Who will win the 2017-18 English Premier League?

[Muhammad10]

The season has just begun, and we have already seen some rather interesting games.

Who do you think will win the Premier League?

[MMHS]

I have voted for Liverpool, because I have to believe.

But, it'll be MU That bus driver has never missed in his 2nd season and he has bought 3 players who fits his strategy like the bottom of a basket - Pogba, Lukaku & Matic.

Pogba to win the PFA player of the year, Lukaku to score 25+ EPL goals & Jo Mou to get P45, by December 2019

(Life is disgusting sometimes ... today playboy killed his chance for a hat-trick at Bernabu next week, with own hands; but if he wasn't a Real player in Spain - he was gone till mid September, in any other league)

[Muhammad10]

Voted for Chelsea. I'm afraid City might pull it off, though.

[KingKhanWC]

Heart says Liverpool, head says Man City.

[KingKhanWC]

I have voted for Liverpool, because I have to believe.

But, it'll be MU That bus driver has never missed in his 2nd season and he has bought 3 players who fits his strategy like the bottom of a basket - Pogba, Lukaku & Matic.

Pogba to win the PFA player of the year, Lukaku to score 25+ EPL goals & Jo Mou to get P45, by December 2019

(Life is disgusting sometimes ... today playboy killed his chance for a hat-trick at Bernabu next week, with own hands; but if he wasn't a Real player in Spain - he was gone till mid September, in any other league)

Lakaku has gone missing in the big games in the past and this is his first season at Utd, 15-20 PL goals for me. Pogba and Matic have a lot to prove yet although Pogba is a serious talent Im not sure Jose knows exactly his role. Being a player who is a good defensive mid and also a good attacking mid can cause confusion which is why he sometimes is all over the pitch.

I think City have a better chance, the most dangerous attacking force in the league. The key will be how Company performs and if he can fit for most of the season.

Jose or Pep are in danger of losing their jobs if they fail to win this season.

[PakLFC]

MC for me as well. Liverpool are good outsiders if Klopp saheb can keep Coutinho bhai and add a few more faces before the window closes.

[PetroDollars]

MU for sure, Jose always uses his first season to adjust himself and shuts out all weaknesses in his second season and if we go by the first game, it seems he has found the perfect balance.

Lots of talk about Lukaku being a flat track bully, but he hit 25 goals for a midtable team with no service last season, Pogba is now flourishing with Matic, Herrera has entered his peak, Rashford is electric and Martial has a point to prove, heck even Henrikh has adjusted to life in the EPL, with such service Lukaku can go 30+ goals this season.

There are still some broken links though at the back, not convinced by Lindelof, have never been convinced by Smalling, however if Jones can stay fit he will be a powerhouse at the back and Rojo will be back by December.

It only leaves the LB position to be sorted, surly Shaw must be given a chance to prove himself there.

Therefore i dont see anyone other then MU winning the season, Chelsea seem to be struggling, Liverpool have had a poor transfer window, Arsenal still have lots of holes and there is huge pressure on Pep to deliver, his 3-5-2 system will never work in such an aggresive style, they will be exposed at the back, especially if Kompany gets injured.

[MMHS]

Lakaku has gone missing in the big games in the past and this is his first season at Utd, 15-20 PL goals for me. Pogba and Matic have a lot to prove yet although Pogba is a serious talent Im not sure Jose knows exactly his role. Being a player who is a good defensive mid and also a good attacking mid can cause confusion which is why he sometimes is all over the pitch.

I think City have a better chance, the most dangerous attacking force in the league. The key will be how Company performs and if he can fit for most of the season.

Jose or Pep are in danger of losing their jobs if they fail to win this season.

I think, Mou'll change his team a little in his boring system. Deschamps play Pogba pairing with Kante in same 4231 system, but Mou won't stick to that, because Pogba is more like Yaya - a dominating Box to Box CM, with excellent ball playing skills & shooting range with both feet.

He'll drop Mata or put him at wings and bring Pogba at centre of the park, paring Herrera with Matic as the 2 of double pivot and allow Pogba freedom to move around; he also has Carrick still as his Captain for the lower half. Pogba isn't disciplined enough to play as DM, but he is like a power dynamo for 90 minutes and extremely skillful (like Steve G was, but better skilled) - in terms of role, Mou'll make him No. 8, if not No. 10, instead of No. 6.

And, I think, shopping isn't finished yet - Mou'll buy another winger for his starting XI, for whatever it costs, he doesn't need to sell before buying & make some profit for his Yank bosses, like Klopp.

[Hasan123]

I think, Mou'll change his team a little in his boring system. Deschamps play Pogba pairing with Kante in same 4231 system, but Mou won't stick to that, because Pogba is more like Yaya - a dominating Box to Box CM, with excellent ball playing skills & shooting range with both feet.

