PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW 2011/12 PREDICTION

1. Manchester United

2. Chelsea

3. Manchester City

4. Liverpool

5. Arsenal

6. Everton

7. Tottenham

8. Fulham

9. Sunderland

10. Wolves

11. Stoke

12. WBA

13. Blackburn Rovers

14. QPR

15. Wigan Athletic

16. Bolton Wanderers

17. Swansea

18. Aston Villa

19. Newcastle United

20. Norwich

Premiership preview, table prediction: 1. Manchester United

Manchester United

Manchester United Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12

Manager: Sir Alex Ferguson

Ground: Old Trafford

Nickname: The Red Devils

Capacity: 76212

Squad:

Goalkeepers 1 David De Gea 29 Tomasz Kuszczak 34 Anders Lindegaard 40 Ben Amos ·         Defenders 3 Patrice Evra 4 Phil Jones 5 Rio Ferdinand 12 Chris Smalling 15 Nemanja Vidic 20 Fabio da Silva 21 Rafael da Silva 23 Jonny Evans Reece Brown

Midfielders 8 Anderson 11 Ryan Giggs 13 Ji-Sung Park 16 Michael Carrick 24 Darren Fletcher 28 Darron Gibson 35 Tom Cleverley 42 Paul Pogba 43 Matthew James 47 Oliver Norwood 49 Ravel Morrison Danny Drinkwater Attacking Midfielders 17 Nani 18 Ashley Young 25 Antonio Valencia

Forwards 7 Michael Owen 9 Dimitar Berbatov 10 Wayne Rooney 14 Javier Hernandez 19 Danny Welbeck 32 Mame Biram Diouf 41 Federico Macheda 41 Joshua King

Manchester United won the title last season. Sir Alex Ferguson has proved season after season that he got what it takes to bring United further and further in the right direction. I must say I was unsure about the United team, which have lost a lot of key players from last season, until I saw the community shield against Manchester City. My biggest concern with United was the goalkeeper De Gea and the weak central midfield (compared to the other big clubs) with Carrick, Anderson and Fletcher. I had wrong with the midfield it seems, yes it lacks creative players like they had in Scholes, but they got it on both sides in Nani and Young. One thing I nailed is the goalkeeper tho, De Gea is not ready for a big club like United yet, and yes he was poor in the community shield match. And yes for all you United fans out there, I know De Gea is one out the best talents out there, but his not ready for this level in years. I think Lindegaard might nick the goalkeeper spot some weeks into the season. That being said, United look dangerously good in offense and rock solid in defence. Tom Cleverly had a good season with Wigan last year and looked strong in the community match.

Pre-Season Fixtures/Results

July 13 vs New England Revolution 4-1 – Owen, Macheda (2), Park

July 20 vs Seattle Sounders 7-0 – Owen, Diouf, Rooney (3), Park, Obertan

July 23 vs Chicago Fire 3-1 – Rooney, Rafael, Nani

July 27 vs MLS All-Stars 4-0 Anderson, Park, Berbatov, Welbeck

July 30 vs Barcelona 2-1 Nani, Owen August

5th vs New York Cosmos 6-0- Scholes, Rooney (pen), Anderson, Welbeck, M Diouf (2)

August 7th vs Manchester City (Community Shield) 3-2 Smalling, Nani (2)

Players in

07/11 Tom Cleverley MF Wigan Athletic

07/11 De Gea GK Atlético Madrid

07/11 Mame Diouf FW Blackburn Rovers

07/11 Phil Jones DF Blackburn Rovers

07/11 Federico Macheda FW Sampdoria

07/11 Danny Welbeck FW Sunderland AFC

07/11 Ashley Young MF Aston Villa

Players out

08/11 Gabriel Obertan FW Newcastle United

07/11 Joshua King FW Bor. Mönchengladbach

06/11 Bebé FW Beşiktaş

06/11 Robert Brady MF Hull City

06/11 Wes Brown DF Sunderland AFC

06/11 John O'Shea DF Sunderland AFC

06/11 Ryan Tunnicliffe MF Peterborough United

Injuries:                                              Return date                       situation

Valencia (Luis Antonio)                  20th Aug 2011                   Ankle sprain

Hernández (Javier)                        31st Aug 2011                   Concussion       

Fletcher (Darren)                            20th Aug 2011                   Illness

Most likely starting lineup for Manchester United next weekend:

                                                  1 David De Gea

21 Rafael da Silva    5 Rio Ferdinand   15 Nemanja Vidic   3 Patrice Evra

                                     16 Michael Carrick           8 Anderson

18 Ashley Young                                                                           17 Nani

                                 10 Wayne Rooney          19 Danny Welbeck

With Sir Alex Ferguson still in charge Manchester United is still the team to beat. At the moment they look the strongest and it will be hard to stop them from getting league title number 20. Looking at the first 10 matches they are going up against all the other big clubs, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. Adding to that traveling to West Brom, Everton and Stoke is not the easiest away games in the league. If you ask me United could ether win or lose the title within the first 10 games. No matter United and Sir Alex Ferguson look ready for the task, and I predict them winning the clubs 20^th league title this season. 

