Premier League 2019/20: Opinion - Predicted final standings

The upcoming Premier League campaign is likely to be one of the toughest, most competitive we've seen in a long time. Virtually every side in the league is now stronger than ever, thanks to the huge payday given to each club at the end of the season derived from TV rights (around £100m).

We've seen the total transfer costs exceed £1 billion in the past few summer transfer windows, and that number is only expected to rise in the future. Because of the vast wealth, Premier League clubs have recently attained, they're able to purchase players of the highest caliber from all around the world, outbidding top clubs from leagues like the Bundesliga, La Liga and Ligue 1 with ease to augment their sides.

With each passing season, more and more high-quality players enter the league having signed big-money deals, boosting the attention and interest from around the world for the Premier League and its matches, which in turn hikes up TV revenue and means an even bigger payday for Premier League sides. Things are only going to get better.

As far as this list is concerned, don't be offended or upset if your team is predicted to finish lower than you would have liked; it's all primarily based on opinion, with much of the decision predicated on the current standard of the squad and the transfers the team has made thus far. It's all speculation, and you're welcome to share your thoughts in the comments below.

Disclaimer: The views of the author do not necessarily reflect those of Sportskeeda

#20 Aston Villa

Players In: Jota, Anwar El Ghazi, Wesley, Kortney Hause, Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, Bjorn Engels, Trezeguet, Douglas Luiz, Tom Heaton, Marvelous Nakamba.

Players Out: Albert Adomah, Mark Bunn, Richie De Laet, Tommy Elphick, Alan Hutton, Mile Jedinak, Ross McCormack, Micah Richards, Glenn Whelan, Gary Gardner, Birkir Bjarnason.

Aston Villa just about scraped promotion to the Premier League last season after beating Derby County in the Play-offs Final. They must have realized that their team had numerous deficiencies because they spent over £100m on players to bolster their squad and enable them to compete with the rest of the teams in the division.

However, two games have passed and Villa have looked dire in both of them. They currently sit 17th with 0 points, and I can't see them climbing much higher than that. The bottom-half will be where they end up, without a doubt, but given how lackluster their style of play is, I'm inclined to believe they'll face the drop this season.

So many new signings is bound to unsettle the rest of the side. There will, of course, be teething problems initially, but there's no time for that in the Premier League. They have to fight tooth and nail for every single point if they want to stay up.

#19 Newcastle United

Players In: Joelinton, Kyle Scott, Jake Turner, Jetro Williams, Allan Saint-Maximin, Emil Krafth, Andy Carroll, Ludwig Francillette.

Players Out: Mohamed Diame, Cal Roberts, Josef Yarney, Tyrique Bartlett, Ayoze Perez, Joselu.

As soon as Rafa Benitez left the club by "mutual consent", the writing was on the wall. Newcastle are destined for the drop this season and I don't think anyone will really be too surprised if they are relegated. Mike Ashley doesn't seem to have the club's best interests at heart; his concern is simply making a profit by any means necessary, even if that means that the club suffer on the pitch as a result.

Benitez got the last laugh, however, as he joined Dalian Yifang and signed Newcastle's best striker last season on a permanent deal from West Brom. The Magpies were reportedly interested in signing Rondon as well after a sublime season-long loan with them, but he wanted to reunite with Rafa, not the club, which speaks volumes.

If you take a look at who Newcastle have signed this summer, there isn't anyone for fans to brag about. Yes, £40m was spent on Joelinton, but he's unproven at this level, and considering how poorly he's played thus far, Newcastle may have just wasted a lot of money.

Their most recent game was a 3-0 defeat to newly-promoted Norwich City. That says it all.

#18 Crystal Palace

Players In: Stephen Henderson, Jordan Ayew, Gary Cahill, Victor Camarasa, James McCarthy.

Players Out: Jason Puncheon, Julian Speroni, Bakary Sako, Ollie O'Dwyer, Joseph Hungbo, Tyler Brown, Levi Lumeka, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Pape Souare.

Much of Crystal Palace's summer was overshadowed by their almighty struggle to keep hold of Wilfried Zaha, who was linked with the likes of Arsenal, Everton, and Chelsea. They had only just seen Aaron Wan-Bissaka leave to Manchester United for £50m and didn't want to lose another key player.

Ultimately, they held onto Zaha, and this is likely to be what keeps them up this season, unless he leaves in January, in which case they're doomed.