He'll drop Mata or put him at wings and bring Pogba at centre of the park, paring Herrera with Matic as the 2 of double pivot and allow Pogba freedom to move around; he also has Carrick still as his Captain for the lower half. Pogba isn't disciplined enough to play as DM, but he is like a power dynamo for 90 minutes and extremely skillful (like Steve G was, but better skilled) - in terms of role, Mou'll make him No. 8, if not No. 10, instead of No. 6.

And, I think, shopping isn't finished yet - Mou'll buy another winger for his starting XI, for whatever it costs, he doesn't need to sell before buying & make some profit for his Yank bosses, like Klopp.

Think they can do better than Peresic, which winger do you think they could get and which winger would you recommend?

[Hasan123]

I'll go for City but wouldn't be surprised if Manchester United were champions come May.

[MMHS]

Think they can do better than Peresic, which winger do you think they could get and which winger would you recommend?

Mou knows who is best for his system, but I don't think he'll go for fresh blood or potential - Mou, Ancelotti doesn't work that way. Also, Mou probably doesn't like much of German players or league stars. If you ask me, my best bet is Grizzemann, but Athleti might not allow him to leave; could be one of PSG out casts, there are too many now.

Pep's team is very good, but he has bought too many star players competing same spot, might not end well.

[Sarfarazian92]

Voted for Chelsea. I'm afraid City might pull it off, though.

Chelsea's squad has no depth mate

[Abdullah719]

Chelsea's squad has no depth mate

Forget depth, halfway into the season we might not have enough to compile a starting XI...

[Sarfarazian92]

Forget depth, halfway into the season we might not have enough to compile a starting XI...

How much progress have Chelsea made with the Drinkwater deal

[Abdullah719]

How much progress have Chelsea made with the Drinkwater deal

None, I hope.

[Hasan123]

Mou knows who is best for his system, but I don't think he'll go for fresh blood or potential - Mou, Ancelotti doesn't work that way. Also, Mou probably doesn't like much of German players or league stars. If you ask me, my best bet is Grizzemann, but Athleti might not allow him to leave; could be one of PSG out casts, there are too many now.

Pep's team is very good, but he has bought too many star players competing same spot, might not end well.

Think it's too late to purchase Griezmann now as Athletico can't replace him. One of Draxler or Moura then?

Yes wouldn't be suprised if one of them left. Weird decision to have so many similar players but it does give them options off the bench.

[Muhammad10]

Chelsea's squad has no depth mate

True, but at least we have Conte.

[Sarfarazian92]

True, but at least we have Conte.

But how long will you have him for? Things aren't looking good between him and Abramovich

[Muhammad10]

But how long will you have him for? Things aren't looking good between him and Abramovich

Yes, the trigger-happy Russian is a worry. This is a very important season for Chelsea, since it will probably decide Conte's future at the club.

[IMMY69]

As an Arsenal supporter I have to go with my team.
However, both the Manchester teams look strong and I can see the title returning to Manchester.

[Sarfarazian92]

Yes, the trigger-happy Russian is a worry. This is a very important season for Chelsea, since it will probably decide Conte's future at the club.

I predict a mid-season sack for Mr. Conte.

[Muhammad10]

I predict a mid-season sack for Mr. Conte.

You never know with Roman. Chelsea are unreasonably impatient with their managers and keep chopping and changing, while Arsenal are arguably a bit too patient and overemphasise the importance of "stability" ahead of results. Two extremes.

[Sarfarazian92]

You never know with Roman. Chelsea are unreasonably impatient with their managers and keep chopping and changing, while Arsenal are arguably a bit too patient and overemphasise the importance of "stability" ahead of results. Two extremes.

Arsenal's owner doesn't give two hoots about progress and lacks ambition. He's satisfied with mediocrity and the revenue he's generating by finishing in the top4 every year.

Even though Abramovich is impatient with his managers, his decisions lead to championship winning campaigns eventually.

[Muhammad10]

Arsenal's owner doesn't give two hoots about progress and lacks ambition. He's satisfied with mediocrity and the revenue he's generating by finishing in the top4 every year.

Even though Abramovich is impatient with his managers, his decisions lead to championship winning campaigns eventually.

That's true. Arsenal and Liverpool seem to lack ambition these days. The likes of Chelsea and Manchester City are more results-oriented, thankfully for their fans. As a result, they have won far more meaningful titles in the last decade or so.

[proud_pakistani]

Gonna be a battle of Manchester. Man United have got a solid outfit now and their team is a proper Mourinho team which has in the past proven to being a winning formula in the premier league. That being said City have made massive investments as well and I can see them overcoming United as well.

What I think will be the result:

1 - Man City
2 - Man United
3 - Chelsea
4 - Liverpool

[London_Lahori]

I don't think we have enough unless Rashford/Martial have the types of breakout seasons that Ronaldo and Rooney had in 06/07. We'll need them to to chip in with 12-15 league goals each.

City have the best squad along with Chelsea, regardless of Conte throwing his toys out the pram (Costa situation is bizarre) and Spurs have a really good starting XI but haven't added any depth and moving to Wembley will be a challenge.

