Seth Romsa

Another summer has come and gone and the Premier League football season is set to kick off this weekend with the three-time defending champions Manchester City on the road to open the new campaign at newly promoted Burnley on Friday.

RELEGATION ZONE

Starting out from the bottom and working our way up, the relegation zone is going to be a scrappy one once again.

The incredible story coming into the league this year is Luton Town, which has been promoted all the way from the National League a decade ago (tier five in English football) all the way to the Premier League, which is one of the most impressive feats in recent years.

I admire how the team’s stadium, Kenilworth Road, has become a must see internet story, but the side may be overwhelmed coming into the league for the first time.

Luton hasn’t been in the top flight since 1992, just before the Premier League began, and I feel like this may be the only year the team is there.

Promotion teams have seen success in recent years, but an underwhelming window coming up and a small budget will likely see the squad finish last and drop back down to the championship.

Now 19-17 is going to be a battle, but I feel as if Nottingham Forest has not done quite enough to remain in the top flight for another year.

The last team that I think will go down is Wolverhampton Wanderers, with  Wolves not doing enough in this transfer window to remain in the top flight. However, I could easily see Everton here in 18 but I feel like the Toffees will escape relegation for the third year in a row in 17th place.

Crystal Palace will take a step back after having an underwhelming window and losing key players, but will be just ahead of the drop in 16th.

The final team in the bottom quarter of the table in 15th will be Bournemouth, who has made a few decent signings that should keep the team in the top flight another year.

MID-TABLE TEAMS

The middle of the table will be crowded this season, with a few teams remaining where they were last year and the final promoted teams finding their footing again in the Premier League.

In 14th will be Sheffield United, one of the most recent teams to get promoted.

Just ahead in the table will be the other promoted team, Burnley, which has shown top quality for years in the league and spent one year in the championship before returning back this season.

Coming in at 12th will be Chelsea for the second year in a row.

Just kidding.

Slotting in there should be West Ham, who despite losing Declan Rice should have a slightly better season than a year ago, even though I could see the Hammers taking a drop in quality if the team doesn’t make the right replacement signings.

Just outside of the top 10 will be Brighton & Hove Albion, which is a club I am slotting here because I do not feel as if the team will be able to handle European football alongside the league and domestic cups.

This is due to depth and the team is likely to lose its main midfield cog in Moises Caicedo, who has been linked to transfer rumors for the past year.

JUST OUTSIDE EUROPE

Just missing out on European placement this year will be a few teams, all of which are absolute wild cards.

In 10th should be Fulham, remaining mid-table in the same position as last year.

Just ahead of them once again should be Brentford, which I could see either staying at ninth or falling all the way down to the bottom of the table as a wild card.

Finishing in eighth should be Tottenham — that could be lower, could be higher — everything currently depends on Harry Kane and if he moves to Bayern Munich in this transfer window.

LOWER EUROPEAN LEAGUES

Sneaking into the UEFA Conference League should be Aston Villa once again, which leads us into the new top six.

I think Newcastle takes a slight step back this year having to deal with both Champions League and all the domestic leagues and tournaments, finishing in sixth in the Europa League.

Just being able to focus on the league this year will be key for Chelsea, which will rocket up to fifth from last year’s disappointment to reclaim a top six spot.

TOP FOUR

In fourth should be Manchester United, with yet another spot in the Champions League next year.

Third will be my favorite, Arsenal, taking a slight step back from the title charge a year ago despite key signings with the organization likely looking for success in the Champions League.

Moving back into the title conversations with a reworked midfield should be Liverpool, which still has some questions to figure out at right back with Trent Alexander-Arnold, but there should be a renewed sense of pride with the Reds this year.

Once again winning the title for the fourth year in a row and fresh off a treble should be Manchester City, which despite losing some key players this offseason should retool and find a way to come out on top.

The only thing I could see going wrong for City is a potential points deduction due to investigations into Financial Fair Play by English Football and/or UEFA, but those things could take years and nobody knows if they will be assessed a deduction or just a fine.

This season can go a lot of ways like the Premier League always does, but the next nine months once again should be entertaining in England.