Palace don't have a lot going for them this time round. Last season, it was Zaha and Wan-Bissaka who were in the headlines each week for their great performances, but it was widely agreed that the pair carried the team. Now the weight falls solely on Zaha's shoulders, and I fear it'll be too much for him.

#17 Sheffield United

Players In: Luke Freeman, Phil Jagielka, Callum Robinson, Ravel Morrison, Lys Mousset, Ben Osborn, Dean Henderson, Oli McBurnie, Michael Verrips, Mo Besic.

Players Out: Paul Coutts, Martin Cranie, Conor Washington, Daniel Lafferty, Caolan Lavery, Ched Evans.

Sheffield United have had a relatively strong start to life back in the Premier League and find themselves in 8th place after a win and a draw. It's hard to say at this moment in time whether they're going to maintain this purple patch, though I predict that things will begin to sour by next month, as the harder fixtures come up.

The Blades have made some decent signings in Robinson, Henderson and McBurnie, but the rest are mediocre and probably not quite at the level required for Premier League football. Only time will tell, however.

I think Sheffield will stay up purely because of how bad the teams in the relegation zone are, but that's likely to be a blessing for the Blades, as it'll allow them to bolster their team next summer and increase their chances of survival.

#16 Southampton

Players In: Moussa Djenepo, Che Adams, Danny Ings, Tommy Scott, Kevin Danso.

Players Out: Steven Davis, Matt Targett, Jordy Clasie, Charlie Austin.

Southampton have looked progressively worse with each passing season. Their lackluster style of play and generally boring side makes them easy to skip past on Match of the Day, but if these tactics produced results, it would make sense. But there doesn't appear to be any evidence of improvement under Hasenhuttl yet. It's probably his final chance to show what he can do.

Southampton are currently 19th in the league, having lost both of their opening fixtures. They need to rapidly change their tactics before things go from bad to worse and morale hits the floor.

Che Adams and Danny Ings look like a strong pairing on paper, but we're yet to see that translate to the pitch just yet. That said, it's only two games in; there's plenty of time for a partnership to develop and flourish. Southampton's other signings are a bit meh, though, and I can't see them making much of an impact.

The main goal for the Saints this season is to simply stay up, and I think they'll manage it - narrowly.

#15 Watford

Players In: Bayli Spencer-Adams, Craig Dawson, Tom Dele-Bashiru, Mason Barrett, Callum Whelan, Danny Welbeck, Ismaila Sarr.

Players Out: Obbi Oulare, Miguel Britos, Tommie Hoban, Dodi Lukebakio.

For a long time now, Watford have built a reputation as a sort of 'nothing' team. They don't achieve a great deal, nor do they fail a great deal; they just sit in mid-table each season, praying that they avoid the drop.

I think that they'll do just that this season and end up in 15th place. And although that position might sound comfortable, I believe that it'll be a handful of points that keeps them out of the drop zone.

Craig Dawson and Danny Welbeck are very average signings and won't do much for them in the long-run; however, Ismaila Sarr looks very promising and, if utilized correctly, could be their star player.

I have seen that some Watford fans predict that their side will finish in the top half, and that's just unrealistic. 15th is probably the best that the Hornets can hope for.

#14 Norwich City

Players In: Patrick Roberts, Daniel Adshead, Josip Drmic, Archie Mair, Rob Nizet, Rocky Bushiri, Aidan Fitzpatrick, Ralf Fahrmann, Charlie Gilmour, Sam Byram, Reece McAlear, Ibrahim Amadou.

Players Out: Marcel Franke, Nelson Oliveira, Ben Marshall.

Norwich City have surprised everyone so far; yes, they lost 4-1 to Liverpool on the opening day, but a 3-0 victory over Newcastle shows that they mean business. Teemu Pukki is currently on four goals in two matches, and some of the bookies are predicting that he'll finish in the top five goalscorers this season.

They've spent little, but brought in some quality players. Josep Drmic and Ralf Fahrmann, in particular, could really make a splash in the Premier League. It all depends on how Daniel Farke chooses to style his team this time round; they won't be able to use the tactics that worked wonders in the Championship in this division, as the teams that they're up against are significantly better.

They are the most likely out of all the recently promoted sides to stay up this year.

#13 Brighton & Hove Albion

Players In: Matt Clarke, Leandro Trossard, Taylor Richards, Lewis Freestone, Adam Webster, Neal Maupay, Romaric Yapi, Aaron Mooy.