Arsenal and Liverpool have the same issues as last season, don't know if Arsenal have sorted out their soft underbelly and Liverpool haven't addressed CM or Defence.

I'd go for:

1. City
2. United
3. Chelsea
4. Arsenal/Spurs/Liverpool.

[Kianig89]

Manchester United

Jose has planned and purchased according to his strength an array of defenders who will dog out 1-0 at the latter end of season

Valencia Linderolf Bailly Blind

Shaw Smalling Rojo Darmian

He will rotate them come the next year and United to fight at all fronts #UCL EPL

[Justcrazy]

My Vote for Chelsea.

[MMHS]

Come on Yanks, now we are guaranteed $100mn richer - get your dusty cheque book out for once. Off load Coutinho for $125mn, Sakho for $40mn & add $95mn from pocket (still $5mn left from CL earnings) - pay whatever required to bring VVD, Renato Sanches, Auba & if possible another winger.

[MMHS]

The squads are finalized at least till January.

Based on current squad, I feel we have a very good chance of finishing in top 3 ahead of Spurs, Chelsea & Arsenal, if -

1. We are out of CL as 4th team (3rd means, we'll end at 6th, due to EUROPA, but Yanks won't mind, because they'll force Klopp to play 2nd team in EPL & try to qualify for CL via EUROPA)

2. We are out of both domestic cups by January (Something that took us to 4th spot this year, after Klopp used 29 kids in domestic Cups & we scrapped to 4th spot, from 1st on new years day)

3. If someone offers Yanks a decent profit to sell the club in January & we can bring 2/3 quality players at premium by end of Jan window.

At present, Klopp is punching well above the weight, but Salah, Mane can't run like this for twice a week for 90s minutes, particularly when the temperature comes down to freezing level & the playing surface becomes snow heavy - it's not Spain.

[Hasan123]

The squads are finalized at least till January.

Based on current squad, I feel we have a very good chance of finishing in top 3 ahead of Spurs, Chelsea & Arsenal, if -

1. We are out of CL as 4th team (3rd means, we'll end at 6th, due to EUROPA, but Yanks won't mind, because they'll force Klopp to play 2nd team in EPL & try to qualify for CL via EUROPA)

2. We are out of both domestic cups by January (Something that took us to 4th spot this year, after Klopp used 29 kids in domestic Cups & we scrapped to 4th spot, from 1st on new years day)

3. If someone offers Yanks a decent profit to sell the club in January & we can bring 2/3 quality players at premium by end of Jan window.

At present, Klopp is punching well above the weight, but Salah, Mane can't run like this for twice a week for 90s minutes, particularly when the temperature comes down to freezing level & the playing surface becomes snow heavy - it's not Spain.

You forgot to mention your rubbish CBs and GK.

[MMHS]

You forgot to mention your rubbish CBs and GK.

Klopp plays a pressing game, which can be managed if we have 4/5 speedy players constantly pressing with a high back line & players chase back once they lose the ball. Also, I don't think tactically, JK is mean enough like Mou or Ancellotti to shut down teams - we have to try & win it 3-2, rather than 1-0.

Matip, Lovren can work if they are fit (but the back up is Klavan & Gomez kid ), while Can has developed into a decent Box to Box CM.

GK: Migo
4: Clyne, Matip, Lovren, Robertson
2: Can, Milner/Henderson/Wijnaldum/Ox
3: Mane, Coutinho, Salah
1: Firmino
------------------------------------------------
Milner/Henderson/Wijnaldum/Ox; Sturridge, Moreno, Gomez, Solanki, Inggs, Ward

Isn't a bad starting XI, but the reserves at wings are too little. Klopp might play PC at wings in a desperate measures, but Lemar & VVD was essential for us.

[Eagle_Eye]

Liverpool

[WC-Passion]

Chelsea's squad isn't as thin as people think, we've got decent options in all positions:

GK:
Courtois, Caballero, Eduardo
CB:
Rudiger, Cahill, Luiz, Azpi, Christensen, Alonso
LWB:
Azpi, Alonso, Zappacosta, Kenedy
RWB:
Azpi, Zappacosta, Moses, Rudiger
CM:
Kante, Fabregas, Bakayoko, Luiz, Drinkwater, Musonda, Christensen, Scott
RW/RF:
Pedro, Willian, Musonda, Fabregas (RAM)
LW/LF:
Hazard, Pedro, Willian, Musonda, Kenedy
ST:
Hazard (False 9), Morata, Michy, (Costa?)

[MenInG]

Interesting prediction on

https://talksport.com/football/premi...september?p=19

[MMHS]

Chelsea's squad isn't as thin as people think, we've got decent options in all positions:

GK:
Courtois, Caballero, Eduardo
CB:
Rudiger, Cahill, Luiz, Azpi, Christensen, Alonso
LWB:
Azpi, Alonso, Zappacosta, Kenedy
RWB:
Azpi, Zappacosta, Moses, Rudiger
CM:
Kante, Fabregas, Bakayoko, Luiz, Drinkwater, Musonda, Christensen, Scott
RW/RF:
Pedro, Willian, Musonda, Fabregas (RAM)
LW/LF:
Hazard, Pedro, Willian, Musonda, Kenedy
ST:
Hazard (False 9), Morata, Michy, (Costa?)

