Who will be champions in Europes Top 5 leagues + Champions League bonus
PSG is winning again. No question. They haven't lost anybody from last season. The next two best teams are a distant number two from them.
Who will finish second and third to qualify for the Champions League?
Enter Monaco FC
They signed the returning Paul Pogba and they acquired Ansu Fati who can shine (at this level at least.)
For American fans:
With no clear #9 on the USMNT, this could be the guy to do the deed in next year's World Cup. Hopefully he's able to get some experience in the number nine role.
As for third place:
With Lille losing Jonathan David, Marseille is my pick. They have the second best offense outside of Paris and Aubameyang is back.
The Premier League
The most exciting league will be exciting again this season. Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal will be the top four again but in which order?
4th place:
Yes, they're dropping down to fourth place as Chelsea will overcome them this season as City still have defensive flaws. Guardiola seems to be changing up their defensive goals as they were successful in the first half of the club World Cup. That is until Al-Hilal exposed them.
Things to consider:
Ruben Dias was picked up to close the gap Vincent Kompany left several years ago and he did just that for the years to come but he is now a bit past his prime leaving a hole in the back.
Bernardo Silva might be done at the world class level as well.
But...
if this guy below can get back in form
And...
Haaland, who's still the best striker in the premier league, can get service, they'll be a lot to handle.
Third Place:
Assuming City don't mesh well together next season, Chelsea are the likely third place team. They have the talent to win everything
and...
the creativity of Cole Palmer.
But Joao Pedro cannot match
Haaland or Mo Salah's pedigree.
They could win a knockout style tournament like the Club World Cup or even the UCL, but the league will prove to be too tough for Chelsea.
As for second place:
And a team that actually can win the whole league: Arsenal.
With the nasty combination of Odegaard and Rice in the midfield:
And
The addition of Gyokeres, which could be the missing link they need in the attack...
But...
Liverpool are too loaded!
They're aggressive and experienced with every position is accounted for on the pitch in
McAllister, Van Dijk and Salah.
And with
The acquisition of Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz, it only makes them stronger than last season.
For my personal favorite because I'm a merengue and you're a cule, (you know who you are) is La Liga. Our usual league with a two team horse raise and shoe in for third place and an elusive fourth place spot.
Let's start with fourth place:
Now Villarreal may give Bilbao problems throughout the season but let's keep it short. Atletico Bilbao kept Nico Williams, they're keeping fourth.
Now, why is Atletico Madrid still third place?
Because half of their starting 11 are NEW!!
Simeone will need TIME to adjust and be experimental just to finish in THIRD.
He must be loose and creative with his new midfield trio in Ruggeri, Baena and Almada.
If things go wrong or if they need longer than a season to get ready, then they'll be surpassed by Bilbao or Villarreal.
Second and First Place:
hehehe
Real Madrid had their worst season since losing Ronaldo in the 2018/19 campaign not winning anything. They made deep runs and did what was expected of them but no silverware.
With Xabi Alonso at the helm, that's not going to repeat again.
Why they can win la liga?
With new tactics from Xabi Alonso and using Alexander Arnold correctly to fill the hole in the defense coupled with reducing the amount of injuries they had (7 to be exact), could be enough to beat out Barcelona.
But
How is he going to get Mbappe, Vini Jr., Bellingham and Rodrigo to mix up well?
They can't rely on individual brilliance anymore. They're going to need these questions answered to beat Barcelona.
Speaking of Barcelona...
They're getting better.
Unlike Madrid, the front three of Barcelona are gelling well together
And
Pedri is functioning well right behind them.
The defensive line of Flick worked well last season and helped them secure all domestics titles last year.
And
Gavi is back and healthy for now.
And if Rashford is on that's icing on the cake.
The prediction is Barcelona first, Madrid second.
As for the most competitive league, all of the Serie A teams near the top are at a similar level.
But who takes fourth place?
Roma will take fourth place.
Why?
I don't see Lazio, Fiorentina, or AC Milan putting up the necessary fight to surpass them so Roma takes four by default.
Yes, they lost Ruggeri and their head coach
But..
They now have Brighton's Evan Ferguson on their roster who scored 4 GOALS in his first appearance.
But without any real stars to test the top 3, it'll plague their team every time they try to get there.
Third Place goes to....
