Some normalcy! The Premier League starts up this weekend, and most if not all leagues will be firing away by Saturday of next week! Quick little flyer: COVID has really broken me down. While I’m an introvert at heart, I love, love, love seeing others succeed. To have my family cooped up in the house for the last 6 months has been very difficult, but we do have our lives, and we do have our health. Not everyone can say that. So while I’m excited about what’s to come in the wide world of sports, we’ve also been very humbled this year. Hug your loved ones close, and remember your blessings! Now I’m going to talk about mine!
Premier League:
Champions: Manchester City
Champions League: City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea
Europa League: Tottenham, Everton, Leicester City
Relegation: Aston Villa, West Bromwich, Southampton
F.A. Cup: Arsenal
Carabao Cup: Tottenham
Recap: All this only happens if Manchester United get Jadon Sancho, City gets 1 or 2 more reinforcements and Thiago Alcantara doesn’t join Liverpool. Things change drastically if these things don’t happen. Chelsea made tons of moves, but not in the places I expected them to. I thought Mason Mount, Tammy Abraham and Mateo Kovacic were good enough, but yet here come Kai Havertz, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech. More talented players, sure, but the Premier League is much tougher defensively than the Bundesliga and Erdivisie. I like what Ancelotti is doing, and I think Everton will be very difficult to beat this season. Plenty of draws will keep them far from the top 4, but they should have enough to get to Europe. I also think Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be the Premier League’s breakthrough player. He has the midfield to supply him with assists, and he’s always had the goal scoring ability to get to the next level. Crystal Palace, Leeds, Brighton and Burnley will experience quiet seasons. No long cup runs, no push for Europe, but another year in the top flight. I’m sure Leeds will elevate from those expectations and a few more additions could get them back to glory. Wilifred Zaha is still on Crystal Palace, which shocks me. He would look very good on a European night. I’m shocked that a Lyon wouldn’t consider him for a Memphis replacement or Ajax for a Ziyech. Newcastle and West Ham both added well, look for them to find safety at an early date. I hope we don’t say goodbye to Aston Villa, but something doesn’t sit right with me. An unbalanced eleven, maybe? West Brom feels safe, Southampton continues to sell.
Ligue 1:
Champions: PSG
Champions League: Rennes, Lyon
Europa League: Nice, Lille, Marseille
Relegation: Montpellier, Brest, Dijon
Coupe de France: Nice
Recap: PSG might experience a hangover this year, after losing such a close final to Bayern in Champions League. That said, I think even more distracting will be Real Madrid’s quiet pursuit of Kylian Mbappe. More on that later. But they do have tons of firepower, and I don’t think they’re quite finished shopping for players. It’ll be an interesting final weeks on who they bring in, if anyone. If they get Eduardo Camavinga, look out! Speaking of which, he might be good enough at 17 to help push Rennes into the Champions League again. It’s amazing what they were able to get from their team last year. I could see them surprising many others again, if they’re able to keep Camavinga. Lyon should be better this year, I’m baffled to how a roster that talented finish 7th last year and out of Europe. Look for them to bounce back. Nice is my favorite team in France right now, and Patrick Vieira is attempting to build something special. I just hope his eyes don’t get turned west. But they should battle for a European place. Lille and Marseille both had good campaigns last year, and I expect more of the same.
Bundesliga:
Champions: Bayern Munich
Champions League: Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Hertha Berlin
Europa League: Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Moenchengladbach, VFL Wolfsburg
Relegation: Arminia (I love that they’re back though!), Union Berlin, FC Schalke (playoff spot)
DFB Pokal: Bayern Munich
Recap: Bayern is a cut above the rest of Europe and would really have to take a big fall to not win both trophies again this year. Bayer sold their best players, Leipzig sold their #9, Dortmund will probably sell Sancho before the deadline and Gladbach didn’t take that big step, although I do love their front 3 of Marcus Thuram, Breel Embolo and Alassane Plea. I really like the Hertha Berlin side that came out of COVID; Matheus Cunha and Lucas Tousart should be Bundesliga stars. It also helps that they lost in the first round of the Pokal, so they can redouble their efforts on finishing top 4. Wolfsburg is close too; Josip Brekalo could be a breakout star this year. John Brooks is everyone’s favorite American and their midfield is very deep. If anyone surprises for Champions League, my guess it’s VFL. I would miss FC Schalke if they left, but they need to do something and quickly. Their business strategy of losing top end talent for free at the end of their first deals is losing steam, and it’s not a very talented roster. If Amine Harit leaves before the window, my ambitious prediction may look a little more realistic.
Serie A:
Champions: Inter Milan (I’ve picked Juventus (correctly) last 8 years, may as well take a shot)
Champions League: Juventus, AC Milan, Atalanta
Europa League: AS Roma, Napoli, Lazio (as cup winners)
Relegation: Benevento, Crotone, Spezia
Italian Cup: Lazio (before the fire sale)
Recap: Probably the league I watch the least of the big 5, which is sad, because there are some really talented teams in this division. Atalanta made it all the way to the QF’s of Champions League, and had PSG until the final moments of their match. If they continue to improve (also in for Harit), they should be back in Champions League for a 3rd straight year. I’m excited that Lazio qualified for Champions League this year; their roster is very underrated and they have one of Europe’s best strikers in Ciro Immobile formerly of every semi-big club in Europe. Not sure if they’re ready for a title challenge, but they could be in a Euro place. If not, I could see them being strong enough to win the Coppa Italia. Inter Milan and Juventus should go down to the final weekends like last season, and I think Inter does have the squad to make that big push and bring a Serie A trophy back to the city of Milan for the first time since 2011. I’m excited for Achraf Hakimi, while I understand he’s not the greatest FB defensively, he is the best wing back going forward in all of Europe, if not the entire world. Juventus did make some good long-term acquisitions for the club; Weston McKennie will be a big one to watch, not only for Juventus, but fans of the US National Team as well. A prominent role in this club, could mean future captain for our country.