Quality is definitely there - in fact, I back Conte to out smart Pep; but the depth isn't that much; might struggle in 4 tournaments. Also, Matic must have done some thing wrong to Roman's girl friend .........

The 2nd issue is dragging Costa - he should have been allowed to leave at some loss to keep mad house in check.

[MMHS]

Interesting prediction on

https://talksport.com/football/premi...september?p=19

I think, I agree with Top 1 & Top 4 (but, swap between Liverpool & Chelsea - FSG'll give bonus to Klopp, if he can give them EPL Title - that's 4th spot which is a package of $100mn - that's Moneybag, sorry Moneyball soccer). It might happen MU , CFC, MCity, Liverpool for me.

Spurs at 5 is fine, because P'tino is remarkably good with his squad (& they'll leave CL quickly ). Arsenal, I am not sure - Arsene is fantastic in his game, but looks like age has caught him finally. His squad is still excellent after gifting his Yank bosses a good transfer profit, but the team is disengaged, while Everton is damn good this year. 6-7, 7-6 doesn't matter much - these two should be there.

Only position I don't agree is Newcastle - despite a transfer nightmares, Mike Ashley has done one great thing, he has hired a Manager who won 2 La Liga for Valencia & made 2 CL Final with Liverpool, winning one. He was 3 minutes away from EPL title (Everton was leading 2-0 till 60th minute, CR made it 2-3 on 93rd minute, MU, won the title by 1 point) and in 2 weeks, he had results like 4-0 & 1-0 against Real, in between 4-1 at Old Traford. Rafa is the best tactician in the game & I back him to take NCastle in top half - he'll earn 35-38 points at St. James Park, for sure - rest are fairly accurate.
@Hasan123 @PakLFC @Markhor @Muhammad10

[Muhammad10]

I think, I agree with Top 1 & Top 4 (but, swap between Liverpool & Chelsea - FSG'll give bonus to Klopp, if he can give them EPL Title - that's 4th spot which is a package of $100mn - that's Moneybag, sorry Moneyball soccer). It might happen MU , CFC, MCity, Liverpool for me.

Spurs at 5 is fine, because P'tino is remarkably good with his squad (& they'll leave CL quickly ). Arsenal, I am not sure - Arsene is fantastic in his game, but looks like age has caught him finally. His squad is still excellent after gifting his Yank bosses a good transfer profit, but the team is disengaged, while Everton is damn good this year. 6-7, 7-6 doesn't matter much - these two should be there.

Only position I don't agree is Newcastle - despite a transfer nightmares, Mike Ashley has done one great thing, he has hired a Manager who won 2 La Liga for Valencia & made 2 CL Final with Liverpool, winning one. He was 3 minutes away from EPL title (Everton was leading 2-0 till 60th minute, CR made it 2-3 on 93rd minute, MU, won the title by 1 point) and in 2 weeks, he had results like 4-0 & 1-0 against Real, in between 4-1 at Old Traford. Rafa is the best tactician in the game & I back him to take NCastle in top half - he'll earn 35-38 points at St. James Park, for sure - rest are fairly accurate.
@Hasan123 @PakLFC @Markhor @Muhammad10

The teams look unpredictable this year. I think the two Manchester clubs (United and City) are favourites, while I think Spurs might surprise one of the bigger teams to make the top four again.

[Hasan123]

I think, I agree with Top 1 & Top 4 (but, swap between Liverpool & Chelsea - FSG'll give bonus to Klopp, if he can give them EPL Title - that's 4th spot which is a package of $100mn - that's Moneybag, sorry Moneyball soccer). It might happen MU , CFC, MCity, Liverpool for me.

Spurs at 5 is fine, because P'tino is remarkably good with his squad (& they'll leave CL quickly ). Arsenal, I am not sure - Arsene is fantastic in his game, but looks like age has caught him finally. His squad is still excellent after gifting his Yank bosses a good transfer profit, but the team is disengaged, while Everton is damn good this year. 6-7, 7-6 doesn't matter much - these two should be there.

Only position I don't agree is Newcastle - despite a transfer nightmares, Mike Ashley has done one great thing, he has hired a Manager who won 2 La Liga for Valencia & made 2 CL Final with Liverpool, winning one. He was 3 minutes away from EPL title (Everton was leading 2-0 till 60th minute, CR made it 2-3 on 93rd minute, MU, won the title by 1 point) and in 2 weeks, he had results like 4-0 & 1-0 against Real, in between 4-1 at Old Traford. Rafa is the best tactician in the game & I back him to take NCastle in top half - he'll earn 35-38 points at St. James Park, for sure - rest are fairly accurate.
@Hasan123 @PakLFC @Markhor @Muhammad10

I think Manchester United will win the tittle. I think we may sneak into the top 4. No matter how awful our form be, Wenger finds a run out of somewhere to save him.

