EPL 2017/18 Pre-Season Predictions Review

After a long season of ups and downs, the summation of a campaign after the final whistle has blown gives a brief period of time for reflection and review of what has occurred over the past 9 months of football. Every player and club went through a gruelling effort over the course of the season, with some young players’ careers taking off, while other veteran careers came to a close.

Did any of us believe that Manchester City would be so dominant? Or that Burnley could somehow become a stable top half of the table side, while last season’s champions Chelsea struggled to stay in touch with the top 4 for the better part of the campaign? 

Of course a review wouldn’t be complete without a comparison to how we anticipated and predicted multiple aspects of the season to play out.

A full guide of pre-season predictions can be found here - http://worldwidefantasyclub.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/epl-title-contenders-relegation.html 


So here is the WFC review of our English Premier League predictions made prior to the season kick-off (15th of July 2017) and how things turned out after the 2017/18 season has finished. 

Team

Prediction
Reality




Arsenal
Key Player
Mesut Özil
Shkodran Mustafi
Top Scorer
Alexis Sánchez
Alexandre Lacazette (14)
Ladder Finish
4th
6th




Bournemouth
Key Player
Josh King
Nathan Akè
Top Scorer
Jermain Defoe
Josh King/Callum Wilson (8)
Ladder Finish
9th
12th




Brighton
Key Player
Anthony Knockaert
Pascal Gross
Top Scorer
Glenn Murray
Glenn Murray (12)
Ladder Finish
18th
15th




Burnley
Key Player
Robbie Brady
James Tarkowski
Top Scorer
Sam Vokes
Chris Wood (10)
Ladder Finish
19th
7th




Chelsea
Key Player
Cesar Azpilicueta
Cesar Azpilicueta
Top Scorer
Eden Hazard
Eden Hazard (12)
Ladder Finish
1st
5th




Crystal Palace
Key Player
Patrick Van Aanholt
Luka Milivojević
Top Scorer
Christian Benteke
Luka Milivojević (10)
Ladder Finish
13th
11th




Everton
Key Player
Ashley Williams
Jordan Pickford
Top Scorer
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney (10)
Ladder Finish
7th
8th




Huddersfield
Key Player
Aaron Mooy
Jonas Lössl
Top Scorer
Laurent Depoitre
Steve Mounie (7)
Ladder Finish
20th
16th




Leicester
Key Player
Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy
Top Scorer
Jamie Vardy
Jamie Vardy (20)
Ladder Finish
14th
9th




Liverpool
Key Player
Sadio Manè
Roberto Firmino
Top Scorer
Roberto Firmino
Mohamed Salah (32)
Ladder Finish
6th
4th




Manchester City
Key Player
Vincent Kompany
David Silva
Top Scorer
Sergio Agüero
Sergio Agüero (21)
Ladder Finish
2nd
1st




Manchester United
Key Player
Paul Pogba
David De Gea
Top Scorer
Romelu Lukaku
Romelu Lukaku (16)
Ladder Finish
5th
2nd




Newcastle
Key Player
Matt Ritchie
Jamaal Lascelles
Top Scorer
Dwight Gayle
Ayoze Pèrez (8)
Ladder Finish
10th
10th




Southampton
Key Player
Dušan Tadić
Dušan Tadić
Top Scorer
Manolo Gabbiadini
Charlie Austin (7)
Ladder Finish
8th
17th




Stoke
Key Player
Xerdan Shaqiri
Xerdan Shaqiri
Top Scorer
Marko Arnautovic
Xerdan Shaqiri (8)
Ladder Finish
15th
19th




Swansea
Key Player
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Alfie Mawson
Top Scorer
Fernando Llorente
Jordan Ayew (7)
Ladder Finish
17th
18th




Tottenham
Key Player
Moussa Dembèlè
Christian Eriksen
Top Scorer
Harry Kane
Harry Kane (30)
Ladder Finish
3rd
3rd




Watford
Key Player
Heurelho Gomes
Abdoulaye Doucourè
Top Scorer
Troy Deeney
Abdoulaye Doucourè (7)
Ladder Finish
16th
14th




West Brom
Key Player
Matt Phillips
Ahmed Hegazi
Top Scorer
Salomón Rondón
Salomón Rondón/Jay Rodriguez (7)
Ladder Finish
11th
20th




West Ham
Key Player
Manuel Lanzini
Marko Arnautovic
Top Scorer
Michail Antonio
Marko Arnautovic (11)
Ladder Finish
12th
13th


And here is how the table played out in comparison to how we anticipated,







































With all said and done, we congratulate Manchester City on a record breaking season, where they re-captured the EPL title – their 3rd league title in the Premier League era.

WFC would also like to congratulate Mohamed Salah for an individual season to be amazed about where he won three player of the month awards and the player of the season award for his 32 goals and 10 assists over the course of the season.

We now shift our focus to the FIFA World Cup in Russia, where we could see Germany create a dynasty after winning the 2014 tournament and are going into Russia as one of the top favourites. Along with Germany there are many other nations that have a chance of claiming the trophy, while others could announce themselves as dark horses and future threats.

Stay in touch with the WFC accounts for World Cup previews, line-ups and analysis of what we believe will occur in Russia 2018.  
@WFC_Seb



Comments