It’s all said and done for the 2024/25 Premier League season so I wanted to take a look back at my power rankings and predictions from before the season began.
I want to take a moment to say that the end of the Premier League season was pretty tame. The bottom three were decided weeks ago, as were the winners. The one undecided factor was who takes the final Champions League spots, which provided some drama no doubt but overall an underwhelming end to the season.
Let’s work our way from the top down.
1st – Liverpool
My Prediction: Manchester City ❌
This was a boring, stock standard pick, but can you blame me? As I said in my prediction, City had dominated Europe for nearly a decade and their squad was barely touched from their winning 2023/24 campaign.
Hence why every man and their dog expected Man City to be the best team in the league this season.
Here’s what I had to say going into the season:
They did look vulnerable at times last season, but when it mattered most, they delivered. The only way that I can see Man City being dethroned as the kings of English football is if Mikel Arteta and Arsenal get out to a flying start and hold that pace for the rest of the season. But there is no doubt that Man City will also be as well-oiled as usual under Guardiola.
The only correct part of that statement was that they looked vulnerable at times the season prior, and we saw that creep into this season. They were far from a well-oiled machine this season and that’s proven by the fact they come away with no silverware and their equal worst finish under Guardiola since he took over.
2nd – Arsenal
My Prediction: Arsenal ✅
Bang on here, but also no surprises.
The reason why they haven’t been able to win is because they don’t have a prolific goal scorer. I said at the start of the season that they’re going to need that 20+ goals a season striker if they want to be crowned Premier League champions. They didn’t have a single player to crack double digits…
If they want to dethrone City, they are going to need an out-and-out striker. Alexander Isak might be the answer, but are they ready to pull the trigger and bring in the goal machine they need? After falling short two seasons in a row, this might be the final piece Arsenal needs to take down the City juggernaut.
I stand by that being the final piece of the puzzle, but as it turned out, for some reason unbeknown to me, they did not pull the trigger.
Another disappointing end to what was such a hopeful campaign for the Gunners. On the bright side, they still a better season than Spurs.
3rd – Manchester City
My Prediction: Liverpool ❌
My key question for Liverpool this year was; Can Slot maintain the high standards set by Klopp while imprinting his own style of play on the team?
To answer that, yes he did. He did all of that and I’d even say he went above and beyond because I don’t think even Liverpool fans were expecting this amount of success in Slot’s first year in charge.
After a very slow transfer window the squad was largely unchanged so credit to Slot for his instant impact. The way he managed the team, avoided injuries and implemented his style of play is how they were able to dominate in the league.
A deserved winner of EPL Manager of the Year.
4th – Chelsea
My Prediction: Aston Villa ❌
Aston Villa had the chance to settle for a decent season ahead of the final match day. Instead, a 2-0 loss to United bumped them out of Champions League qualification
Villa were up and down all season and ultimately, even though they played well in the Champions League it took its toll on them in the league. I questioned at the start of the season how would they handle midweek European football…
Perhaps the best team pound for pound last year with Unai Emery and his men produced a standout season, snagging 4th place and a Champions League spot. But was it a fluke, or are they really that good? To stay in the top 6, Emery will have to remain on his trajectory of being one of the best Managers in Europe. The big question for Villa is how they’ll handle the intense schedule that comes with European competition.
The 2023/24 was a standout, after their results this year, I don’t think it was a fluke but they definitely proved to punch above their weight when comparing it to the 2024/25 season.
5th – Newcastle
My Prediction: Chelsea ❌
Chelsea went one better than my prediction more so because of their hot start.
After a turbulent season they managed to hold onto a Champions League spot for next year. The season was very much reflective of the style of football they played.
Extremely chaotic.
I thought at the start of the year they had the potential to go higher than 5th and was nearly proven right as they got as high as 3rd on the table. But their consistency proved to be their downfall.
Still though, I don’t think I was too far off with my prediction for Maresca’s squad.
6th – Aston Villa
My Prediction: Spurs ❌
This is about where my predictions get derailed. I mean no one would’ve predicted Spurs losing 22 games and finishing 17th.
I do look back and wonder why I had them as high as 6th in the league. As an Arsenal fan I actually had some nice things to say about big Ange’s squad and I was made to look like an idiot… I guess that’s deserving.