[pakistanigoneaussie]

Heart: Arsenal ( lol i know )

Head - Man United


the old good thing about United winning this season is that it will probably be followed by a Mourinho meltdown next season

[WC-Passion]

Quality is definitely there - in fact, I back Conte to out smart Pep; but the depth isn't that much; might struggle in 4 tournaments. Also, Matic must have done some thing wrong to Roman's girl friend .........

The 2nd issue is dragging Costa - he should have been allowed to leave at some loss to keep mad house in check.

I doubt we'll progress far in both cups, I'm expecting to exit one of the cups after 2-3 games because it always happens no matter how are season is turning out for some reason (especially in the last few years).

I'm not sure what happened with Matic but the worst part is he wasn't even forced out of the club and he's gone and snaked us just to work with Mourinho again. Personally hope he gets exposed in big games again like he did last season, the guy was poor against Arsenal (twice), United and Liverpool. Despite this pundits think he's the best thing since sliced bread due to his screamer vs Spurs.

The Costa situation is even more bizarre than the Matic one was. Why we didn't just accept a bid of £20-30m for him when he was never going to play for us again (assuming everything Conte says is true) is mind boggling.

Also I'm confused at why people are so confident about United winning the league right now. They've faced Swansea, West Ham and Leicester!

[MMHS]

I doubt we'll progress far in both cups, I'm expecting to exit one of the cups after 2-3 games because it always happens no matter how are season is turning out for some reason (especially in the last few years).

I'm not sure what happened with Matic but the worst part is he wasn't even forced out of the club and he's gone and snaked us just to work with Mourinho again. Personally hope he gets exposed in big games again like he did last season, the guy was poor against Arsenal (twice), United and Liverpool. Despite this pundits think he's the best thing since sliced bread due to his screamer vs Spurs.

The Costa situation is even more bizarre than the Matic one was. Why we didn't just accept a bid of £20-30m for him when he was never going to play for us again (assuming everything Conte says is true) is mind boggling.

Also I'm confused at why people are so confident about United winning the league right now. They've faced Swansea, West Ham and Leicester!

That Bus driver never missed in his 2nd season & he is a bit thick skinned - to win, he won't stop doing anything & if required, he'll buy trophy. Once Mou's team has it's nose ahead, it's difficult to catch him. I think, he'll buy couple of starters in JAN & make sure that he scores 48 of the last 57 points, by playing ugly football. His last title winning Chelsea side was the ugliest Champion I have ever seen, but they won it with couple of games at hand & without Costa much in 2nd half.

[WC-Passion]

That Bus driver never missed in his 2nd season & he is a bit thick skinned - to win, he won't stop doing anything & if required, he'll buy trophy. Once Mou's team has it's nose ahead, it's difficult to catch him. I think, he'll buy couple of starters in JAN & make sure that he scores 48 of the last 57 points, by playing ugly football. His last title winning Chelsea side was the ugliest Champion I have ever seen, but they won it with couple of games at hand & without Costa much in 2nd half.

Yeah it's true Mourinho wins the title at least once by the end of the second season but I'm still not convinced about Lukaku and Matic. Lukaku was poor against Stoke and got lucky with his goal as it rebounded right back to him after the shot was saved, while Matic lost possession in key times and didn't really win the midfield battle for United, against a mediocre Stoke midfield.

Not sure how Mourinho is going to buy starters in January. Especially when they couldn't even sign Lindelof in January last season, it's unrealistic to expect anything more than squad players for top clubs to come in unless it's on a pre-contract or if a player is really unsettled (E.g Julian Draxler moving to PSG from Wolfsburg).

I don't think United can win the league playing like Chelsea did in 14/15 because they don't have a forward like Hazard who can carry their attack while the midfield and defence is just parked in front of the goal. Funnily enough, the smash and grab against United where Hazard scored the winner at the end of that season just shows how important he was was to winning the title when playing that style. They'll have to be more balanced in the way they play or else they'll end up having too many draws again.

I do agree it can be very hard to catch Mourinho teams when they have a lead but I'm not convinced that they can build one of significance just yet.

[MMHS]

Yeah it's true Mourinho wins the title at least once by the end of the second season but I'm still not convinced about Lukaku and Matic. Lukaku was poor against Stoke and got lucky with his goal as it rebounded right back to him after the shot was saved, while Matic lost possession in key times and didn't really win the midfield battle for United, against a mediocre Stoke midfield.

Not sure how Mourinho is going to buy starters in January. Especially when they couldn't even sign Lindelof in January last season, it's unrealistic to expect anything more than squad players for top clubs to come in unless it's on a pre-contract or if a player is really unsettled (E.g Julian Draxler moving to PSG from Wolfsburg).