Players Out: Bruno, Will Collar, Ales Mateju, Markus Suttner.

Brighton just scraped survival last season, finishing two points above the relegation zone. Yet I think they're going to do a lot better this season under new manager, Graham Potter. Their former boss Chris Hughton is only good for so long; his record shows that after a certain point, he's unable to do much with a team, and they end up languishing in the bottom half of the table. Hughton works best with a Championship side - let's hope Potter works best with a Premier League side.

The new signings are pretty good, with Aaron Mooy, Neal Maupay, and Leandro Trossard all expected to play a key part in this campaign, but still, the team lacks quality as a whole. The main reason why I think they'll finish as high as I've placed them on this list is due to the fact that the teams below them are worse and will probably make more errors. If Brighton can remain somewhat consistent throughout the season, they'll survive.

#12 West Ham United

Players In: Roberto, David Martin, Pablo Fornals, Sebastien Haller, Goncalo Cardoso, Albian Ajeti.

Players Out: Adrian, Andy Carroll, Samir Nasri, Toni Martinez, Moses Makasi, Lucas Perez, Noha Sylvestre, Vashon Neufville, Josh Pask, Edimilson Fernandes, Marko Arnautovic, Sam Byram, Pedro Obiang, Marcus Browne, Reece Oxford, Mason Barrett.

You can't help but feel a great deal of sympathy for West Ham. They pump so much cash into new signings every summer, yet seem to get nothing in return. Their 10th place finish last season was respectable, but I can see them dropping to 12th this time round, mainly due the messy team they now have.

The loss of Adrian will hit harder than I think most fans are expecting. He was a top keeper and has already shown what he's capable of at Liverpool. The Hammers will inevitably miss having someone as consistent as him in-between the sticks, but they have no choice but to get on with it.

The West Ham defence is mediocre, the midfield is decent, and their strikers are relatively good; overall, the Hammers should expect a bog-standard finish somewhere around the middle of the table.

#11 Chelsea

Players In: Mateo Kovacic.

Players Out: Gary Cahill, Fankaty Dabo, Rob Green, Eden Hazard, Todd Kane, Ola Aina, Jay Dasilva, Eduardo, Kyle Scott, Tomas Kalas, Alvaro Morata, Kasey Palmer, David Luiz, Kenneth Omeruo.

Chelsea's two-window transfer ban won't be made any easier by the fact that they've lost Eden Hazard, by far their best player, and Alvaro Morata, who didn't have the best time at Stamford Bridge but was still a very strong option up front. They now have to rely on Tammy Abraham in the No 9 role, which will undoubtedly worry many Blues fans.

There's also the new manager, Frank Lampard, who has zero experience at this level. It seems like the Chelsea board have opted for sentimentality in signing Lampard, instead of being objective and hiring someone based on prestige. I think it could cost them dearly this season, which is why I've placed them outside of the top half.

#10 Bournemouth

Players In: Lloyd Kelly, Jack Stacey, Philip Billing, Arnaut Danjuma, Harry Wilson.

Players Out: Marc Pugh, Tyrone Mings, Connor Mahoney, Lys Mousset.

Bournemouth are always a very tricky side to predict. One week, they could win a game 4-0 and look invincible; yet in the next match, they could lose 2-0 to a side facing potential relegation. There doesn't seem to be a consistency to the way that the Cherries play football, but, even so, it works and they stay up each year.

I think that they'll better their 14th place finish last season and end up exactly mid-table because that's what they are: a mid-table side.

Eddie Howe has brought in some decent players, Harry Wilson from Liverpool in particular, who may make strong impacts, but as with any signing, you can't know for sure how they'll get on. The loss of Tyrone Mings won't be much of a blow, however, as he was hardly used anyway. The fact that Aston Villa paid £25m for him is astounding. It's great business from Bournemouth, at least.

#9 Burnley

Players In: Erik Pieters, Joel Senior, Jay Rodriguez, Ryan Cooney, Adan Phillips, Bailey Peacock-Farrell, Danny Drinkwater.

Players Out: Jon Walters, Stephen Ward, Anders Lindegaard, Peter Crouch, Mark Howarth, Tom Heaton.

Burnley are an odd team to see in the Premier League. They're a small-town outfit but still have tremendous support and have cemented their place in the division in these past few seasons, proving time and time again that they can't be underestimated. Much of this is credited to Sean Dyche's impact and the tactics he's put into place. Getting them to work with an average side has been Dyche's biggest accomplishment.