That's right Juventus will continue to be right under the top two contenders as they ARE NOT contenders anymore. Like Roma, they don't have any difference maker stars that can send them over the line.
But the good news is..
The acquisition of Conceicao and Jonathan David will improve the attack and the energy will be more positive than last year.
But they'll still be behind the two title challengers.
It's a two horse race:
Napoli won last season on the eleventh hour. They're backed by Conte. He knows how to win.
McTominay was a success last season
And they acquired the guy
the one the only KB
Inter on the other hand, still have Thuram and Lautaro who have both been snipers last seasons and probably the best strikers in Serie A.
Once you factor in the fact that their team hasn't changed much from last season and they're better at juggling both Serie A and the Champions League,
I'm picking Inter Milan first, and Napoli a close second.
And last that German league where one team is monopolizing the top spot.
Bayern Munich will win the Bundesliga again.
Why?
They have no competition and they've gotten better.
Their offense has gotten better with Luis Diaz
AND
Their defense has gotten better with Bayer Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah.
Speaking of Leverkusen...
With the loss of Wirtz, Tah and Xabi Alonso..
they will drop to fourth place.
Who's taking Bayer Leverkusen's second place?
Dortmund will reclaim the second spot as they're still solid offensively and with the acquisition of Jobe Bellingham and the losses of Leverkusen, they are the clear second best team again.
So if it currently stands like this:
1. Bayern Munich
2. Borussia Dortmund
3. ______________
4. Bayer Leverkusen
Who will be third?
This is just a gut feeling but I believe RB Leipzig will return to form with Ole Werner taking over and implementing a more dominant and forceful style of football.
They may have lost Salzburgs striker Sesko to Manchester United
but have also gained
Prolific Ligue Un scorer from Lens, Openda.
not to mention
Simons loaned from PSG integrated in the midfield.
I'm picking Leipzig to take third, jumping back from seventh place last season. Ouch!
We've arrived.
But since I've already mentioned most teams in great detail, I'll do this a bit differently.
First:
Lets go with some dark horses
I've actually got three dark horses this season but I'll only explain the one who I think will make the biggest impact.
Those three teams are:
Atalanta, Leipzig and the one that takes it for me is Benfica
They are a young side that are fearless. When they're on they can test even the best teams of Europe, giving Barcelona all they can handle twice and making it to the semi finals within the last five years. They may upset a team or two.
Now for some dangerous outsiders:
Napoli:
With the star arrival of De Bruyne who can reunite with Lukaku, getting out of the groups stage is the minimum while a quarterfinal or beyond would make the investment worth it.
Dortmund:
Runner ups two years ago and beating Barcelona last year. A quarterfinal isn't out of the question.
Juventus:
With the additions of David and Conceicao they should be able to survive the league phase gauntlet and fight for a quarterfinal spot.
Atletico Madrid:
Even with all their new signees making it past the league phase is realistic for them. A quarterfinal push is the goal.
Bayer Leverkusen:
Anything beyond the round of 16 would be a statement in the Erik Ten Hag era. They'll be out of steam then.
Real Madrid:
Yes, you read that right. Madrid are not contenders. With a disconnect between Mbappe and Vini and a lack of midfield balance with Kroos gone they're out of my contenders list. But their club's true obsession could lead them to the semifinals.
Now how about some contenders who can win it all!
Inter Milan:
They're genuine favorites to win Serie A but the UCL? Not so much, but their minimum aim will be to hit the quarterfinals or beyond.
Bayern Munich:
With the strengthening of their team mentioned earlier, the clear aim is to reach at least the semifinals.
Barcelona:
The wonder kid himself will have to be red hot to end the decade long dry spell and their goldmine of midfielders of De Jong, Gavi and Pedri will have to beat out the competition to at least land in the semifinals.
Chelsea:
After two years away, the quarterfinals would be considered a success.
Arsenal:
If Gyokeres hits the form Arsenal needs and the defense stays in tact, they can reach the finals.
Liverpool:
A run to the Budapest final will be a tribute to Jota.
Manchester City:
They will make the semifinals to reset their European pedigree.
PSG:
With Ligue Un already at a stranglehold, they can put their focus on winning again.
My top 3 to win the champions league are:
3. Barcelona with their form, depth and youthful talent.
2. Liverpool with their momentum, strength and motivations.
1. PSG with their dominance and stability.
PSG take it again for me.
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