I don't think United can win the league playing like Chelsea did in 14/15 because they don't have a forward like Hazard who can carry their attack while the midfield and defence is just parked in front of the goal. Funnily enough, the smash and grab against United where Hazard scored the winner at the end of that season just shows how important he was was to winning the title when playing that style. They'll have to be more balanced in the way they play or else they'll end up having too many draws again.

I do agree it can be very hard to catch Mourinho teams when they have a lead but I'm not convinced that they can build one of significance just yet.

What I see is lots of romanticism around Pep from every corner - but that guy hasn't done anything out side that wonderful Barca generation, that was given ready made to him. Remember, Bayern didn't renew his contract - in fact he was allowed to a pre-contract with MCity, means his days were counted at Munich within 2 years and they were sort of disappointed with him; these days Bayern Munich's manager has to be damn mediocre not to win domestic doubles!!!!

For a highly competitive league like EPL - more or less every where, at every level, in any sports, if you have 4/5 contenders & no free lunch; the golden line is - "offense wins matches, defense wins titles". Jo Mou will make his MU side almost water tight and he is happy to kick around for 1-0. Lukaku was bought for such money only for that purpose - if he doesn't improve his overall game, Mou'll send him at the hour mark to ram around tired defenders for 35 minutes. He has Ibra as well - what I see him is play possessional game for an hour with Pogba, Matic & Herera, keep score card clean banked on DDG and then unleash his beasts for the last quarter. In this team, he won't sell DDG even for 100mn!!!

Also, if he doesn't win the title this year, he'll not be able to show face & he is too cunning, egoistic to miss that. If he feels that he needs couple of players, he'll create some drama to force the MU Board open their vault for whatever required. Also, this guy is extremely good at exploiting teams under crisis - in his 1st time at Chelsea, he brought players from crisis teams & loaned them to lower half clubs who won't be able to play those players against CFC. I won't be surprised if one of Athletico wingers (Griezzmann or Carrasco or Correa) lands at Manchester in January. He might also use Pogba/Lukaku to "tap" one of French or Belize wingers at MU.

[PetroDollars]

Yeah it's true Mourinho wins the title at least once by the end of the second season but I'm still not convinced about Lukaku and Matic. Lukaku was poor against Stoke and got lucky with his goal as it rebounded right back to him after the shot was saved, while Matic lost possession in key times and didn't really win the midfield battle for United, against a mediocre Stoke midfield.

Not sure how Mourinho is going to buy starters in January. Especially when they couldn't even sign Lindelof in January last season, it's unrealistic to expect anything more than squad players for top clubs to come in unless it's on a pre-contract or if a player is really unsettled (E.g Julian Draxler moving to PSG from Wolfsburg).

I don't think United can win the league playing like Chelsea did in 14/15 because they don't have a forward like Hazard who can carry their attack while the midfield and defence is just parked in front of the goal. Funnily enough, the smash and grab against United where Hazard scored the winner at the end of that season just shows how important he was was to winning the title when playing that style. They'll have to be more balanced in the way they play or else they'll end up having too many draws again.

I do agree it can be very hard to catch Mourinho teams when they have a lead but I'm not convinced that they can build one of significance just yet.

I think the whole team was poor against Stroke, it just wasn't there day. The rhythm was spoiled by a change of formation. Henikh is wasted out wide and should be in the hole, thats where he becomes the assist master he is.

I have also been impressed by Martial this season, he looks soo much improved and looks soo dangerous when running at defenders with pace, so if Jose wants a Hazard type player, Martial fits the bill, plus also Rashford is getting better and better everyday.

[PetroDollars]

As for transfers, im pretty sure we will get Griezman in Jan. In fact its probably already a done deal as for Lindelof, we put plans to buy him off in Jan, because Phil Jones and Rojo suddenly hit top form.

[PetroDollars]

As for Pep and City, the hype was always going to be there due to there excessive spending, however big teams can easily expose them with the right strategy and tactics, just sit back, park the bus and hit there fragile defence with pace on the counter. All you need is a solid defence and pace to break and Jose has both.

Citys season will totally depend on Kompany, if he gets injured, there season is pretty much over.

[Amjid Javed]

Man City looked best equipped team to fire on all fronts and i think they will be able to balance playing PL and CL the most during the season and that will help them push for title. We will soon see how good Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool and United sqauds are now europe games are set to take place and balancing sqauds to play 3 times a week will show how good these sides are.

[WC-Passion]

Man City looked best equipped team to fire on all fronts and i think they will be able to balance playing PL and CL the most during the season and that will help them push for title. We will soon see how good Spurs, Chelsea, Liverpool and United sqauds are now europe games are set to take place and balancing sqauds to play 3 times a week will show how good these sides are.

Man City are best equipped? They barely have any holding CMs to choose from, while Kompany will never be fit for long and their CBs are poor. They only have 3 fullbacks too. The only depth they have is in the attacking midfield role and upfront.

