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The Football Observatory, a research group based within the international Centre for Sports Studies (CIES), has predicted how the 2014/15 Premier League table will finish.
Few arguments will be made over their proposed top four, but there’s perhaps some strange claims – including the finishing spots for Swansea, Leicester and Sunderland!
In reverse order, here’s The Footballer Observatory’s predicted PL table.
20) QPR
19) Sunderland
18) Crystal Palace
17) Hull City
CIES reckon that Harry Redknapp’s QPR will be relegated having finished bottom of the table, along with Crystal Palace and Sunderland. The Black Cats only just managed to stay up last term, but are widely expected to be competitive this time around during Gus Poyet’s first full season in charge. Meanwhile, Steve Bruce’s Hull, who have spent more this summer than they ever have previously, are predicted to only stay up by their skin of the teeth.
16) Swansea
15) Aston Villa
14) Burnley
13) West Ham
Swansea have won their first three matches, and will surely be hoping for better than a 16th placed finish. Burnley would be more than happy with any finish above the relegation zone though, while few would argue with lower mid-table places for West Ham and Aston Villa.
12) West Brom
11) Newcastle United
10) Stoke City
9) Leicester City
CIES predict that newly promoted Leicester City will finish in the top half of the table, narrowly ahead of West Brom (who’d be more than happy with 12th) and Newcastle United – whose fans would probably be largely disappointed with 11th place.
8) Southampton
7) Tottenham
6) Everton
5) Manchester United
The Saints finished eighth last term, and despite selling nearly all their best players and losing their manager, CIES think they’ll repeat the feat in 2014/15. United who finished seventh, are predicted to leapfrog Spurs and Everton to fifth, which after spending ludicrous amounts of money in the transfer window, is the very least their fans would expect.
4) Arsenal
3) Liverpool
2) Manchester City
1) Chelsea
CIES reckon Chelsea will climb from last season’s 3rd to win the Premier League table ahead of rivals Manchester City and Liverpool – which seems to be the general consensus among many football fans early on in the season. Arsenal could finish fourth as usual, CIES predicts, ahead of Louis van Gaal’s United.