7th – Nottingham Forest
My Prediction: Manchester United ❌
Another prediction where I valued the name of the club too highly. As soon as the front office decided to keep Ten Hag around they were destined to fall off.
My question for United going into the season was whether or not Ten Hag could turn it around… That was answered on October 29th when he got the sack.
8th – Brighton
My Prediction: Newcastle ❌
I wouldn’t say Liverpool overachieved by winning the league, it was unexpected but still a possibility with the squad they had. Newcastle on the other hand are my biggest overachievers of the season.
Securing Champions league and winning the EFL Cup, it’s going to be tough for Eddie Howe to top this next season.
Originally I had them down in eighth because there was so much uncertainty coming out of the summer window. Was Alexander Isak going to stay? Can they keep Anthony Gordon? If they could keep these key cogs and take advantage of a lighter schedule, I did think they could do much better than eighth.
If Howe can land some big names while retaining his stars, plus no European football this year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Newcastle be very competitive in the top half of the table.
They were indeed very competitive in the top half of the table.
9th – Bournemouth
My Prediction: West Ham ❌
Fans had high hopes for the Hammers this season after a decent transfer window. I liked the make-up of their squad and in a new era for the club there was some hope that they could crack the top 10.
With the squad that they have it’s hard not to see them making the top 10 but they should be aiming for more and have their eyes set on playing European football.
A 14th place finish isn’t exactly where fans would’ve liked to see their club in.
10th – Brentford
My Prediction: Crystal Palace ❌
Crystal Palace was another side I thought had a lot of upside and there was plenty of buzz around the club.
They settled for 12th but I wasn’t too far off and was proven right about their potential when they bought home the clubs first major trophy in their long history beating Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
The void that Micael Olise left was quickly filled by Eze who was the stand out for Crystal Palace this season.
Take a look at the winning moments and what it meant to Palace fans.
How about this moment from a longtime supporter.
Now that we’ve rounded off the top 10, the only thing left that people care about is the relegation battle.
11th – Brentford
My Prediction: Bournemouth ❌
12th – Crystal Palace
My Prediction: Brighton ❌
13th – Everton
My Prediction: Brentford ❌
14th – West Ham
My Prediction: Wolves ❌
15th – Manchester United
My Prediction: Fulham ❌
16th – Wolves
My Prediction: Everton ❌
17th – Tottenham
My Prediction: Leicester ❌
18th – Leicester
My Prediction: Nottingham Forest ❌
This is a result I’m happy to put my hand up and say I was wrong and I’m glad I was wrong.
In my preview I mentioned they has shown some potential in the 2023/24 season and when they faced relegation they were able to dig deep and fight there way out.
So there were signs, but not enough to even think about putting them in the top 10.
It was their defence that let has let them down in the past,
Scoring goals wasn’t an issue last year, it was the defence that let them down. Starting three different keepers last year didn’t help. Forest needs to find some consistency in their shot-stopping department and hope they can improve on last year.
Obviously, Nuno Espirito acknowledged this and found a solution. They had no issues scoring goals with our very own Chris Wood leading the charge.
In February, Forest would’ve had their eye on Champions League football. But a rough stretch of results saw them drop to seventh on the ladder.
An amazing season nonetheless.
19th – Ipswich Town
My Prediction: Ipswich Town ✅
One step too many for the Tractor Boys.
After receiving back-to-back promotions from League 1 to the Championship then to the Prem, Ipswich will head back to the Championship next season.
It was always going to be tough for McKenna’s side to battle it out with the elite.
Here’s what I had to say about Ipswich’s season;
They will score plenty of goals, but if the Tractor Boys want to stay competitive they’re going to need to tighten up on the defensive end.
The did not score plenty of goals and they did not tighten up on the defensive end. A goal difference of -46 was their demise.
20th – Southampton
My Prediction: Southampton ✅
Southampton were always destined to go down. Managing just two wins all season long, totalling 12 league points they only just dodged the worst point scoring season in the history of the Premier League.
Derby County could only manage 11 points in their 2007/08 season.
I do appreciate the sh*thousery Southampton bring to the league though. Watch them mock City after a 0-0 draw late in the season.
Getting trolled by Southampton could be the worst thing to happen to City this season.
That’s a wrap on the 2024/25 Premier League season, I’ll be back in a couple of months to run it back and do it all again.
Come on you Gunners!