It's back bitches! After a summer of nothing happening in the world of sport, apart from that Euro 2012 and those Olympics, the only game that matters is finally back. Things started well for Fulham (beating Norwich 5-0) and Swansea (winning 5-0 at QPR), and not so well for Man Utd, losing 1-0 to hoofball merchants Everton (I'm not bitter or anything). Anyway, here are my predictions:
1. Man Utd
2. Man City
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal
5. Tottenham
6. Liverpool
7. Newcastle Utd
8. Everton
9. Sunderland
10. Swansea
11. Aston Villa
12. Stoke City
13. West Ham
14. Fulham
15. West Brom
16. QPR
17. Norwich
18. Wigan
19. Southampton
20. Reading
FA Cup: Man City
League Cup: Chelsea
Champions League: Barcelona
Obviously, I'm not going to back against Man Utd, and as much as I'd like to see Man City crash and burn, that's not going to happen. Barcelona will probably win the Champions League again, even though most people are sick of them now (well, I am, at least).
I'm hoping for an entertaining season overall as most teams like to get the ball down and play attacking football, though there are still some scrappy long-ball merchants (you know who you are). I'm also hoping to see greater diversity in formations and tactics this season; Man City have been playing 3 at the back in pre-season, and Wigan ended last season that way. I think Man Utd will change formation more this season with the new signings, and the first weekend has already seen 3-5-2, 4-3-3, 4-4-2, and 4-1-2-1-2 (i.e. a diamond in midfield) formations.
The new player I'm most excited about seeing is Kagawa at Man Utd, who was excellent in Germany at Borussia Dortmund, and is a genuine attacking playmaker (a "number 10", if you will), the type of player Utd haven't had since Paul Scholes moved into a deeper position about 8 years ago.
My biggest fear is a return to about 5 years ago when it seemed that every team started playing a 4-5-1, especially away from home. I fear this because quite a few teams in the Premier League will be employing a 4-3-3 this season, and it's only a short step from 4-3-3 to 4-5-1.
In summary: football, bloody hell.
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