10) STOKE
Since Mark Hughes took charge three years ago, they’ve become a team you’re surprised to see outside of the Top 12 at any point in the season. While The Potters have evolved to become strong Premier League regulars, the gap between them and teams chasing European places continues to grow. That’s not a hit on Stoke, but a fourth straight ninth place finish might be just out of reach this season.
Even with the additions of Xherdan Shaqiri, Bojan Krkic, Marko Arnautovic and Ibrahim Affellay, Stoke potted just 41 goals last season. Barring injuries, Affellay was quite unlucky last year, that number should increase this season. The addition of someone like Saido Berahino would certainly help, but Stoke’s efforts to free the 23-year-old from West Brom have gone for naught.
If Stoke can avoid their usual slow start to the season, they might just be strong enough to finish a couple of places higher should the bigger clubs not play to their potential.
9) EVERTON
When was the last time Everton started a season with this much confidence?
Luring Ronald Koeman seemed quite easy. With the ambition and investment on the blue side of Merseyside now, one can see why. Koeman will take home twice what he made on the south coast, a cool £6 million a year. And work under one of the men responsible for Leicester‘s remarkable title run, after Steve Walsh left The Foxes to become The Toffees first director of football.
Everton expected to lose John Stones eventually. No one could’ve expected any club to pay £50 million for him after the season he had last year. The Toffees have been able to reject massive bids for Romelu Lukaku, while spending to bring in Wales captain Ashley Williams, and Idrissa Gueye from Aston Villa who was one of very few bright spots for the relegated side last season.
This team has holes, but are guaranteed to be better defensively than the Roberto Martinez side that finished 11th. That alone should be worth 10 more points.
8) WEST HAM
New digs. New crest. New record signing. And Slaven Bilic says he’d still like five more players! Hammers supporters have plenty to be excited about this year.
The Hammers would have been the best story in the Premier League last season, had it not been for Leicester’s unthinkable title run. West Ham will be even more enjoyable to watch this season.
£20 million for Andre Ayew may seem like a lot when he doesn’t fit in to Bilic’s 4-2-3-1. Andy Carroll remains the first choice number nine, but he’s likely to only play nine league matches so it’s nice to have options. Sofiane Feghouli joins from Valencia to make West Ham’s right side nearly as deadly as the left, with Dmitri Payet working his magic in front of the incredibly underrated Aaron Cresswell.
Ownership has Champions League aspirations, and they may get there soon. But not this year.
7) LEICESTER CITY
Last season was truly magical. The Foxes claimed the title of “best underdog story of all time.” They inspired little clubs everywhere, and Claudio Ranieri must have had a proud father’s grin on his face every time he read a story describing Iceland as “the Leicester of The Euros!” But how can you match last season? You can’t.
Surely Ranieri doesn’t actually believe himself when he says this summer, “the goal is to stay up.” His level head is what lead Leicester through the marathon last year. Although maybe he’s had a look at the bookies lists. How disrespectful that Leicester are 14-1 to go down, but 33-1 to repeat!
The Foxes have spent an incredibly modest £27.5 million on four players this summer. Considering N’Golo Kanté went to Chelsea for £30 million, I thought surely Ranieri would go on a £50 million shopping spree. But that’s not Leicester’s style, and that’s ok. They just will not be able to fight wars on multiple fronts.
Leicester used just 27 different starting lineups last season. That was second-fewest among Premier League champions. The schedule will be grueling this fall. Injuries are bound to plague Leicester this time around. Ranieri is going to have become The Tinkerman again. They are considerably deeper than last season, but his squad just isn’t deep enough.
Ahmed Musa looks to be a great signing already, and Ranieri is confident Nampalys Mendy will be a suitable replacement for Kanté having worked with him at Monaco. This is before Mendy left for Nice and became club captain at the age of just 22. Now 24, no player will be under the microscope more in the first half of this season than Mendy. He declined a move to Manchester United to join new Saints boss Claude Puel at Nice three years ago. Now, he’s a £13 million man.
Keeping Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Drinkwater is the equivalent of spending £125 million on new players because that’s surely what they would have gone for. But if Riyad Mahrez does leave before the window closes, it will have a massive ripple effect on the entire squad that will already struggle without Kanté.
6) LIVERPOOL
Many seem to think a full season with Jürgen Klopp at the helm will power Liverpool back in to the Top 4. They are close, and should be much better than they were for much of last season. But the Reds just aren’t there yet.
Losing the Europa League final may yet turn out to be a blessing. The lure of Champions League football would have helped their business in the transfer window this summer, but it would have seen them forced to pay a premium and this squad still isn’t good enough to challenge on multiple fronts.
With Sadio Mané running around opposing defenders, Liverpool are far more balanced than they were last season. Georginio Wijnaldum is exactly the type of player that would have thrived at Klopp’s Dortmund. If he can find some consistency, he can be one of the most dangerous players in the Premier League. Much like Daniel Sturridge who is likely to spend even more time on the trainer’s table given the intensity of Klopp’s training sessions. They’re doing three-a-days! Who does that? Klopp couldn’t get Mario Götze from Bayern Munich, but he did lure their fitness coach and nutritionist to Anfield with praise from the German press. Liverpool players are reported to be, surviving and better fed.
I am excited for Liverpool fans this season. This team is capable of taking points off their rivals above them. Will Klopp endure a sixth consecutive cup final defeat? I don’t know if his heart can handle it.
Be sure to check back soon. My Top 5 predictions blog is coming later today!
Dunlop's Daily Dose 