[UN talkz]

Liv 1-1 Burnley
City 3-0 Watford

[MMHS]

I think, I agree with Top 1 & Top 4 (but, swap between Liverpool & Chelsea - FSG'll give bonus to Klopp, if he can give them EPL Title - that's 4th spot which is a package of $100mn - that's Moneybag, sorry Moneyball soccer). It might happen MU , CFC, MCity, Liverpool for me.

Spurs at 5 is fine, because P'tino is remarkably good with his squad (& they'll leave CL quickly ). Arsenal, I am not sure - Arsene is fantastic in his game, but looks like age has caught him finally. His squad is still excellent after gifting his Yank bosses a good transfer profit, but the team is disengaged, while Everton is damn good this year. 6-7, 7-6 doesn't matter much - these two should be there.

Only position I don't agree is Newcastle - despite a transfer nightmares, Mike Ashley has done one great thing, he has hired a Manager who won 2 La Liga for Valencia & made 2 CL Final with Liverpool, winning one. He was 3 minutes away from EPL title (Everton was leading 2-0 till 60th minute, CR made it 2-3 on 93rd minute, MU, won the title by 1 point) and in 2 weeks, he had results like 4-0 & 1-0 against Real, in between 4-1 at Old Traford. Rafa is the best tactician in the game & I back him to take NCastle in top half - he'll earn 35-38 points at St. James Park, for sure - rest are fairly accurate.
@Hasan123 @PakLFC @Markhor @Muhammad10

After 5 matches, Rafa's team is at 4th with 9 points.

[hadi123]

Looking like a three horse race between City, United and Chelsea. Arsenal are a shambles as always, Tottenham are struggling at Wembley and Liverpool look very shaky at the back

[talhajani]

Manchester City will win... because my favorite club...

[James]

Manchester United unfortunately.

[WC-Passion]

I think it's too early to say, this happened last season (United and City being hailed as the title winners already) and we were 8th and came out of nowhere to win the league.

[WC-Passion]

What I see is lots of romanticism around Pep from every corner - but that guy hasn't done anything out side that wonderful Barca generation, that was given ready made to him. Remember, Bayern didn't renew his contract - in fact he was allowed to a pre-contract with MCity, means his days were counted at Munich within 2 years and they were sort of disappointed with him; these days Bayern Munich's manager has to be damn mediocre not to win domestic doubles!!!!

For a highly competitive league like EPL - more or less every where, at every level, in any sports, if you have 4/5 contenders & no free lunch; the golden line is - "offense wins matches, defense wins titles". Jo Mou will make his MU side almost water tight and he is happy to kick around for 1-0. Lukaku was bought for such money only for that purpose - if he doesn't improve his overall game, Mou'll send him at the hour mark to ram around tired defenders for 35 minutes. He has Ibra as well - what I see him is play possessional game for an hour with Pogba, Matic & Herera, keep score card clean banked on DDG and then unleash his beasts for the last quarter. In this team, he won't sell DDG even for 100mn!!!

Also, if he doesn't win the title this year, he'll not be able to show face & he is too cunning, egoistic to miss that. If he feels that he needs couple of players, he'll create some drama to force the MU Board open their vault for whatever required. Also, this guy is extremely good at exploiting teams under crisis - in his 1st time at Chelsea, he brought players from crisis teams & loaned them to lower half clubs who won't be able to play those players against CFC. I won't be surprised if one of Athletico wingers (Griezzmann or Carrasco or Correa) lands at Manchester in January. He might also use Pogba/Lukaku to "tap" one of French or Belize wingers at MU.

Morata and Kante made Matic and Lukaku look amateur today, time for Jose to start crying for some signings in January?

[MMHS]

Morata and Kante made Matic and Lukaku look amateur today, time for Jose to start crying for some signings in January?

Morata was indeed fantastic. Kante is the best player in world for his spot and role, so no surprise there. I think, JO will spend big for a winger in Jan; probably for back line as well. Conte has spent almost 200mn on his EPL winning team, therefore it's no surprise actually.

[Mamoon]

Morata and Kante made Matic and Lukaku look amateur today, time for Jose to start crying for some signings in January?

Mourinho's best days are behind him. His football is outdated now. The Mourinho-Man United marriage is not going to have a happy ending. It could have been something special had SAF retired 3-4 years earlier with Mourinho taking over immediately.

[WC-Passion]

Mourinho's best days are behind him. His football is outdated now. The Mourinho-Man United marriage is not going to have a happy ending. It could have been something special had SAF retired 3-4 years earlier with Mourinho taking over immediately.

Wouldn't be surprised to seem him go to PSG, he's making it all about him right now and that's a big no no at a club like United.

Morata was indeed fantastic. Kante is the best player in world for his spot and role, so no surprise there. I think, JO will spend big for a winger in Jan; probably for back line as well. Conte has spent almost 200mn on his EPL winning team, therefore it's no surprise actually.

Either a winger or a number 10, criminal how Lingard and "Kagawa 2.0" are playing there ahead of Mata. Yes Conte has spent 200m or so, but net spend is also important. We've sold probably around 15 players, with some being key players (Matic 40m, Costa 55m, Oscar 52m, Ivanovic and Terry on free transfers).