The acquisition of Jay Rodriguez from West Brom is undoubtedly a shrewd signing at £5m. He netted 22 times last season in the Championship, so will definitely add some firepower to the front line. Danny Drinkwater in on-loan from Chelsea will bolster the midfield, while Erik Pieters from Stoke will help out in the full-back positions.

Burnley finished 15th last season, but I believe that they're going to surprise a lot of people with how well they perform this time round.

#8 Leicester City

Players In: James Justin, Ayoze Perez, Vontae Daley-Campbell, George Hirst, Ali Reghba, Youri Tielemans, Mitchell Clark, Dennis Praet, Callum Hulme.

Players Out: Shinji Okazaki, Danny Simpson, Elliot Moore, Harry Maguire, Callum Elder.

Leicester City changed forever after they won the Premier League title in the 2015/2016 season. The money they made from that achievement has kept them in good stead ever since and enabled them to afford some world-class players. Consequently, their squad looks stronger than ever and puts up a real fight against virtually every club in the league.

However, the loss of Harry Maguire to Man United is bound to have decreased the strength of their defence significantly, so this is something they need to be aware of from now on. Jamie Vardy continues to be a constant threat up front, but that's about it. The midfield is now stronger with the additions of Ayoze Perez and Youri Tielemans, but only time will tell if they can make a real impact on the side.

#7 Wolves

Players In: Raul Jimenez, Hong, Raphael Nya, Leander Dendoncker, Tsun Dai, Patrick Cutrone, Flavio Cristovao, Pedro Neto, Bruno Jordao, Renat Dadashov, Cyriaque Mayounga.

Players Out: Ethan Ebanks-Landell, Michael Zyro, Carlos Heredia, Ben Goodliffe, Aaron Hayden, Diego Lattie, Enzo Sauvage, Kortney Hause, Pedro Goncalves, Joao Dias, Ryan Leak.

Their transfer policies may be questionable, but the team Wolves have built as a result is undeniably sublime. Many football fans often joke that it's essentially a 'Portugal B team' because of how many there are, and that's down to superagent Jorge Mendes, who appears to supply Wolves with an endless supply of young, Portuguese talent.

That's one factor behind their recent success; the other is their great manager, known simply as Nuno. The passion he shows for the club is admirable and it's reflected by the players on the pitch too, who celebrate with ecstasy every time a goal is scored. Success means everything to this side, and I think they're edging closer and closer to the top four with each passing season.

But this time round, I think a 7th place finish is realistic and the most likely result. They could push for 5th place too, as the teams around that position are about the same in terms of quality. Only time will tell.

#6 Everton

Players In: Jonas Lossl, Andre Gomes, Fabian Delph, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Moise Kean, Djibril Sidibe, Alex Iwobi.

Players Out: Phil Jagielka, Ashley Williams, Harry Charsley, Boris Mathis, Mateusz Hewelt, Shayne Lavery, Jack Kiersey, Danny Bramall, Joe Hilton, Chris Renshaw, Nikola Vlasic, Brendan Galloway, Antonee Robinson, Ademola Lookman, Idrissa Gueye, Joe Williams, James McCarthy, Henry Onyekuru.

Everton continue to spend a fortune on their side each season and it's clearly paying off. An eighth-place finish last season was a decent end to a strong season for the Toffees, but they should be aiming for a higher spot this time round.

They can certainly accomplish this if they stick to the tactics that have served them so well thus far. Marco Silva still seems like the best man for the job, and now with players like Gbamin and Kean in the side, the possibilities are endless.

As you can see from the 'players out' section above, Everton had an almighty clear out, getting rid of the deadwood and players they deem below par. The players that came in to replace them are high quality and shrewd signings - a statement of intent for the boys from Merseyside.

#5 Arsenal

Players In: Gabriel Martinelli, Dani Ceballos, William Saliba, Nicolas Pepe, Kieran Tierney, David Luiz.

Players Out: Aaron Ramsey, Petr Cech, Danny Welbeck, Cohen Bramall, Charlie Gilmour, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Julio Pleguezuelo, David Ospina, Vontae Daley-Campbell, Xavier Amaechi, Krystian Bielik, Takuma Asano, Laurent Koscielny, Carl Jenkinson, Dominic Thompson, Alex Iwobi.