Premiership preview, table prediction: 2.Chelsea

Chelsea

Chelsea Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12

Manager: Andre Villas-Boas

Ground: Stamford Bridge

Nickname: The Blues

Capacity: 42055

Squad:

Goalkeepers 1 Petr Cech 22 Ross Turnbull 30 Rhys Taylor 40 Henrique Hilario Matej Delac ·         Defenders 2 Branislav Ivanovic 3 Ashley Cole 4 David Luiz 4 Patrick van Aanholt 17 Jose Bosingwa 19 Paulo Ferreira 26 John Terry 33 Alex 34 Ryan Bertrand 47 Billy Clifford 62 Nathaniel Chalobah 63 Slobodan Rajkovic Ben Gordon

Midfielders 5 Michael Essien 7 Ramires 8 Frank Lampard 12 Mikel John Obi 15 Florent Malouda 17 Jacob Mellis 46 Josh McEachran 48 Conor Clifford 50 Aliu Djalo 51 Rohan Ince Oriol Romeu Attacking Midfielders 10 Yossi Benayoun

Forwards 9 Fernando Torres 11 Didier Drogba 21 Salomon Kalou 23 Daniel Sturridge 39 Nicolas Anelka 44 Gael Kakuta 58 Adam Phillip 64 Milan Lalkovic

Chelsea finished 2^nd last season behind champions Manchester United. I expect a similar season this year with Chelsea being United hardest competitors for the title. Chelsea have appointed manager Adre Villas-Boas during the summer, a young and upcoming manager which is compared to old Chelsea manger Jose Mourinho.  The question is if he can take control of Chelsea dressing room and make the players follow his system. A lot of newspapers are talking about Terry, Lampard, Drogba and Anelka having to much influence on the squad, which will make the job for Villas-Boas hard. I think Villas-Boas knows better and taking a treble with Porto last season is impressive for any manager. I believe he will produce the goods this season, but I’m not sure it’s enough to win the title.

Pre-Season Fixtures/Results

Jul 12 vs Wycombe Wanderers 3-0 – Benayoun, Torres, Rajkovic

July 16 vs Portsmouth 1-0 – Ben-Haim (og)

July 21 vs Malaysia XI 1-0 – Roslan (og)

July 24 vs Thailand XI 4-0 – Lampard, Bosingwa, Ivanovic, Malouda

July 27 vs Kitchee SC 4-0 – Lampard, Luzardo (own goal), Drogba, Sturridge

July 31 vs Aston Villa 2-0 McEachran, Torres

August 6 vs Rangers 3-1 Sturridge (2), Malouda

Players in

08/11 Romelu Lukaku FW RSC Anderlecht

07/11 Gaël Kakuta FW Fulham FC

07/11 Oriol Romeu FW FC Barcelona

07/11 Slobodan Rajković DF Vitesse

07/11 Daniel Sturridge FW Bolton Wanderers

Players out

08/11 Yuriy Zhirkov MF Anzhi Makhachkala

06/11 Jacopo Sala MF Hamburger SV

06/11 Gökhan Töre MF Hamburger SV

Villas-Boas have signed some interesting players already in Romelu Lukaku who is reported to be the new Drogba. That being said Sturridge also looks like a new player and have impressed hugh for the club in pre-season. Roumers are stating that Villas-Boas are still looking to bring in more players before the window closes.

Injuries:                         Return date                       situation

Essien (Michael)            7th Jan 2012                      Anterior cruciate ligament

Luiz (David)                   20th Aug 2011                   Knee injury

Sturridge (Daniel)          27th Aug 2011                   3 Match Ban

Most likely starting lineup for Chelsea next weekend:

   1 Petr Cech

2 Branislav Ivanovic        26 John Terry    33 Alex      3 Ashley Cole

  12 Mikel John            7 Ramires

                                                 8 Frank Lampard

10 Yossi Benayoun                                                                 21 Salomon Kalou

   11 Didier Drogba

Chelsea is looking strong as usual and if Villas-Boas get results from the start they will be difficult to beat this season. In my opinion they have the easiest opening of the season. They will be playing Stoke, West Brom, Norwich and Sunderland before they are going up against Manchester United. This should give Villas-Boas enough time to boost the confidence of his team to bed ready for United. I predict Chelsea finishing 2nd this year aswel, but could very well win the title this year.

