Anyone want to predict next season's Premier League table? Here's mine (I think Forest, Burnley, and Sheffield United will be relegated this year, so they are not in the table. I also think Leicester, Ipswich, and Leeds will be promoted this year, so they're in the table): 1. Arsenal 2. Man City 3. Liverpool 4. Tottenham 5. Newcastle 6. Aston Villa 7. Bournemouth 8. Chelsea 9. Brighton 10. Man United 11. Crystal Palace 12. Leicester 13. West Ham 14. Wolves 15. Ipswich 16. Luton 17. Everton 18. Fulham 19. Leeds 20. Brentford
I also didn't mean to put this discussion under Barcelona, I had been reading the Barcelona vs PSG thread when I made this and forgot to change the discussion part, so my bad
Meh, Citeh will have won 6 of the past 7 epl championships by the end of this season. [For those scoring at home, that's ~86% of the championships over that timeframe.] Only should Pep develop an inability to stave off boredom can the unstoppable juggernaut that is the sole owner and hegemon of that one team league be stopped. All other teams are contending only to be runners-up/bridesmaids, at best. It is frankly, humiliating, for that league, and for some of those teams.
And the past is prologue for the present. Citeh has owned that 1 team league for years, without any signs or symptoms of abatement. Unless Pep gets bored with b!tch-slapping his footballing inferiors, it will continue. Unless Txiki develops a heroin habit, Citeh's sporting department and their oil money will continue to humiliate the rest of that farmers league.
Not sure if trolling or being serious. I feel like a basic requirement for labelling something a "one-team league" is for that one team not to be in third place at the time of the labelling.
Yeah, I'm needling the guy a bit, but let's be real: 1. Citeh's got a game in hand on POOl and ARSEnal. 2. Citeh are likely to have won 6 of the past 7 EPL championships by season's end. 3. Due to a combination of Oil money, AND intelligent squad building, they have the most depth in the game. 4. They have the best manager in the game. They own that league. [Amazing what intelligent squad building + some cash + good management can do, right?]
POOl crap their pants against a relegation struggler. Its already setting up for Pep/Citeh to win that league. Again.
Already? There's 4 rounds to go. The big match is Spurs v Arsenal. If the Gooners can win that then it becomes 50/50 imo.
https://www.premierleague.com/tables Given that Citeh have 2 games in hand, and given the form of the top teams in that league, the nature of the remaining fixtures, and given that Pep is their manager, yes, I believe that its setup for Citeh to win. ARSEnal still have spurs, to your point, but also, ManURE, who [snicker] think they have an outside chance at Europe next season, plus Ten Hag is trying to salvage his career. They also have a somewhat desperate Everton, who are trying to stay up. POOl's form has taken a crap in recent weeks. They have a tougher row to hoe, in that they still have both top 5 sides Villa and Spurs left. Spurs and Villa are both trying to secure UCL for themselves for next season, and that hasn't been confirmed either way. Citeh have midtable fodder in BHA, Fulham, and Wolves remaining; none of these clubs have anything, really to play for. They have a free win coming up vs Forest, and one tougher fixture away to spurs. Absent injuries or an unforeseen loss of form, they should easily pass POOl and ARSEnal, IMO. Citeh also were bounced by a bus parking operation from the UCL, and were bounced from something called the "Carabao Cup." They have what looks like a free win vs ManURE in their FA Cup, so a domestic double looks like their endgame this year.
I mean, its definitely a 2-team race now. Arsenal's remaining schedule is a bit tougher, but only because of what beckons this weekend for Arsenal (hence by caveat "if they beat Spurs..."). Excluding that game, I'd say City's is then more difficult. I mean, Everton? Come on. Have you seen Arsenal play lately in the league? They will absolutely tattoo Everton who will have nothing to play for on the final day of the season. Forest is actually a tougher opponent, and so is BHA. Some other factors/points: - I'm sure Spurs would love to roll over for City to screw Arsenal, but can they afford to while fighting for top 4? - Yeah, Man Utd still come up with a good game every now and then, so could be dangerous. But they also fall into the same category as most of City's opponents - nothing to play for (I don't see them fighting their hearts out to help City just for Europa League qualification). - City have Pep but Arsenal have the best player in the country (by a mile).
See, for me, I view it as: Towards the end of the season, the clubs that are closer to the top of the table and the clubs that are closer to the drop zone both have "reasons" for their best efforts. Therefore, these are the most dangerous foes to face towards the end of the season. For ARSEnal, they have 3 of their remaining 4 vs clubs near European qualification or near the drop: spurs, manURE, and Everton. Only Bournemouth are midtable fodder that have "nothing to play for." Therefore, 3 of the 4 remaining fixtures look to be against somewhat motivated sides; to be fair to ARSEnal, I do have my doubts about Spurs, which I'll disclose below. For Citeh, they have 6 fixtures, 4 of which are midtable fodder that have "nothing to play for:" BHA, Wolves, Fulham, and West Ham. Of the other two, Nottingham are a fvkcing mess with their spat against the FA and refereeing, so while they could otherwise be a motivated foe, I expect them to crumble, because of all the off the pitch bullshyte. Then there's Spurs, who should be a motivated foe, but unfortunately for them, their manager is an Aussie, and I don't rate any native English-speaking managers at all. Pep should give them a thorough hiding. So, of Citeh's last 6 matches, 5 should be easily winnable; the last is against a native English-speaking manager, so spurs should bottle it against Pep. In the end, I think Citeh will again rule england like tyrants. As usual.
I agree with that thinking, just disagree with your counting. Everton will already be easily safe by the time Arsenal plays them. And for Man Utd, you say "European qualification" but we are talking about Conference league or, at best, Europa League. Not a big motivation factor imo. They are also focused on FA Cup. So, I would say only 1 of Arsenal's remaining opponents have something big to play for compared to either 1 or 2 opponents of City (depending if Villa already clinches top 4 before City play Spurs).
Everton are an interesting case. Setting aside their points deduction, they're up-and-down. They can have spasms of competence [as in beating POOl], but then they still have a negative GD. They're also [mis]managed by an englishman, so that can't help. Looking at Everton's fixtures, they have: 1. Brentford, who need one more result [IMO] to secure survival, then 2. away to Luton, who are fighting for survival, then 3. A free win vs Sheffield, and then 4. ARSEnal. As I type this out, it could go either way for Everton before they face ARSEnal, IMO. By extension, this could impact the title race for the EPL. In the end, Citeh are still the more talented side, with the GOAT manager. I'm still leaning towards Citeh winning it, and then being able to laugh and point at that 1 team league. It'll be a nice diversion from Barca's myriad of problems.
POOl drop points to West Ham. They're done. It's all down to whether or not Citeh feel like it or not, IMO.
Meh, its not like this part of BS is subsumed by too many posts. And the OP is a newbie, so no big deal, IMO. Also, I've looked, and I cant even find the Other Teams Thread. (Shrugs) ANY sort of activity over here is a good thing, unless we're attacking one another.