Arsenal have always been laughed at for finishing fourth so many times, but I think that this season they're going to drop out of the top four entirely - not by much, as you can see, but just enough to see them excluded from Champions League football next season.

They may have superb strikers in Aubameyang and Lacazette, but the rest of the team - particularly the defence - can look vulnerable at times. It's all very well scoring up one end, but if you're leaking just as many, or more, through a terrible defence, the effort the strikers put in is quickly canceled out.

Unai Emery is still growing his bond with the team and his tactics are still being developed. Comparisons to Arsene Wenger are futile, as he had about twenty years to get things right; Emery has had just a couple.

I don't think Arsenal fans can be too surprised with this placement, as fifth place is actually somewhat generous, given their propensity to concede goals in important matches. The teams that I predict will end up just behind them (Everton, Wolves, Leicester) could easily surpass the Gunners if they aren't careful.

#4 Tottenham Hotspur

Players In: Kion Etete, Jack Clarke, Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso, Ryan Sessegnon.

Players Out: Michel Vorm, Dylan Duncan, Charlie Freeman, Tom Glover, Connor Ogilvie, Jamie Reynolds, Kieran Trippier, Vincent Janssen, Josh Onomah.

Spurs are gradually getting stronger with each passing season, catching up to the main competition and leaving behind their arch-rivals Arsenal in the process. I think it'll be a close one between Man United and Tottenham as to who finishes in third place. This time I've placed United higher as I can envision them gaining consistency as the season goes on, whilst Spurs may start to drop off by the end, as they usually do.

With the likes of Harry Kane and Lucas Moura posing a constant goal threat, Spurs fans can relax on that front; however, their defending has been questionable at times, which is something they'll need to repair sharply before teams start to fully exploit it.

Mauricio Pohettino remains an outstanding manager for Tottenham and seems to know the club inside out, as well as the players. There's a very strong bond between the squad and their manager, and it shows through their performances out on the pitch.

#3 Manchester United

Players In: Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire.

Players Out: Ander Herrera, Antonio Valencia, Matthew Olosunde, James Wilson, Regan Poole, Romelu Lukaku.

This could be a surprising place to put Manchester United given how inconsistent they've been in recent years, but there are many reasons to be confident in how far they can go this time round.

With Lukaku gone, Anthony Martial has stepped up to take his place as centre-forward. He dons the No 9 shirt and wears it with pride, finally being allowed to play in the role he's been after for such a long time. He was useful as a left-winger, but you could tell he wasn't going to realize his potential out there.

And now with the £80m signing of Harry Maguire, United's defence have received a significant boost in quality. In the two games played thus far, the Red Devils have been impressive both on the attack and when defending. You can definitely sense that they could do some serious damage this season - at last.

#2 Liverpool

Players In: Sepp van den Berg, Harvey Elliott, Adrian.

Players Out: Alberto Moreno, Daniel Sturridge, Connor Randall, Adam Bogdan, Rafael Camacho, Danny Ings, Simon Mignolet, George Johnston.

Jurgen Klopp's decision not to bring in some experienced, world-class signings to bolster the squad struck many fans as questionable. But what he's probably trying to do is allow the current players to gel and form an even stronger bond before. It's all very well having top stars coming into the team, but there's no guarantee that they'll integrate.

Klopp is relying heavily on the side that almost clinched the title last season to match that superb run of form, but this is a tough ask and may be seen as a lot of pressure to some players - particularly those who are considered key to their tactics.

Ultimately, there's a huge gap between the top two and the rest of the teams in the league. How long it'll stay like that is anyone's guess, but right now the Reds deserve a spot close to the top.

#1 Manchester City

Players In: Angelino, Rodri, Joao Cancelo, Scott Carson.

Players Out: Vincent Kompany, Tom Dele-Bashiru, Aaron Nemane, Fabian Delph, Taylor Richards, Douglas Luiz, Danilo, Brandon Barker, Eliaquim Mangala, Colin Rosler.

Unlike Liverpool, Manchester City have added to their already incredibly strong side and somehow managed to strengthen it even further. Their subs bench tends to feature players who would walk into virtually any other side in the Prem, which just illustrates how much depth and power they have.

They've dominated the league for the past two seasons, and although Liverpool came close to clinching the title last season, ultimately their 97 points weren't enough, which speaks volumes about the quality Man City have.

Pep Guardiola is arguably the best manager in the league, and possibly even the world, right now, so for as long as City have him at the helm, they can expect to flourish.