Premier League predictions: Title winners, top 4, relegation, and more

In the blink of an eye, we're back. After a hectic summer, the 2024-25 Premier League campaign kicks off Friday. We peer into our crystal ball to predict what'll happen in the top flight of English football this season.

Title winners

Anthony Lopopolo: Manchester City. They remain little changed from last season, but that's because they already have the depth they need to sustain another title challenge. Consider that this may also be the last hurrah for Pep Guardiola and Kevin De Bruyne. They'll do everything to leave on top. Arsenal will fight until the end, as they did last season, and would finish first in virtually any other era.

Daniel Rouse: Arsenal. Arsenal played better football than Manchester City throughout last season. Mikel Arteta's side will also benefit from the experience and hurt of its near-misses in battles with Guardiola's men. And while the Gunners come of age, City's long-serving players might struggle to reach their usual levels of intensity during the business end of the campaign.

Champions League places

Lopopolo: Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa. Tottenham will reclaim a Champions League berth after finding the balance they lacked during Ange Postecoglou's first season in charge. Aston Villa have done a good job reinforcing their squad, and the depth will help them stave off Liverpool, who'll endure a year of growing pains under Arne Slot.

Rouse: Arsenal, Manchester City, Liverpool, Newcastle United. Slot should expect more productivity from his attack - especially from the likes of Diogo Jota (if he stays fit) and Cody Gakpo - than it mustered last season under Jurgen Klopp. Meanwhile, Newcastle will benefit from having no European football on the calendar.

Relegated clubs

Lopopolo: Everton, Wolverhampton, Nottingham Forest. Everton sacrificed their best midfielder, Amadou Onana, to fund transfers, and while Jake O'Brien is a promising defensive signing, it's addition by subtraction. The Toffees have had two takeovers fail and are facing the threat of another points deduction. Wolverhampton are in no better shape. They sold captain Max Kilman and Pedro Neto and are poorer off than the edition that finished last season with one win in 11 matches. Nottingham Forest continue to lack cohesion and remain relegation fodder.

Rouse: Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Nottingham Forest. The financial constraints at Leicester have resulted in a fairly bleak transfer window to date, which includes the destabilizing exit of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to Chelsea. Ipswich Town - like Luton Town before them - are a well-managed but it feels their promotion came too soon. Meanwhile, Forest have half a team of quality players who are habitually let down by the dross around them (and in the dugout).

Full predicted table

PFA Player of the Year

Lopopolo: Rodri. There's a reason City rarely lose when Rodri is in the lineup. He's a finalist for the 2024 award, and while he may lose out to teammate Haaland this time around, the Spanish midfielder will continue to show his elegance on the ball and impeccable timing off it as City march to another title.

Rouse: Martin Odegaard. The Norwegian playmaker provided more key passes from open play than any other player during the 2023-24 Premier League campaign and promises plenty of assists this season. His return of eight goals from midfield last term was also poor by his standards - expect him to improve that tally this time around.

Golden Boot winner

Lopopolo: Ollie Watkins. Villa's marksman scored all 19 of his Premier League goals last season from open play, proving himself as one of the league's best poachers. With Villa set to take another step forward in their evolution and continued support on the flanks and in midfield, Watkins will get plenty more opportunities to build on that total.

Rouse: Erling Haaland. Savinho, the latest winger to join Manchester City, dominated his rivals for successful take-ons in La Liga last season and ranked second for passes into the penalty area. He's yet another player who will open up space for Haaland while also improving the service to the Norwegian marksman. So much at City is geared toward supplying Haaland with goals.

Best signing

Lopopolo: Amadou Onana. Villa have signed an incredible two-way midfielder who, at 22 years old, hasn't even entered his proverbial prime. He's added discipline to a once-raw game that forced too many looks from the referee, and he can carry the ball and win possession equally well. Onana will help drive Villa's transitional play, break up opposition attacks, and take the burden off of his more attack-minded teammates. Every top-level side needs a strong and intelligent pivot, and Onana can become one of the Premier League's best.

