Player of the year: Virgil van Dijk – Liverpool FC

Van Dijk proved in the 18/19 season, that a player doesn’t have to win the league or score lots of goals to win Player of the Year and I think he repeats in 19/20. He’s arguably the most important player to any team in the league and he’s one of the main reasons I don’t think Liverpool will regress this season.

Breakout player of the year: Nicolas Pepe – Arsenal FC

Having contributed with 37 goals and 17 assists in his two season with Lille, Pepe has done enough to show why he can form a deathly front-trio for the Gunners alongside Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. His pace and skill will challenge many Premier League left-backs and I think he will be an instant improvement for Arsenal.

Signing of the year: Kieran Tierney – Arsenal FC

The only reason I don’t have Nicolas Pepe in this space is his price tag of £72M. While Pepe is easier on the eye than Tierney, I think the Scottish full-back will quickly establish himself as one of the best in the league, and he could occupy the position for Arsenal the next 8-10 years. At a price of “only” £25M I think this is a great bargain.

Top goalscorer: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Arsenal FC

Since joining the Premier League in January 2018 Aubameyang has scored 32 goals in 49 appearances, and I think he’s likely to improve on that average this season. The team should improve in their second season under Emery and I think that means more goals for the team and for Aubameyang, who will also profit from the arrival of Pepe.

Table prediction

While this is my prediction for how the Premier League table will look at the end of the season, it will also be my first Power Ranking that I will update at the end of every month of the season.

Tier one: Title challengers

1: Manchester City

While the departure of Vincent Kompany will be a loss, they have strengthened the squad in other areas (mainly with the signings of Rodri to replace Fernandinho and Joao Cancelo) and they remain the de facto favorites for the title.

2: Liverpool FC

It might be too optimistic to hope for as thrilling a title race as we got last season, but I think Liverpool will be right up there with City once. They have kept their squad intact and the only gaping hole seems to be depth at left back.

Tier two: Battle for top 4

3: Tottenham Hotspurs

After not signing any players in the last two transfer windows, Tottenham finally made a splash this summer. Tanguy Ndombele will be a force in midfield and deadline day signings Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso will be very good players in the future. They also managed to keep players like Toby Alderweireld and Christian Eriksen, so I see them being a lot stronger than last year.

4: Arsenal FC

I already talked plenty about the Gunners and I think they will make great strides this year. I’ve always like Unai Emery as a coach and I think they have done brilliantly in the transfer market, although I don’t think David Luiz will solve their centre-back problem.

5: Chelsea FC

The future is looking very bright for Chelsea, but I doubt that they will be able to get into the top 4 this year. The return of club-icon Frank Lampard will without a doubt create an initial boost, but will that last the whole season and how much has he actually proven himself as a manager? Their transfer ban will be a blessing in disguise, as they have a ton of talented youngsters who will now be given the chance.

6: Manchester United

Manchester United fans will undoubtedly be excited about the signing of Harry Maguire, but I can’t see him being worth anywhere near £80M. He should be able to form a good partnership with Victor Lindelöf, but I think the squad has too many needs for those two to solve all of Uniteds problems. Aaron Wan-Bissaka will be a good right-back for them, but will he make a big impact in the grand scheme of things?

Tier three: Could a new team break into the top 6?

7: Leicester City

The three teams in this tier are basically interchangeable for me, but I think Leicester is slightly more likely to come out on top. They looked good last season under Brendan Rodgers and they have a very talented squad. Signing Youri Tielemans on a permanent deal is huge for them. However, there will be some question marks in defence after the departure of Harry Maguire.

8: Wolverhampton Wanderers

The were hugely impressive in their first campaign back in the Premier League and I see them being even better this year. They managed to keep their squad together and added more young talent to it in the form of Patrick Cutrone from AC Milan and Jesus Vallejo (loan) from Real Madrid.

9: Everton FC

On paper, Everton was one of the big winners in the transfer window signing Moise Kean, Djibril Sidibe (loan), Andre Gomes and Alex Iwobi, but will they be able to turn that into tangible progress. If they manage that, they could very well be knocking on the door for the top 6.

Tier four: Middle of the pack

10: Bournemouth

I’ve been impressed with Bournemouth ever since they got promoted in 2015. Eddie Howe remained loyal to his philosophy even when the team was struggling, and little by little he’s improved the squad.

11: West Ham United

Getting rid of Marko Arnautovic will be a loss for them on the pitch, but I think it will help the atmosphere in the squad immensely. New signing Pablo Fornals will be a great addition to the Premier League and I’m very excited to see what impact Sebastien Haller can make up front.

12: Southampton FC

After a poor start to last season, Ralph Hassenhüttl managed to get Southampton up to 16th and I think he will improve on that this year. New signings Che Adams and Moussa Djenepo will surely add more attacking firepower to the side.

13: Newcastle United

Despite losing their two top goal scorers in Rondon and Ayoze Perez, the biggest loss for Newcastle will be manager Rafa Benitez. There’s a risk they could end the season much lower than 13, but for now I’ll keep them in the same spot where they finished in 18/19.

Tier five: Too strong to fail, too weak to challenge

14: Watford

Watford is probably the biggest wildcard in the league for me. If everything goes right for them they could finish as high as 9th or 10th. Danny Welbeck will be a great free transfer, if he can stay fit (and that’s a big if).

15: Crystal Palace

Holding on to Wilfried Zaha was huge to Palace, after they already lost Wan-Bissaka to Manchester United. Zaha will remain the talisman for a team that is lacking quality in a lot of positions.

Tier six: Relegation battle

16: Norwich City

Norwich looked very convincing when I watched them in the Championship last year and they are going to stick the mostly the same squad for this year. Ralf Fährmann (loan) should be a good addition in goal and Sam Byram and Josip Drmic will add some experience to the backline.

17: Brighton

A less than exciting side (in my opinion), Brighton has managed to stay in the league since being promoted in 2017 and I think they’re in for a tough battle this year. Spending almost £50M on two Championship players doesn’t look like they way to go in my eyes.

18: Aston Villa

Last year Fulham spend big after being promoted and they went straight back to the Championship. Aston Villa has also spend really big this summer, but I think they’re done it better than Fulham did last year. Several of their signings were already at the club last season and they have also signed players with Premier League experience. Tom Heaton should be a good addition in goal. I think they’ll fight a close battle with Brighton to stay up.

19: Burnley

Burnley regressed badly after their impressive 17/18 campaign and I think they will find it hard to stay up this year.

20: Sheffield United

I might be a little too hard on the newly promoted side, but I can’t see Sheffield United staying in the Premier League. Getting Phil Jagielka back, 12 years after he left the club, will be great in terms of adding leadership and experience to the dressing room.