Premiership preview, table prediction: 3. Manchester City

Manchester City

Manchester City  Barclays Premier League position preview 2011/12

Manager:  Roberto Mancini 

Ground: The City of Manchester Stadium

Nickname: City of The Blues

Capacity: 47726

Squad:

Goalkeepers 12 Stuart Taylor 25 Joe Hart 37 Gunnar Nielsen 63 Eirik Holmen Johansen Costel Pantilimon ·         Defenders 2 Micah Richards 4 Vincent Kompany 5 Pablo Zabaleta 6 Joleon Lescott 13 Aleksandar Kolarov 15 Stefan Savic 22 Gael Clichy 28 Kolo Toure 36 Wayne Bridge 38 Dedryck Boyata 44 Karim Rekik 56 Frederic Veseli 57 Reece Wabara Greg Cunningham Nedum Onuoha

Midfielders 7 James Milner 8 Shaun Wright-Phillips 11 Adam Johnson 18 Gareth Barry 20 Vladimir Weiss 21 David Silva 31 Gai Assulin 34 Nigel de Jong 36 Denis Suarez 42 Yaya Toure 53 Chris Chantler 62 Abdul Razak 64 Joan Angel Roman

Forwards 6 Emmanuel Adebayor 10 Edin Dzeko 14 Roque Santa Cruz 16 Sergio Aguero 32 Carlos Tevez 39 Craig Bellamy 43 Alex Nimely 45 Mario Balotelli 60 John Guidetti 66 Luca Scapuzzi

Manchester City finished in 3^rd place last season, and finally qualified for the champion’s league. Roberto Mancini is a quality manager and is looking to take the club in the right direction. That being said, he knows the owners have big expectations of this season both in the league and Europe. He knows poor results could cost him the job early in the season. The owners keep on pumping out money to strengthen the squad, and Manchester City have founds and a squad that few if none in the premiership can match at the moment. The question I’m asking; can Mancini manage to get the best out of the squad and make a team out of all the stars?

Pre-Season Fixtures/Results

July 16 vs Club America 2-0 – McGivern, Wright-Phillips

July 18 vs Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 – Guidetti, Wright-Phillips

July 24 vs LA Galaxy 1-1 – Balotelli

July 30 vs League of Ireland XI 3-0 Wright-Phillips, Johnson, Scapuzzi

July 31 vs Inter Milan 3-0 Balotelli, Dzeko, Johnson

August 7 vs Manchester United (Community Shield) 2-3 Lescott, Dzeko

Players in

07/11 Kun Agüero FW Atlético Madrid

07/11 Gael Clichy DF Arsenal FC  

07/11 Stefan Savić DF Partizan

Players out

07/11 Michael Johnson MF Leicester City

07/11 Jérôme Boateng DF Bayern München

06/11 Shay Given GK Aston Villa

06/11 John Guidetti FW FC Twente

06/11 Jô FW Internacional RS

06/11 Scott Kay MF Macclesfield Town

06/11 Shaleum Logan DF Brentford FC

06/11 Ryan McGivern DF Manchester City (R)

Most likely starting lineup for Manchester City next weekend:

25 Joe Hart

2 Micah Richards   4 Vincent Kompany   6 Joleon Lescott   13 Aleksandar Kolarov

7 James Milner                 34 Nigel de Jong              42 Yaya Toure   21 David Silva

10 Edin Dzeko   45 Mario Balotelli

Manchester City’s talisman from last season Carlos Tevez wants to leave the club and could give Mancini big problems this year if they can’t sell him. I don’t know if Tevez is motivated enough to play yet a good season for a club he has no intentions of staying with? And how does the rest of the squad react to his childish behavior. And the childish and immature player of the history in super talent Mario Balotelli is another big problem for Mancini this year. That being said he should have enough quality in the club to make up for the Tevez and Balotelli problems. And the owners won’t be waiting for success if Mancini can’t deliver progress this season as well. He could actually be one of the first managers to be sacked this season. I think City will finish in 3^rd spot as last year, so I believe Mancini needs success in the champion’s league if he is to remain at City further.