Rouse: Archie Gray. The 18-year-old boasts a fine football lineage as his father, great-uncle, and grandfather all played for Leeds United and Scotland. He broke into the Leeds side as a central midfielder, but his intelligence and maturity allowed him to slot into a full-back role for much of last season. He should earn the trust of Postecoglou quite quickly at Tottenham, but this is predominantly a signing for the future: he could become a fulcrum for club and country for a decade. And considering that huge potential, around £30 million plus Joe Rodon for Gray appears to be great value.

Worst signing

Lopopolo: Pedro Neto. Chelsea had no need for another right-winger, not least one who cost £54 million and missed an estimated 125 days last season due to injury. Cole Palmer is their star man on the right, meaning Neto will have to settle for minutes on his off wing. Neto is also not used to playing in a possession-based system like the one Enzo Maresca promises to implement at Chelsea. This is a costly bet on a luxury player.

Rouse: Liam Delap. The 21-year-old son of Stoke City legend Rory Delap hasn't come close to replicating his scoring form from the Premier League's reserve league in the senior game. The boisterous striker, who reportedly cost Ipswich Town £20 million to sign from Manchester City, scored only 12 goals in 70 appearances while on loan at Championship clubs.

First manager sacked

Lopopolo: Nuno Espirito Santo. Nottingham Forest are Chelsea lite, chopping and changing their squad without rhyme or reason. Nuno is tasked once again with gluing the pieces together. But his overly conservative, low-scoring football makes it difficult on the talented players he does have to function properly. There are better managers out there who can help turn Forest into a Premier League mainstay. Club owner Evangelos Marinakis won't hesitate to make a midseason change.

Rouse: Steve Cooper. It took until December for there to be a managerial change during the 2023-24 season. Don't expect the same. The chasm between Leicester's underwhelming squad and the Foxes' expectations after a memorable decade leaves Cooper with a tough job in the East Midlands, but there could be an early dismissal at a club with much loftier ambitions. Erik ten Hag barely held onto his position at Manchester United and can't afford some bad results to start the season. Enzo Maresca is working with a bloated, messy squad and misguided boardroom at Chelsea.

Breakout star

Lopopolo: Yankuba Minteh. As they have with so many other promising youngsters, Brighton will shape Minteh into the Premier League's next-best spectacle. Unlike previous signings, the Seagulls spent big here, breaking their club record to land Minteh for a reported £30 million. He plays as if on fast forward, taking on defenders with exceptional pace, and he'll complement Brighton's mazy left-sided dribbler Kaoru Mitoma.

Rouse: Morgan Rogers. The versatile and supremely gifted Oscar Bobb was primed for a huge season with Manchester City until his unfortunate injury days before the campaign's kickoff put him one or two steps back. But Rogers, another City graduate, had a strong end to last term and a productive preseason, and he won't be short of minutes while Aston Villa balance domestic and European commitments.

Biggest surprise

Lopopolo: Ipswich Town. Ipswich's back-to-back promotion-winning campaigns owe a lot to their defensive discipline and work rate. While head coach Kieran McKenna has established a solid back four, he still asks his full-backs to push forward and create chances. His team also forced the second-highest number of opposite-half turnovers in the Championship last season. It may take some time for Ipswich to cope with the pace of the Premier League, but all the tools are there for a strong finish to their first top-flight campaign in 22 years.

Rouse: Everton. The Toffees are in good shape to improve on last season's relegation scrap - without the eight-point deduction, Everton would've finished above Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth. His football can be hard to watch, but Sean Dyche is an accomplished manager at this level and some of the club's summer business could prove to be extremely shrewd.

Most excited about ...

Lopopolo: Brighton's continued evolution. The Seagulls crashed back down to Earth last season, falling under the weight of their first-ever season in European football and victim to their defensive shortcomings. With 31-year-old head coach Fabian Hurzeler at the helm, Brighton will continue to take risks, building up play with the same laser-like focus they had under predecessor Roberto De Zerbi.

Rouse: How Crystal Palace shape up. Michael Olise is gone, but the huge improvements under Oliver Glasner last season should give Eagles fans optimism ahead of the new campaign. Marc Guehi proved his quality at Euro 2024, Adam Wharton is a serious talent, Eberechi Eze is a joy to watch, and Jean-Philippe Mateta has been prolific for over half a year.