United, Manchester City,
Arsenal, Liverpool and even Tottenham Hotspurs are the regular favourites to
battle it out for the title but in all honesty, the first three look the part
more. Liverpool and Tottenham would likely be contented with a UEFA Champions
League qualification ticket come next May.
A point to note is that none of the top six teams have changed managers so this should be
a cracking year.
So who will be champions of the 2015-16 English Premier
League Season?
Will it be Chelsea?
It is difficult to look past the defending champions to go
all the way and repeat last season’s feat.
The Blues literally stroll to the
2014-15 title after a blistering start that saw the rest of the park chasing nothing
but shadows. They could even afford a few draws and losses in the closing weeks
in the face of a late Arsenal surge and still claimed the Champions medal with
weeks to spare.
Nothing much as changed at Stamford Bridge. They have retained the bulk of the title winning
squad with the departure of only two or three fringe players. Boasting one of the
EPL’s finest goalkeepers in Courtois, a master playmaker in Cesc Fabregas,
captained by the ageless John Terry all under the irrepressible management of
Jose Mourinho, Chelsea are battle ready.
If Diego Costa can overcome his injury struggles and Falcao
can redeem his image with a few goals, no other team might be able to stop the
Blues’ solid looking team.
The one weakness for Jose Mourinho’s side, aside selling a
top goalkeeper to strengthen a direct rival, could be the small size of his
personnel. A few injuries at once and the bridge may come crashing down.
Is it Arsenal’s year?
A lot of analysts seem to have come to the conclusion that
the Gunners acquisition of Petr Cech has suddenly made them title favourites.
That may not be far from the truth. One thing that is undisputable, though, is
that the Emirates giants have a good looking squad.
No other team in the division can boast of as many talent in
each position as Arsene Wenger’s side. Bar injuries, Santi Cazorla, Mesuit
Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Theo Walcott are some of the finest footballers in the
world. Each of those players would walk into the first team of virtually every
club in Europe.
It all remains to be seen how the manager keeps his large squad
busy and happy all season while reducing his perennial injury list.
Winning the
FA Cup two years in a row will surely improve the team’s confidence and getting one over
Chelsea in the Community Shield will also knock off the inferiority complex that had
been the bane of the side for so many years.
Yet Arsenal are guilty of not being able to maintain a title
winning momentum all season, usually bursting to life in the second half of the
season when the championship is all but decided.
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Maybe, just maybe, this year would be different.
Is Van Gaal and Manchester United ready?
There has been anything but calm in the Red Devils camp this
summer.
Top goalkeeper David De Gea insisted on joining Real Madrid or burst.
Robin Van Persie sold unceremoniously. Angel Di Maria went AWOL before
securing a move to PSG. Altogether, Van Gaal has had to do more talking on transfers than
actually preparing for the season.
However, the truth is, Di Maria didn’t play much of a
part during a dull season and may not be sorely missed. De Gea looks
likely to stay at least for one more season and the purchase of Memphis Depay
should inject fresh and creative blood in an attack that will be solely built
around English boy, Wayne Rooney.
Still Man United look a thin team with no replacement
yet for the departed forward players aside Depay.
In midfield, though, they
look stronger than most and the duo of Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger should
complement Herrera and Carrick well in that department. The defense remains Van Gaal’s biggest headache and is experiment with Blind at Center Back instead of
signing a capable leg may hunt the former champions as the season progresses.
Can Manchester City reclaim their glory?
It’s been a relatively quiet transfer period for the Blue
side of Manchester and it’s raising a few high brows as to whether the funds
have cease flowing.
But how do you improve a team that boasts last season’s top
goalscorer (Sergio Aguero claimed that with 26 goals) and the league’s best goalkeeper
(Joe Hart had 14 clean sheets)?
Yet with Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko joining Italian sides
over the summer, you’d expect Manuel Pellegrini to do more than just promoting
young lads from the reserves.
Nevertheless, Raheem Sterling, signed from Liverpool,
should add more bite to an attack that looked sleepy whenever Aguero was cooling
his feet on the injury table.
The defense isn’t looking pretty as well, with
Mangala and Kompany appearing far from comfortable playing together at the
back.
Yaya Toure, Fernandinho and Fernando now have a year together under their
belts so that irritating unfamiliarity that existed between the trio last
season should have been ironed out.
Motivation, not talent, is what this team
lack and should Pellegrini get his speeches right, who says Man city can’t
become champions again.
So who do you think will win this year’s English Premier
League season?
My cool bet is on
Arsenal. Comment below and join me on
@ImhonsSays if you disagree.