Eight weeks after the 2019/20 Premier League season concluded, the new campaign is ready to begin.
It’s hard to know what to expect, in truth.
Some clubs have had very little rest - with Manchester City and Manchester United having their opening matches postponed due to their involvement in the latter stages of European competitions next season.
If this season already wasn’t hard enough to predict, the transfer window is still open for another month.
However, that didn’t stop Peter Crouch from attempting to predict the final Premier League table before a ball had been kicked.
Okay, GIVEMESPORT might have forced him to do it but the BT Sport pundit gave it a go.
Let’s take a look at what he came up with:
PETER CROUCH PREDICTS PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
20. West Brom
19. Fulham
18. Aston Villa
17. Brighton
16. Crystal Palace
15. Newcastle
14. West Ham
13. Southampton
12. Burnley
11. Everton
10. Leeds
9. Sheffield United
8. Wolves
7. Leicester
6. Tottenham
5. Arsenal
4. Manchester United
3. Chelsea
2. Manchester City
1. Liverpool
When asked about the title race, Crouch insisted that it’ll be another two-horse race - albeit far closer than last season.
“I think Liverpool are winning the league, I really do,” he told GIVEMESPORT.
“I think City are an absolute class act, I think they’ve definitely strengthened defensively with Ake
“People seem to think Liverpool dropped off last year but they won the league at a canter. This year, they’ll be back on it and they’ll fly again.
“It’s a two-horse race, I think it’s going to be a lot tighter this year.
“I love what Chelsea have done but I think it’s a two-horse race. I think Frank’s under a lot more pressure this year but I think the players they’ve signed are real class acts, I like every single one of them. Sometimes when you sign players they don’t gel but those are top players and they’ll fit right in I think.”
GIVEMESPORT’s Rob Hoskin says:
We apologise to Crouchy for leaving him open to pelters for his pre-season predictions. It’s never easy to predict the table before the campaign but this time around it’s even more difficult. Not only is the transfer window still open but we just don’t know how well prepared each club is after the quick turnaround.
Perhaps it’s unsurprising that Crouch has gone for one of his former clubs, Liverpool, to win the league. It’s hardly a shock considering they finished 18 points clear of City last season. They may not have made a major signing but keeping their incredible squad together is far more important.
Not many will disagree with Chelsea and Manchester United making the top four alongside Liverpool and City.
Crouch has Arsenal pipping another of his former sides, Spurs, with Leicester finishing above Wolves. Sheffield United and Leeds complete the top 10.
Having Everton down in 11th is controversial considering their impressive summer under Carlo Ancelotti.
Two of Crouchy’s former clubs come next in Burnley (12th) and Southampton (13th). West Ham, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Brighton all survive the drop.
But sorry Aston Villa, Fulham and West Brom fans, Crouchy reckons you’re going down.
We’ll share this again in eight months time to see just how wrong he was…
Make unlimited subs with flexible BT TV; Change your football packages, BT Sport, Prime Video & Now TV Sky Sports Pass, every month. Find out more at btsport.com/unlimited-subs