La Liga:
Champions: Real Madrid
Champions League: Barcelona, Atletico, Villarreal
Europa League: Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Osasuna
Relegation: Cadiz, Huesca, Deportivo Alaves
Copa Del Rey: Atletico
Recap: It’s weird watching all the Spanish teams sell, but not really buy. Valencia needs every dollar, and now they might be gone for awhile. Ferran Torres was a great signing for Manchester City, same goes for Dani Parejo at Villarreal. He is about as close to this generation that gets a Xavi as we will see, and he tried to stay loyal until the end. Every other week, Atletico is expected to sell Thomas Partey, who I believe is one of the best midfielders in Europe and makes things so easy for Saul, Koke, Carrasco, etc. As long as Jan Oblak stays, they will continue to have a chance. I’d love to see Joao Felix take another step this year, he was getting close at the end of last season, and he impacted the game against RB Leipzig almost immediately, even though it wasn’t enough. Real and Barcelona should be dueling it out for a title; I think Zidane is getting it right, but I still thought they might try and sneak in Kylian Mbappe this year. He just seems destined to be a Real Madrid player eventually. The same way Luis Figo, Zidane, both Ronaldo forwards and Beckham all were. James is off the books though, and they have the youth to replace him now. Vinicius, Rodrygo and Odegaard are ready for big La Liga minutes. Barcelona – I could spend an entire blog on their off-season. Let’s just say for the sake of someone’s legacy, I hope they get things right. If not, it’s going to be a very “messy” divorce.
Champions League: Well this will probably be a crap shoot with all the different league starts and crowd capacity expectations. I think the usual suspects will probably be even better, as tactical and technical abilities make up for the lack of atmosphere. So the Marseille’s and AZ Alkmaar’s of the world might have tough time getting results. I finally got a final correct last year, let’s try for two in a row!
QF’s: Atletico, FC Bayern, Juventus, Inter Milan, Man City, Real Madrid, PSG, Liverpool
SF’s: FC Bayern, Juventus, Man City, Real Madrid
Final: Real Madrid vs FC Bayern. They just seem to strong not to make it. I think Zidane discovers the eleven that gets him success this year, and Eden Hazard will be much better. Pirlo will struggle to get past FC Bayern, and without a trophy, might get canned after being a Juve legend. I really like FC Bayern to go back-to-back, but as we’ve seen, only Zidane seems to know how to win “Rabbit Ears” on consecutive occasions. Real Madrid in a bit of an upset for me in 2021.
Europa League: Every year I pick Sevilla to win, and you know what? I’ve been right more than I’ve been wrong. Let’s do it again.
Sevilla vs Tottenham I could see Jose using this as a platform to try and qualify for Champions League. The EPL looks really difficult this year, and while I think he’s added to the depth of Tottenham, I’m not sure if they’re any better. It would be a shock if they finished top 4 to me. Sevilla will be out of the La Liga race early, but I think it always sets up really well for them. Ivan Rakitic will captain his old side to their 5th (!!!) Europa League title with some huge wins along the way.
Nate’s 9 – World 11
GK: Jan Oblak
LB: Alphonse Davies
CB: Jose Maria Gimenez
CB: Andreas Christensen – haha just kidding, Virgil Van Dyke
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold
10: Kevin De Bruyne
8: Toni Kroos - Goretzka if Bayern wins Europe
6: Casemiro
LW: Eden Hazard – Back in his rightful place
CF: Robert Lewandowski
RW: Kylian Mbappe
Nate’s 9 – My Favorite 11
GK: Dean Henderson – It’s time
LB: Alphonse Davies – He is a joy to watch
CB: Mats Hummels – rough year, but oh captain my captain
CB: Harry Maguire – forget the price, transformed United backline, played every minute
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – For years to come
6: Declan Rice – West Ham is relegated without his play
8: Paul Pogba – Transformed United when he came back
10: Bruno – Transformed United when he signed
LW: Marcus Rashford – Class guy, my favorite player
CF: Erling Haaland – I still can’t believe Dortmund got him. Destined for greatness
RW: Jadon Sancho – Either way, I win.
Nate’s 9 to watch out for:
1. Eduardo Camavinga. Will change the way 6’s play in the next generation
2. Ferran Torres. Probably won’t get many minutes this year, but flew down the wing for Valencia
3. Mason Greenwood. Excited for year 2. Could score 20 goals this season
4. Fabio Silva. People don’t know it yet, but Wolves got the signing of the decade
5. Vinicius Jr. If Real is to win almost everything, I need for Vinicius to be special
6. Gio Reyna. Dortmund almost needs to break these kids in early because they get sold so fast
7. Ansu Fati. He can help Messi get to where he wants to be again
8. Naci Unuvar. Ajax just keeps pumping them out. I hope he gets more minutes this year
9. Rodrygo. A hat-trick in his first Champions League start, best of the young Real 3
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