Your Early Prem 23-24 Predictions

The 2022-2023 Premier League season was a surprise in many aspects, to say the least. The competition between sides on both ends of the table went down to the wire, with numerous twists and turns throughout the season. After dominating at the top of the table for 248 days of the season, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal slipped below Pep Guardiola’s and the league’s inevitable champions: Manchester City. In contrast, after winning the league just seven years ago, Leicester City saw themselves get relegated along with Southampton and Leeds United. This addictive Premier League season that has just concluded leaves fans impatient for more action in the next season. What will change? Who will dominate? Who will crumble? With that, here are our early predictions for the 2023-2024 Premier League season. 

Golden Boot: Erling Haaland

Out of all the predictions made in this article, this one is almost inevitable. Each year, strikers across the globe are intrigued by the possibility of experiencing Premier League competition, by far the most intense in Europe. This summer, it’s possible that we see the likes of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen or Juventus striker Dusan Vlahović join a Premier League side. With either of their presences, the league would definitely become more competitive. However, there’s only one tiny obstacle in the way, and it’s nothing but the goal-scoring machine himself: Manchester City striker Erling Haaland. In his Premier League debut, Haaland managed to bag a record-breaking 36 goals in 35 games. It’s a rare sight to see a City game without a goal scored by Halaand, and even if he doesn’t put a ball in the net, he always comes back in the next game and scores a brace or more. Regardless of which goalscorers make their way to England this summer, Halaand is going nowhere, and he will definitely be looking to win his second Golden Boot in a row next season. 

Manager of the Year: Roberto De Zerbi

In the 2022-2023 Premier League season, Newcastle’s Eddie Howe was handed the award for Manager of the Year. After leading Newcastle to a top-four finish and a spot in the Champions League for the first time in 40 years, the award just had to go to him. Backstage, however, Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi was doing something similar. After leading his team to a sixth-place finish this season, De Zerbi helped the club achieve European soccer for the first time in their history. Many might question what Brighton will look like next season, with centreback Levi Colwill heading back to Chelsea after his loan, midfielder Alexis Mac Allister confirming his departure to Liverpool, and defensive midfielder Moisés Caicedo rumored to be leaving for a big fee. However, if there is one club in the league that should not be phased by the departure of their three best players, it’s Brighton. Their scouting department is one of the best and was the same department that purchased the players above for minimal fees. They have probably already scouted the next crop of players to slot into the same roles that Colwill, Mac Allister, and Caicedo take up. With the money coming into the club and the success his team had this season, De Zerbi has plenty to build on for Brighton next season, so don’t be surprised if he ends up winning the Manager of the Year award. 

Young Player of the Year: Bukayo Saka

It’s safe to say that Arsenal fans won’t be happy with how their season ended, but if they were asked if they would take a second-place finish at the start of the season, they would’ve said yes in a heartbeat. Much of Arteta’s success came this season from the right side of the field, which is covered by stellar winger Bukayo Saka, who notched 14 goals and 11 assists in 38 matches in the league this season. Putting up these numbers at just 21 years of age is just a testament to his ability. For Arsenal, the disruption caused up front by the injury of forward Gabriel Jesus proved to be a big hit for them, but the one player that kept his performance and consistency up was Saka. These past few seasons, Saka has just been gaining more and more experience, and the jump in his numbers proves that. Next season, left-backs are still going to be occupied with his presence, and things could get scary for them with Saka on the wing. 

Europe Placements (Top Seven)

Every year, teams in the top half of the Premier League are vying for top four for a Champions League spot, and the top seven for a place in the lesser competitions, the Europa League and Europa Conference League. Compared to most years, the top four was decided early, determined with a few match days remaining. Surprisingly, usual sightings Chelsea and Liverpool failed to make this year’s top four as Arsenal’s young squad gave bright hopes for their future, and Newcastle managed to have dominant performances throughout the year. Liverpool, Brighton, and Aston Villa finished fifth, sixth, and seventh respectively leaving club powerhouses such as Tottenham and Chelsa in eighth and 12th. Tottenham and Chelsea fans were met with disappointing results as the clubs both had management issues that affected their style. These fans are hoping to have a bounce-back year with European placements. 

Manchester City

After a dominant second half of the season, Manchester City took the lead from Arsenal and secured the Premier League, something they’ve achieved five out of the past six years. It’s safe to say that this giant rules the Premier League, and one wouldn’t be surprised if they dominate next year and surpass 100 points.

Liverpool F.C.

After a terrible start to the season, they tried to make a second-half push into the top four but were too late. With many attacking options that should be ready to go by August, and transfer rumors to help their lackluster midfield, it’s hard to believe that Liverpool will finish outside the top three next season. 

Arsenal F.C.

Though Arsenal blew the title in the final third of the season, they have many reasons to be excited about next season. However, we haven’t seen how playing in both the Champions League and Premier League will affect Arsenal, which is why we expect them to drop one position.

Manchester United F.C.

Finishing third this year, manager Erik Ten Hag has assembled a Champions League-caliber team. Next year, we expect Manchester United to have the same result as Arsenal, moving down a spot due to Champions League matches and a bounce-back season from Liverpool. They’ll need some better defenders and a more consistent midfield if they want to make a shot at the title.Newcastle United F.C.

One of the most surprising finishes this year belonged to Newcastle. Though they don’t have huge names on paper, manager Eddie Howe drove his team to a Champions League spot this year. Next year, we expect Newcastle to do slightly worse, as they haven’t experienced a European tournament in a long time.

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea had a terrible season with huge managerial and player-related issues. However, they still have some bright, young players that can help push them back into Europe next year. As long as they stick with the same manager throughout most of the season and develop their players, Chelsea shouldn’t finish in the bottom half of the table again.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton had one of their best seasons to date and it was well deserved. They’re constantly improving and finding unknown talent such as forward Julio Enciso and midfielder Kaoru Mitoma. However, with transfer rumors speculating about midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, defensive midfielder Moses Caicedo and others, Brighton will lose some key players this summer. They should still place in Europe as other players will step up.

Relegation (Bottom 3)

This year, Leicester City, Leeds United, and Southampton were relegated from the Premier League, and surprisingly, all three sides promoted from the Championship dodged relegation. Everton had another close call, finishing just two points above relegation, and Nottingham Forest just four points above. Next year, we expect the relegation race to be just as close, with many teams trending in the wrong direction. Here are our expected bottom three teams next year:

A.F.C. Bournemouth

This one might come as a surprise and is the most unlikely of the three. However, they had a terrible end to this season that cannot go unnoticed. Losses to struggling teams such as Chelsea and Everton aren’t acceptable. They will also need to make some transfers as their defense can get torn apart in any given game.

Sheffield United

This comes as no surprise as it’s just another promoted team that will get relegated right away. Sheffield does not have the talent and skill to stay in the Premier League, and it will show when they struggle against opposing teams.

Luton Town F.C.

Lastly, we have Luton Town. Luton is just too small of a club to be competing in the Premiership. It would be a miracle if they don’t get relegated as every position seems to be weak for this team.