Tears and Jeers! March Premier League Predictions

(Manchester City vs. Leeds via Daily Sabah)

Now that we are heading towards the tail end of the season, this is a good time to predict how the relegation and top 4 races will finish by May. At the bottom of the table the competition is tight. Four points seperate 12th and 20th in the table meaning any drop in points will be detrimental from this point onwards. If we look at Southampton who are sitting bottom, they have been on a good run of form after sacking Nathan Jones and giving the job to Ruben Selles back in February. Since taking charge, he has earned good points like a 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge and draws against Manchester United and Tottenham which gives Southampton fans reason to believe that the impossible is possible. I’m sorry Saints fans but I don’t think this Ruben Celles dream run will continue. It is tradition for new managers to come into a job and do well but eventually the new manager honeymoon will end and the team is going to burn out and start dropping points again. The other factor for me is the amount of draws they have. Since taking charge, Ruben Celles has only won two games, drawn two, and lost three in all competitions. With such a tight race for safety, two-three more wins will be pivotal but I don’t think Southampton have the players to fight for safety and they will finish the season at the bottom. The team I predict to finish 19th is Bournemouth. Bournemouth have managed to fight hard for points this season but they have mastered the art of throwing away 2-0 leads in matches. They dropped two goal leads against Tottenham, Leeds, Arsenal. Bournemouth tend to work really hard and they are good at scoring a few goals in games but they tire and once one goal goes in from the opposition they fall apart. When it comes to them fighting to hold a lead they look scared and seem to expect the opposition to score in games. I think they will definitely win a few more games this season but those dropped points will come back to bite them. For 18th spot it will come as a surprise but I believe Leeds will go down as the third team. Ever since firing Bielsa Leeds have not looked the same. They seem to have lost all their will and firepower to stay in the prem. They have fought hard in matches like the 4-3 win against Bournemouth and the 4-2 win against Leeds but in other games they have thrown away leads against Manchester United and Tottenham. When watching a Leeds game the players have a lot of energy and determination in games but they really struggle to score. I hope they stay up because after making it back to the prem for the first time in 16 years it would be a shame to see them go down after just three years back in the big league. In terms of who will finish in the top four I believe Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, and Newcastle will finish in the top four. Tottenham look like a team that is lost and now without a real manager like Antonio Conte I think they will finish in 6th and Liverpool will finish 5th because although they are picking up more points recently The Reds are very inconsistent. Liverpool will beat Manchester United 7-0 one week and then lose to Bournemouth the next week. Newcastle have overachieved this season under Eddie Howe, they can’t stop winning! With Tottenham and Liverpool being very inconsistent this year, Newcastle has every chance to sneak back into 4th spot, earning themselves Champions League football next year for the first time since 2003. Manchester United will finish 3rd this season. Ten Hag has definitely taken Old Trafford by storm winning game after game thanks to players like Casemiro who has taken the league by storm since his big money move back in August. A real standout star has been Marcus Rashford who looks like a player reborn this season and David De Gea who has been Manchester United’s main man for 10 years now. Two teams have thrown the kitchen sink at the league this season, Manchester City and Arsenal. Arsenal have sat top of the pile for most of the season, Arteta's men have played their hearts out week after week and deservedly sit top. Pep’s men have had the winning mentality for years and this season they added Erling Haaland to score them all the goals. Arsenal don’t have the high profile players that Manchester City have, yet I think the Gunners will be lifting that big shiny trophy come May. City have the high profile players, but Arsenal have the passionate players. Pep’s men tend to bottle a few matches throughout each season but it has never been a problem because they usually walked the league in previous seasons. Now with Arsenal winning week after week, I believe Arsenal will win the league for the first time since 2004.