[MMHS]

Wouldn't be surprised to seem him go to PSG, he's making it all about him right now and that's a big no no at a club like United.



Either a winger or a number 10, criminal how Lingard and "Kagawa 2.0" are playing there ahead of Mata. Yes Conte has spent 200m or so, but net spend is also important. We've sold probably around 15 players, with some being key players (Matic 40m, Costa 55m, Oscar 52m, Ivanovic and Terry on free transfers).

This window, net spending is around 90mn. Net spending is more important - no one knows that better than Liverpool fans

CHELSEA

IN
Alvaro Morata (Real Madrid, £70.6m)
Tiemoue Bakayoko (Monaco, £40m)
Antonio Rudiger (Roma, £31m)
Davide Zappacosta (Torino, £25m)
Ethan Ampadu (Exeter City, compensation to be agreed)
Willy Caballero (Manchester City, free)
Danny Drinkwater (Leicester, £30m)

=~200mn

OUT
Nemanja Matic (Manchester United, £40m)
Nathan Ake (Bournemouth £20m)
Juan Cuadrado (Juventus, £17m)
Asmir Begovic (Bournemouth, £10m)
Bertrand Traore (Lyon £8.8m)
Christian Atsu (Newcastle United, £6.2m)
Nathaniel Chalobah (Watford, £6m)
Dominic Solanke (Liverpool, tribunal fee)
Alex Kiwomya (Doncaster, undisclosed)
John Terry (Aston Villa, free)
Ola Aina (Hull City, loan)
Kasey Palmer (Huddersfield Town, loan)
Tammy Abraham (Swansea City, loan)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace, loan)
Lucas Piazon (Fulham, loan)
Marco van Ginkel (PSV Eindhoven, loan)
Kurt Zouma (Stoke City, loan)
Izzy Brown (Brighton, loan)
Tomas ***** (Fulham, loan)
Michael Hector (Hull City, loan)
Matt Miazga (Vitesse Arnhem, loan)
Lewis Baker (Middlesbrough, loan)
Jeremie Boga (Birmingham CIty, loan)
Fikayo Tomori (Hull City, loan)

=~108mn

[WC-Passion]

This window, net spending is around 90mn. Net spending is more important - no one knows that better than Liverpool fans

CHELSEA

IN
Alvaro Morata (Real Madrid, £70.6m)
Tiemoue Bakayoko (Monaco, £40m)
Antonio Rudiger (Roma, £31m)
Davide Zappacosta (Torino, £25m)
Ethan Ampadu (Exeter City, compensation to be agreed)
Willy Caballero (Manchester City, free)
Danny Drinkwater (Leicester, £30m)

=~200mn

OUT
Nemanja Matic (Manchester United, £40m)
Nathan Ake (Bournemouth £20m)
Juan Cuadrado (Juventus, £17m)
Asmir Begovic (Bournemouth, £10m)
Bertrand Traore (Lyon £8.8m)
Christian Atsu (Newcastle United, £6.2m)
Nathaniel Chalobah (Watford, £6m)
Dominic Solanke (Liverpool, tribunal fee)
Alex Kiwomya (Doncaster, undisclosed)
John Terry (Aston Villa, free)
Ola Aina (Hull City, loan)
Kasey Palmer (Huddersfield Town, loan)
Tammy Abraham (Swansea City, loan)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace, loan)
Lucas Piazon (Fulham, loan)
Marco van Ginkel (PSV Eindhoven, loan)
Kurt Zouma (Stoke City, loan)
Izzy Brown (Brighton, loan)
Tomas ***** (Fulham, loan)
Michael Hector (Hull City, loan)
Matt Miazga (Vitesse Arnhem, loan)
Lewis Baker (Middlesbrough, loan)
Jeremie Boga (Birmingham CIty, loan)
Fikayo Tomori (Hull City, loan)

=~108mn

£90m in this market gets you about 3 quality players at best.

We tend to make big sales in January for some reason, Ramires went to China for £20m, Costa to Madrid for £55m and Oscar to Shanghai for £52m, and this was while they were very recently important first team players.

The Ramires one baffles me to this day, brilliant box to box midfielder on his day and we sent him to rot in China for peanuts.

Also no idea why Tomas' last name is censored

[hadi123]

Man City are crowned champions!

[KingKhanWC]

Congratulations to Man City, fully deserved.

Where are these lot who voted for Man Utd to be champions?

adil_909,
big_gamer007,
ExplicitAI,
Greenstorm,
idrizzy,
Kianig89,
kingusama92,
London_Lahori, @PetroDollars,
Protea Fan,
TheSaint,
Yossarian

Good win for West Brom beating Man Utd 1-0 but too little too late, they are surely down.

[James]

What a dismal way to surrender the title from United, losing to West Brom at home. Have thought for a while that Liverpool would finish second to City and this seems to be gradually unfolding.