We are just days away from the beginning of another exciting Premier League season and both Bogoljub Karic and I cannot wait. We have spent weeks arguing, predicting and debating how this season will pan out and today we are going to look at the teams who we are sure will prove to be surprise packages in the season ahead. Each year we see a handful of teams who go against the grain and deliver results which contrast from everyone’s expectations of them, and here are the teams which we believe will do just that in the 2019/20 season.
Aston Villa
This surprise package may not exactly be what you had in mind, but bear with us. It is widely anticipated by many in the world of punditry and football, that Aston Villa will have a solid campaign, and may even finish as high as 11th or 12th. Our view however is that Vill are going to struggle massively this season and will in fact be in a relegation scrap for large parts of it. To bring in 13 new players is a huge risk, they may have bought volume better than Fulham did last season in terms of most of them being experienced in this country or league, but it is still a lot of new faces at one time. Villa conjure up images of European Cup victories, league cup wins and prolonged periods of success, but this team is far from those lofty ambitions and they will struggle this season.
Bournemouth
Eddie Howe has created a real quality team here at Bournemouth and we expect them to shock everyone this season and make a tilt for a top 8 finish. The Cherries have earned their status as ‘steady Eddies’ – no pun intended- in the Premier League, who usually finish up in 12th -14th. This side however has far more to give than this and I think this will be the year that they shore themselves up defensively, and make that entertaining football actually work for them. Howe is already in the cross-hairs of many PL sides and this could be the last hurrah for Howe if he is able to achieve a top 8 finish. With goalscorer like King and Wilson, providers like Fraser and Brooks, plus defenders like Ake, this is a team which could go places.
Spurs
Spurs are widely considered to be top 4 shoe-ins, with most expecting them to finish in 3rd spot behind Liverpool and City. Spurs however will shock everyone this year, and not for the right reasons. After a shoddy transfer window, players entering the last year of their contracts, a frustrated manager, not to mention their 13 losses last year, Spurs will end up slipping way down the league this season. United and Arsenal have invested heavily, Chelsea look good and even Wolves and Leicester may be turning up the heat, spurs may even finish as low as 6th.
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